CHIPPEWA VALLEY (NBC 26) — Hospital Sisters Health System and Prevea Health announced Monday hospitals in clinics in the Chippewa Valley in Western Wisconsin are shutting down.
The healthcare systems said in a news release HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls, and all Prevea locations in the Chippewa Valley are permanently closing.
Most closures are expected to happen on or before April 21 of this year, the release said. Prevea residency clinics will close on or before June 30.
The healthcare systems said the decision comes after operational and financial stress due to the pandemic, inflation, workforce constraints, local market challenges and other trends.
The healthcare systems said the closures impact 1,082 HSHS and 325 Prevea staff. They will get support services and career transition help, the release said.
“We made this decision with a heavy heart as HSHS Sacred Heart and HSHS St. Joseph’s have been treasured ministries of the Hospital Sisters for more than 140 years,” HSHS President & CEO Damond Boatwright said in the release. “We extend our deepest gratitude to our colleagues, physicians and volunteers for their countless contributions — all of which have shaped the Hospital Sisters’ healing legacy. The mission behind that legacy will guide and sustain us as we move forward.”
“We are saddened by this outcome and recognize it will have an impact for our patients in these communities in the Chippewa Valley,” Prevea President & CEO Dr. Ashok Rai said in the release. “Together with HSHS, we are focused on ensuring continuity of care for patients as well as helping them transition their care to other area hospitals and providers.”
