The neighborhood hospital is projected to open in early 2020, pending approval by Oak Creek planning officials. It is to be the second in the Froedtert & MCW health network and the second in Wisconsin. The health network introduced the neighborhood hospital concept in May when plans were announced for a site in Mequon. The Mequon neighborhood hospital also is slated to open in early 2020.

According to Froedtert, the small-scale neighborhood hospital is intended to offer easy, around-the-clock access to emergency and inpatient care in a highly efficient setting, near where people live and work. Just 18,000 square feet in size, the neighborhood hospital is to have a seven-bed emergency department and eight inpatient beds for patients requiring additional care, observation and tests. The facility, which also will have laboratory, pharmacy and imaging services, is designed to treat medical emergencies that require attention beyond an urgent care clinic’s capability.

“We see the neighborhood hospital as a way to keep high-quality care close to home in a convenient setting that is easy to navigate,” said Cathy Jacobson, president and chief executive officer of Froedtert Health. “It also will fill a need for this level of care in Oak Creek, which currently does not have a hospital.”

She added, “We treat many patients from the Oak Creek area at Froedtert Hospital, so it makes sense to provide emergency and inpatient services in their community.” On average over the past five years, approximately 80 people per day have traveled from Oak Creek and its environs to Froedtert Hospital for emergency or hospital care, she said.

Froedtert Hospital’s occupancy rate often exceeds 85 percent, one of the highest in the state, and its emergency department is among the region’s busiest. Jacobson said the neighborhood hospital’s smaller size simplifies access and the availability of inpatient beds assures appropriate, local services while reducing the need for patients to travel for care.

Future hospital’s features

Medical College of Wisconsin emergency physicians as well as registered nurses will staff the neighborhood hospital, which is expected to see about 15 to 25 patients per day and to employ about 40 full-and part-time staff. A licensed, accredited acute-care hospital, it will be part of the Froedtert & MCW health network, follow its care and quality protocols and be connected to its electronic health records system to assure coordination of care.

According to Jacobson, the neighborhood hospital will complement many of the Drexel Town Square Health Center’s services, such as urgent care, cardiology, orthopedics and sports medicine.

“Our Drexel Town Square Health Center, which opened in January, has been very well received and we’re confident the community will embrace the neighborhood hospital as well,” Jacobson said.

As in Mequon, Froedtert Health will partner with Tandem Hospital Partners of Houston, a national company specializing in neighborhood hospitals, to develop and manage the Oak Creek neighborhood hospital. Ryan Companies is the construction manager; Froedtert Health will lease the building through the partnership.

“Changing the hospital model is part of the necessary process of creating the health system of the future,” she said. “We continue to explore how we can improve access to care, including bringing services to people where they are. Creating an integrated care delivery network includes making the best use of resources to meet patients’ needs and providing care that is accessible and affordable. The neighborhood hospital is part of that effort.”

Ascension, Aurora plans

The announcement by Froedtert Health is another example of several in recent years by health care providers to launch new health care facilities in the area.

In August, Ascension Wisconsin announced plans to build a $42 million 83,000-square-foot medical center at the northeast corner of Highway 20 and Renaissance Boulevard In Mount Pleasant. Plans for the center include primary and specialty care, an imaging center, urgent care services, rehabilitation, occupational health and an ambulatory surgery center.

In May, Advocate Aurora Health announced Thursday its plans to build a hospital, two clinics and a medical office building near the northeast corner of Interstate 94 and Highway 20. The hospital, on a 96-acre site, is to include a full spectrum of emergency and inpatient services.