NEWS

Aspirus Doctors Clinic plans major expansion

By Melanie Lawder

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Aspirus Doctors Clinic is planning a $30 million expansion that could add up to 275 jobs to the area.

The clinic, 2013 Peach St., hopes to transform its facility into what its leaders call a "super clinic" or "hospital of the future." The clinic would add about 75,000 to 110,000 square feet to its present facility, including a small hospital to support its plans for new specialty services. The facility's new addition is planned to sit south of the current site.

"What the reality is, is that Aspirus Doctors Clinic has grown more rapidly than we had anticipated," said Andy Napgezek, Aspirus' director of communications.

The expansion process is in its preliminary stages, but Dean Danner, president of Aspirus Clinics, said he estimates construction to begin by spring 2015 and the new facility to open by the end of 2016. Aspirus Doctors Clinic has not yet presented any plans to the city, but the project would require the approval of the city's planning commission and City Council to rezone and annex a portion of property belonging to Grand Rapids.

Citing patient demand as one of the main reasons for expansion, Danner said the new clinic will be modeled as a "hospital of the future," meaning that it will be outpatient-orientated and focused on the quality of care, rather than the number of patients it serves.

"We're going away from a sick-care model," Danner said, "to a truly health care model."

The expanded facility would allow the clinic to provide some in-patient care, meaning that it will have a small hospital, with beds for patients. However, Danner noted that, unlike a hospital that needs patients in-house to financially support its large infrastructure, Aspirus Doctors Clinic will focus on keeping its people out of the doctor's office through emphasizing preventive treatments.

"The (old) idea was, 'The beds need to be full to support the infrastructure,'" Danner said about a hospital's traditional business model. "And we're talking about totally turning that idea around. The hospital of the future is much leaner, much smaller, more efficient.

"It's not rationing care, at any stretch," Danner said. "It's appropriate care based on the needs of the population."

The clinic also seeks to diversify the type of care it provides. Although Aspirus is not yet sure what type of specialists it will host, it is looking at expanding its advanced heart care programming and other services in high demand in the Wisconsin Rapids area.

"We're looking at, 'What services can we provide in Rapids, that are currently going out of town?'" said Dr. Thomas Voelker, a provider at Aspirus.

Mayor Zach Vruwink said he anticipates the city's approval process for expansion to go smoothly, provided that Aspirus meets the necessary criteria. He also noted that — along with improving the health and vitality of the city — the expansion will increase the local tax base and is evidence of the city's ability to attract health care-related businesses.

"This is a testament to the fact that Wisconsin Rapids is becoming a destination, or place of choice, for health care services," Vruwink said.

The clinic has been in operation for 57 years and serves about 10,000 patients a month. Nine years ago, the clinic joined Aspirus Clinics, a nonprofit health system based in Wausau that has 57 clinics in north central Wisconsin and upper Michigan. The Wisconsin Rapids' clinic is Aspirus' largest clinic, with 120 employees and about 35 primary care providers.

The Aspirus Doctors Clinic expansion will be on the planning commission's agenda for its Aug. 4 meeting. If the planning commission recommends the conditions of Aspirus' expansion, it will go to the City Council for approval on Aug. 19.