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Memorial Medical Center New Hospital Project, 3/9/18
Friday, March 09, 2018

-Memorial Medical Center: Small Hospital, Big Difference, Brighter Future! In November of 2016, Memorial Medical Center announced the building of a new $40 million facility to continue to serve the health care needs of Clark County and the surrounding area.

In order to keep the community informed, here’s the latest on the progress of the project:

"Patients will still be the focus. That was the main theme that officials with Memorial Medical Center wanted people to know after a meeting with some county and community leaders Thursday morning.

Memorial Medical Center and Marshfield Clinic Health System dropped a surprise announcement on the community when they revealed earlier this week that the two facilities have signed a letter of intent for MCHS to acquire MMC. They hope to have the agreement signed by the end of June with MMC employees becoming Marshfield Clinic employees soon after. Ryan Neville, CEO and President of Memorial Medical Center, wanted the community to know that this merger was not in the long term plans when MMC applied for the loan from the USDA to build a new facility. He stated that as early as January, this merger wasn’t even in the cards. However, he stated the time to do this is better than ever. With their new building on the table, MCHS is very excited to bring their services to rural Clark County.

‘This new partnership builds on more than three decades of collaboration between our two organizations, and signals a future of health care in Clark County where patients will have even greater access to care delivered where, when and how they want it,’ said Marshfield Clinic Health System CEO Dr. Susan Turney.

They stressed how this merger will allow both entities to offer more services right here in Neillsville. Mr. Neville stated that they, and MCHS, see this as a growth opportunity. Patients that would normally go to MCHS to have certain procedures or exams done, such as chemo, can now have them completed right here in Neillsville. All the resources of MMC and MCHS will be under one roof. As for MMC’s clinic in Greenwood and Loyal, the MMC Greenwood Clinic and Marshfield Clinic would merge under one roof. The Loyal Clinic would remain as it’s grandfathered in as a satellite of a critical access hospital. This merger will also bring in more federal dollars that MMC currently doesn’t have access to and it will make insurance far simpler being under the umbrella of Security Health Plan.

Mr. Neville, board members and others also stressed that patients will still be treated as patients. They will not be treated as a number. MMC, under MCHS, will still offer the same touches and services they do now. They will also keep their providers, nurses and staff, so patients will still be treated by the people they know and trust. Finally, it was stated that MMC could have chosen to remain independent, but their ability to continue to provide the level of service and care would have been stretched very thin and the facility would have been in for a rough road. This merger allows them to have the longevity and stability they’ve strived for and still follow through on their mission statement of providing the best care possible.

‘This new level of partnership will enhance health care in Clark County by increasing coordination of one system in the delivery of care, providing a location for Marshfield Clinic to provide additional specialty care and aligns Clark County's largest health insurer, Security Health Plan, with a local presence,’ said Memorial Medical Center CEO Ryan Neville.

MMC board member Russell Ratsch stated, “Memorial Medical Center and Marshfield Clinic have a long history as trusted partners providing healthcare services to the Neillsville area and surrounding communities. Joining together at this time of transformation and renewal promises expanded healthcare services delivered locally in a new state of the art facility as well as strengthened employment and economic growth opportunities.”

Memorial Medical Center is also answering any question you may have like this one:

“Q: What does MMC joining MCHS mean for the community?

A: MMC will continue to fulfill its mission of providing the best experience in health care. But data has pointed out that they need to join with MCHS to continue to do this to the best of their abilities. 85% of MMC’s patients are also patients at MCHS. Only 40% of the direct community utilizes MMC while 60% utilizes MCHS and 41% of their revenue is from Security Health Plan.”

“Q: What does MMC joining MCHS mean for the employees?

A: MMC’s Board of Directors’ main priority has always been maintaining local employment. With this agreement, employment at MMC will be maintained.”

“Q: What does MMC joining MCHS mean for the new facility?

A: That project will continue. MCHS supports the construction of this $40 million dollar facility and all plans, plus some additional programs will move forward. MMC will continue to collaborate with Sniteman’s Pharmacy, Art of Optometry and Neillsville Care and Rehab for the project as well. This change will only move the project timeline back a few months.”

Labels: MMC

posted by Riley Hebert at 8:59 AM

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