Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative Secures Financing to Open Full-Service Hospital in August 2027

Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative (CVHC) has secured the financing to open more departments as a full-service hospital in Chippewa Falls in August 2027.

The financing combines philanthropic gifts and grants raised from the community with loans from Frandsen Bank & Trust and Northwestern Bank. The hospital will add critical core services next summer and open additional departments quickly thereafter. This approach gets full hospital care back to the Chippewa Valley sooner, on a sound financial foundation, with a clear path to expand.

The announcement marks the next major step for the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative, the nonprofit, community-owned organization formed in February 2024 after HSHS closed Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals and 19 Prevea clinics. Those closures left more than 70,000 patients without consistent local care and removed approximately a third of the region’s hospital capacity.

“Two and a half years ago, this community refused to accept that losing our hospitals was the end of the story,” said Mike Sanders, CEO of Chippewa Valley Cooperative Hospital. “Today we can say with confidence: the Chippewa Valley is getting its locally-owned hospital. The financing is in place, the physicians are ready, and the date is set.”

Built on Community Investment and Local Banking

The financing package brings together two sources of strength: the community and its local banks. Since the Cooperative formed, residents, businesses, foundations, and more than 100 physicians across the Chippewa Valley have contributed more than $14 million in philanthropic gifts and grants. Frandsen Bank & Trust and Northwestern Bank are providing loan financing that closes the gap so the Cooperative can open as a full-service hospital.

“Our banking partners did their homework, and they said yes,” said Robert Krause, chair of the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative Board of Directors. “That is a vote of confidence in our plan, our physicians, and our members. When local banks invest in a local hospital, it tells you this is built to last.”

Neil Mathwig, Frandsen Bank & Trust regional president added, "The Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative represents an exciting investment in the future of our community. We're pleased to support this important project that will provide essential access to critical health care."

Northwestern Bank CEO Tracey Smiskey shared why their support was a natural fit for the bank, saying “At the heart of our mission as a community bank is the belief that strong communities begin with people caring for one another. We’re proud to support the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative and its work to strengthen the health and well-being of our neighbors throughout the Chippewa Valley.”

Designed to Open Strong and Grow Fast

The Cooperative’s board and leadership team chose a disciplined path: open with the core services a full-service hospital requires, then add departments as demand is demonstrated and additional financing is secured.

The Chippewa Falls hospital will open in August 2027 with:

• A 24/7 emergency department staffed by board-certified emergency physicians

• 10 inpatient beds

• Surgery department

• Full endoscopy services

• Full diagnostic and imaging services

The facility plan reserves space and infrastructure so additional departments and hospital beds can come online quickly. Each expansion will be driven by patient need in the Chippewa Valley, not by distant corporate priorities. Labor and Delivery, Intensive Care, and additional departments will be added through 2027 and 2028.

The Cooperative Hospital Cancer Center and Wound Care Center are already serving hundreds of patients on campus.

“We designed this hospital plan the way a smart community builds anything: open strong, earn trust, and grow,” said Sanders. “The need here is proven. Our region has been short on beds, operating rooms, emergency capacity, and specialty care since 2024. This plan lets us meet that need in steps we can sustain for generations.”

When the hospital opens, patients who come to the Emergency Department will be able to stay close to home for the care they need, instead of being transferred hours away.

More than 100 local physicians joined by additional advanced practice providers, who care for more than 50,000 patients in the region, have agreed to join the medical staff of the Cooperative Hospital.

“This is what our patients have been waiting for,” said Erik Dickson, MD, Cooperative board member. “For two years, we have watched patients travel to Rochester, the Twin Cities, Madison, Milwaukee, and Wausau for care that belongs here. In August 2027, we bring that care home.”

Cancer Center and Wound Care Center: Proof the Model Works

The Cooperative is not starting from zero. Two Centers of Excellence are already open on the Chippewa Falls campus and operating at capacity.

The Cancer Center opened in fall 2025 and provides medical oncology and infusion services with more than 450 patient visits a month. Patients who once drove one to three hours for treatment now receive care close to home during one of the most difficult times of their lives. Its multidisciplinary cancer conferences bring specialists together to coordinate care for each patient.

“Every month matters when patients need cancer treatment,” said Mihailo Lalich, MD, Medical Director of the Cooperative Hospital Cancer Center. “Our stream of new patients are proof of what local care makes possible. We are busy because the need is real.”

The Wound Care Center opened in April 2026 under Medical Director Emily Mason, MD. Its two hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers tripled the region’s hyperbaric treatment capacity. The Center treats diabetic ulcers, surgical wounds, burns, radiation-related tissue damage, and other complex wounds. It now provides more than 350 patient visits a month, helping patients heal and avoid hospitalizations and amputations.

"Being able to care for people in my hometown has been my priority throughout my years in medical practice,” said Dr. Mason. “I am grateful that our community has options for treatment that are close to home and I look forward to local access to medical treatment growing."

A Community-Owned Hospital, Accountable to the People It Serves

“Every milestone happened because our neighbors stepped up,” said Patti Darley, vice chair of the Cooperative Board of Directors. “Our 1,600 members, our donors, our physicians, and now our banking partners have shown what a community can do when it decides to take care of its own.”

The hospital will create 150 additional jobs at opening, with additional positions being filled as departments are added. Keeping care local also keeps healthcare dollars and high-quality jobs in the Chippewa Valley.

The Cooperative will share details on services, hiring, and its opening timeline in the months ahead.