Gov. Evers, Marshfield Clinic Health System: Celebrate progress on critical healthcare infrastructure project in park falls

Park Falls project received $20 million through governor’s Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Grant Program to expand access to healthcare in rural Wisconsin

PARK FALLS — Gov. Tony Evers today visited Parks Falls to celebrate the phase one completion of Marshfield Clinic Health System’s partial hospital replacement project. In 2022, the governor awarded $20 million through the Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Grant Program—a program created by Gov. Evers using federal pandemic relief funds Wisconsin received under the American Rescue Plan Act—to address the facility’s aging infrastructure, improve outdated inpatient rooms, create a dedicated urgent care space, and bring new sleep study and retail pharmacy services to the hospital. To date, more than $100 million in grants have been awarded to support more than 25 healthcare infrastructure projects statewide to address healthcare access needs in communities across the state, including the project at Marshfield Medical Center-Park Falls. 

“Every Wisconsinite should have access to affordable, high-quality healthcare in our state, but we know that rural communities often face their own unique challenges that can stand in the way of folks getting the care they need,” said Gov. Evers. “My administration was proud to be a partner in supporting the construction of this facility, which bridges an important gap in healthcare access and will allow Marshfield Clinic to continue providing the highest quality of care to folks in the Park Falls community and surrounding areas.” 

The Marshfield Medical Center-Park Falls Critical Access Hospital was built in 1966, and the governor’s $20 million investment through the Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Grant Program is supporting substantial and transformational upgrades to modernize the facility and enhance the quality of care for patients. This facility also bridges an important gap in healthcare coverage in rural Wisconsin as the next closest similar medical facility is approximately an hour away, and these funds have allowed the facility to stay open to continue to serve the community and bridge this gap, while keeping jobs in the area and helping to attract and retain new medical professionals. The governor previously participated in the kickoff event for construction on the project in 2023, and the project is set to be finished in 2025. 

Since 2019, Gov. Evers has been working to expand access to quality, affordable healthcare for all Wisconsinites, including in the state’s most rural communities, which often face additional hurdles in ensuring residents have access to healthcare. These efforts have included previous budget investments to increase support for rural healthcare providers and initiatives to invest in the state’s healthcare infrastructure, such as the Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Grant Program. This program was created by Gov. Evers to invest in capital projects that specifically support increasing access to healthcare for low-income, uninsured, and underserved communities.  

As part of his 2023-25 biennial budget, Gov. Evers proposed investing $100 million in the Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Grant Program, which was previously supported by federal pandemic relief aid. Unfortunately, the provision was ultimately removed by Republican lawmakers in the Wisconsin State Legislature during the budget process.