HSHS and Prevea closures will have “ripple effect” on economic development
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The closures of HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s Hospitals, along with all the Prevea clinics in the Chippewa Valley, will have a “ripple effect” on economic development in the region.
When 1,400 people lose their jobs because of the closures, that will have an impact on school districts in the region and on other employers, said Kristin Korpela, Dunn County manager, at the Dunn County Community Resources and Tourism Committee’s February 13 meeting.
Economic development is one of the CR&T committee’s agenda item at every meeting.
Korpela said the healthcare facilities closures were discussed at a recent Wisconsin Counties Association meeting, along with the impact to the Chippewa Valley and concern for other communities.
“It is a sign of a vibrant or a declining community” when healthcare facilities stay or close, she said.
When birthing centers close, it is difficult to attract young families to come to the area if they do not know if there will be a place where they can get healthcare or childbirth services, Korpela said.
Marshfield Clinic has announced that the healthcare system will open an additional 20 childbirth beds that will be able to handle 450 births per year, she said.
Right now, there are 900 pregnant women being served by HSHS and the Prevea clinics in the Chippewa Valley, Korpela said.
“There is still a gap in meeting that need,” she said.
Meetings
Korpela said she has been participating in meetings that will try to address the problems created by the closures.
During the height of the Covid pandemic, the City of Eau Claire had a community recovery task force. That group has been reconstructed and is being headed by the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce. There also is a government affairs group made up of area county managers and administrators as well as city managers and others, Korpela said.
The government affairs group has met twice, and a resolution is coming to the Dunn County legislative committee, which will go to the executive committee and then to the Dunn County Board, asking HSHS to slow down the process. Other counties and communities also will be considering the resolution, she said.
“The hope is that the shared message will send a message,” Korpela said.
The impression is that HSHS and Prevea are not necessarily being open and helpful to communities, she said.
Employees
The City of Eau Claire and the City of Chippewa Falls are more directly impacted by the loss of 1,400 positions, but schools and other employers will be impacted as well, Korpela said.
If one person in a family is employed at HSHS and one person is employed elsewhere, and now that family with children has to move somewhere else for the HSHS employee to have a job, “now you’ve lost two people out of the workforce in your community, plus you’ve lost the kids at school,” she said.
One person who works at UW-Stout has a wife who works for the City of Eau Claire. They have the Prevea health plan, but the closure of the healthcare facilities is not considered a qualifying event to change health insurance because the provider still exists, Korpela said.
So now, those people with the Prevea health plan will have to go to Wausau or Green Bay for healthcare. Another person who has cancer is going to Green Bay for cancer treatments, she said.
The winding down of local services is happening rapidly, noted Jim Zons, county board supervisor from Colfax and chair of the CR&T committee.
Other impacts
Another impact will be the loss of 22 mental health beds, 10 of which are for children, Korpela said.
There will be no local resource, and children will now have to go to the Winnebago Health Institute for in-patient treatment, she said.
The Winnebago Health Institute is in Oshkosh.
Senator Jesse James of Eau Claire is working on legislation to move $15 million that was allocated to HSHS for expanding mental health beds, which was never spent, into another fund so it can be allocated by the joint finance committee for capital needs. That way, the money can be usable this year without full legislative approval, Korpela said, noting that the money could not be spent for operational needs.
Some of the blood testing requested by law enforcement has been done at HSHS, so that also will not be available, she said.
Korpela said she had heard, too, that the only morgue available was at Sacred Heart.
Zons said he was aware that a certain number of autopsies were conducted at Sacred Heart, and that if the autopsies cannot be done there, the bodies must be sent to the Twin Cities “at more expense.”
The detoxification facility at L.E. Phillips in Chippewa Falls also has closed, so that will eliminate some of the detox beds available in the region, Korpela said.
Substance abuse treatment is available at Arbor Place, but Arbor Place serves a number of counties. There are another 45 detox beds available in Eau Claire, but L.E. Phillips was a large provider of services, she said.
With L.E. Phillips closed, it may be difficult to find substance abuse treatment, Korpela said.
More stress
The closure of HSHS and the Prevea clinics also puts more stress on couples already living in the area who are expecting babies soon, Korpela said.
For one couple, the trip to Luther Hospital in Eau Claire is 40 minutes, plus the woman’s husband will have to first travel from work before they head off to Eau Claire, she said.
Again, it is a factor in economic development because how do you get young people to move to the area if you have to say there “might” be a place for you to have your baby or to see a doctor, Korpela said.
Larry Bjork, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the CR&T committee, noted additional stresses on the system.
The Village of Elk Mound has Phase I of the Settlers Ridge housing development in place, but Phase 2 and 3 are difficult to plan because Elk Mound cannot keep up with paying for the expansion of sewer and water to serve the additional housing, he said.
A development can be all set up and ready to go, “but not until people can flush their toilets,” Bjork said.
When the Settlers Ridge development is complete, the population of Elk Mound is expected to have increased by several thousand people.
Korpela noted that rent in the Chippewa Valley is going for $1,300 to $1,800 per month, and when she looked at homes for sale, there were nine houses under $400,000 and many more for sale over $400,000.
One person at the CR&T committee meeting said she has been looking for a house to buy, but anytime a house comes up for sale that is under $200,000, the house sells in about seven hours.
CR&T committee members agreed that while there is not much they can do at the moment as a committee to solve the problems created by the HSHS closures, they will continue to monitor the situation and look for opportunities that could be helpful.
