Marshfield Clinic considers locating in Colfax

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX  —  If anyone knows of a physician’s assistance or a nurse practitioner who would like to work in Colfax, Scott Polenz, district administrator for Marshfield, would love to talk to that person.

Polenz, along with other Marshfield Clinic staff, held a public forum in Colfax at the Viking Bowl October 26 to talk about the possibility of Marshfield opening a clinic here.

Perhaps the biggest challenge will be to find clinic staff who are ready, willing and able to work in Colfax, Polenz said.

Marshfield Clinic would need to see ten to 12 patients per day in Colfax, plus do some lab work, to make it feasible to open a facility in Colfax, he said.

The public forum with Marshfield Clinic featured two sessions, one at 3:30 p.m. and one at 5:30 p.m.

Approximately 50 people attended the first session, and about 20 people attended the second session.

Colfax received notification in January that the Mayo Clinic in Colfax would be closing July 1, said Don Knutson, director of the Colfax Rescue Squad.

A committee that included Knutson, Scott Gunnufson (village president), Jill Gengler (administrator at the Colfax Health and Rehabilitation Center), and Lynn Niggemann (village administrator-clerk-treasurer) started putting out feelers to see if any other medical providers would be interested in coming to Colfax, Knutson said.

Marshfield Clinic indicated an interest, he said.

Polenz said he was impressed with how welcoming Colfax has been and with the community’s desire to have a clinic in Colfax again.

The Marshfield Clinic Health System has 800 doctors all together, has 8,000 employees and operates in 55 communities, many of which are small towns, he said.

In the western district, which is Polenz’s area to administer, there are many “small centers” such as Hayward, Cornell, Cadott and Chetek.

“I think this is what Marshfield does best. Small clinics in small towns is where we do our best healthcare,” he said.

The Village of Colfax sent out a survey about the community’s interest in a clinic locating in Colfax, and the results of the survey indicated that if the clinic could only be open part-time, some people wanted a clinic open in the morning, some wanted a clinic open in the afternoon, and some indicated they would like the clinic to be open late afternoon and early evening, Polenz said.

The Marshfield centers vary on the hours, depending on the community, he said.

People who responded to the surveys also indicated they were interested in being able to receive typical primary care at a clinic in Colfax, Polenz noted.

Marshfield Clinic would lease the clinic facility on High Street located in the former nursing home building and would not have to build a new facility, he said.

Insurance

One person in the audience wanted to know what insurance Marshfield Clinic would accept.

Marshfield accepts Medicare, of course, along with Blue Cross, Medica Medicare Advantage, and Marshfield’s Security Health Plan, Polenz said.

Marshfield Clinic’s website lists nearly 30 commercial insurance contracts and urges website visitors to check with their employers or their insurance companies to see if healthcare services are covered at Marshfield Clinic if the insurance company is not on the list.

Another person in the audience wondered if Marshfield would have a cash option available for people who wanted to use the clinic in Colfax.

Polenz said Marshfield has talked about having cash-basis clinics with a fee schedule and said he would assume Marshfield would accept cash but would have to check on the clinic’s willingness to invoice patients directly rather than invoicing an insurance company.

Pharmacy

Another person in the audience wondered if Marshfield Clinic would be willing to work with the Colfax Health Mart Pharmacy for filling prescriptions.

“Yes, definitely,” Polenz said.

Lab work

Colfax resident Allen Stai noted that he gets his regular physicals at Luther in Eau Claire but that he often has to have blood work done before the physical.

Would Marshfield be willing to do the blood work for another healthcare provider? Stai asked.

“Yes, (blood work) is a lot of what small clinics do,” Polenz said.

Another person wondered how it would be handled if someone came to the clinic in Colfax and then needed to be admitted to a hospital.

The patient’s insurance often will dictate which hospital must be used, and Marshfield would make hospital referrals on that basis, Polenz said.

Patients

Colfax resident Dr. David Frogner noted that in years past, Colfax always had two physicians in town, “and they were always busy.”

The Colfax school district, between students and staff, has about 900 people, and the Colfax community is filled with elderly people, he said.

“It’s a strain or an expense to get to Menomonie or Bloomer or Eau Claire,” Dr. Frogner said.

When a clinic has been closed for six or nine months, people get into a pattern of going elsewhere for medical care, and the pattern is difficult to overcome, Polenz said.

On the other hand, it is Marshfield’s responsibility to attract patients, “and it is our job to have the right provider,” he said.

How long?

Another person wanted to know how long Marshfield would give Colfax before deciding a clinic here might not be a good idea and also wanted to know why the Marshfield Clinic in Elk Mound had closed.

The Marshfield Clinic in Elk Mound had been open for four or five years. Building a clinic in Elk Mound was based on the idea that people would build houses in Elk Mound, would work in Eau Claire, but would come home to Elk Mound to get medical care, Polenz said.

As it turned out, people would rather go to the doctor where they work, he said.

The decision to build a clinic in Elk Mound occurred before the Great Recession and the collapse of the housing market. Houses that were expected to be built in several subdivisions in the Elk Mound area never materialized.

Marshfield’s Elk Mound facility also had quite a lot of turnover in medical care providers, and the Elk Mound school district had ended up signing a contract with the Mayo health system rather than with Marshfield, Polenz said.

The reason for the closure of the Marshfield Clinic in Elk Mound “was multi-faceted,” he said.

Marshfield does not come into a community to make money. Marshfield comes to provide medical care, Polenz said.

How soon?

Another person in the audience wanted to know if Marshfield were to open a clinic in Colfax, how soon would it be up and running?

Polenz said he would have to make a proposal to Marshfield Clinic’s leadership within 30 days to get a “yes” or “no” answer yet this year.

Marshfield also would have to recruit a physician’s assistant and a nurse practitioner to work in Colfax.

“It is not as much getting a clinic ready to go as it is getting staff,” Polenz said.

“It is a challenge to recruit in a small community,” he said.

One woman noted she has to drive to Bloomer regularly for a finger prick and making the trip is getting old.

Medical records

Colfax resident Marge Hernandez wondered if people regularly see doctors in the Mayo Clinic system, would the patient have to switch all of his or records to Marshfield to see a Marshfield doctor?

“It is up to you who you want to see … we will not say you have to see a Marshfield doctor,” Polenz said.

Hernandez also wondered how medical records would be switched from the Mayo system to Marshfield.

Most medical records are digital now, so the records can be transferred electronically, Polenz said.

In response to another question from the audience, even if a patient transfers his or records from one health system to another, the original health system must keep those records on file for a certain number of years, he said.

Colfax resident Gary Stene said he understood the concern about seeing different doctors but also wanted people to remember that “your records are your records … as consumers, your records are yours.”

Stene noted he is a lifelong resident of Colfax, and that as far back as he could remember, Colfax has always had at least one doctor if not two.

“I think this is a huge deal for our community,” he said.

One Marshfield staff person pointed out that she travels to many of Marshfield’s small centers, and “they all have a hometown feel. (Clinic staff) know your name,” she said.

As for transferring records, Marshfield has staff whose speciality is records “and they can help you with appointments and records. There are folks who will help you with that process … they are a phone call away,” she said.

If Marshfield were to locate in Colfax, primary care would be provided by physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners, but doctors from Marshfield Clinic in Menomonie could “fill in the gaps” by working in Colfax a half day a week, Polenz said.

Recruiting doctors for a rural area is a difficult task, so Marshfield would look for an experienced physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner, Polenz said.