By Adam Hocking

Editor

MARSHFIELD — The Marshfield Clinic has picked an Eau Claire-based company, Grace Lutheran Communities, to manage its new comfort and recovery suites in its ambulatory surgery centers in Marshfield, Eau Claire, and Wausau, according to a press release from Marshfield Clinic today.

Marshfield Clinic owns the comfort and recovery suites, which are designated as a skilled nursing facility, and in Marshfield will be located in the East Wing.

“While Marshfield Clinic will own the buildings, Grace Lutheran Communities will be the licensed provider of nursing and rehab services,” the release said.

Grace Lutheran Communities, the release said, has expertise in managing these kinds of facilities. Construction on the comfort and recovery suites in Marshfield and Eau Claire is expected to be done by early November, and construction in Wausau will be completed in December.

The Marshfield comfort and recovery suites will contain 20 beds. Wausau and Eau Claire will have 12 beds. The release said that across the three locations 75 jobs would be created to staff the facilities.

“We’re so excited to partner with Marshfield Clinic to develop the short-term rehab centers,” said Grace Lutheran Communities CEO Mike Christensen. “We have decades of experience managing our own centers dedicated to helping our friends and neighbors recover from injuries. This team now stands poised to deliver quality rehab service for more people than ever before.”

“We at Marshfield Clinic appreciate and value the work Grace Lutheran does to improve the health of Chippewa Valley residents,” said Scott Polenz, district administrator, Marshfield Clinic. “And, we look forward to partnering with such an esteemed organization to provide care to even more Wisconsin residents who are cared for at Clinic ambulatory surgery centers. It’s a truly innovative approach to care and reflects our vision for the future of health care.”

The comfort and recovery suites will be connected the ambulatory surgery centers in these facilities and provide around-the-clock access to care, the release said.