For Hub City Times

MARSHFIELD — Marshfield Clinic welcomes area community members to tour the new comfort and recovery suites from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Construction of the 20-bed facility in Marshfield Clinic’s East Wing is completed and scheduled to open for patient care later this month.

During the open house clinic staff will lead tours of the suites, which are designed for post-surgery patients to quickly return to good health.

These new post-surgery areas, referred to in the health care industry as skilled nursing facilities, have a small number of beds in private suites that provide patients with 24-hour access to care and medical staff, including physicians and nurses. The suites, physically connected to an ambulatory surgery center (ASC), are part of Marshfield Clinic’s ASC expansion of services. They fulfill basic health care needs for patients to get back to health during a short-term stay.

Patients will typically spend three to five days recovering from surgery and other procedures completed in the ASC and can rest comfortably in the private, suite-like rooms with their families. Each suite includes a private bathroom and shower, in-suite dining, a work space, wireless internet access, and a sleeper sofa. Patients who also require physical therapy can begin rehabilitation during their stay.

Eau Claire-based Grace Lutheran Communities, which brings expertise in managing such facilities, will provide services at the comfort and recovery suites owned by Marshfield Clinic. This collaboration was announced in September.

“Our goals are to provide superb patient experience in a high quality fashion that our patients deserve from Marshfield Clinic while helping them back to good health and home as quickly as possible,” said Scott Polenz, administrator, Marshfield Clinic. “Our collaboration with Grace Lutheran brings decades of experience and expertise in this type of setting that is comfortable for patients and their families.”

Construction of comfort and recovery suites at Marshfield Clinic centers in Eau Claire, Marshfield, and Wausau and the collaboration with Grace Lutheran Communities created 75 new jobs in the three locations. Facilities in Eau Claire have 12 beds and will be open to patient care Nov. 16. Wausau will have 12 beds, and an open house is scheduled in December.

“Technology and partnerships are improving care for so many people all over Wisconsin, and collaborating with Marshfield Clinic allows us to use our expertise to deliver quality rehab service for more people than ever before,” said Grace Lutheran Communities CEO Mike Christensen.

A demonstration of the da Vinci® Xi Surgical System, the most advanced surgical robot in the world, also will be held on Nov. 11 from 4-7 p.m. in East Wing Conference Room 5 near the comfort and recovery suites.

A mobile model, a replica of the fourth generation of this technology, travels the country to give the public a chance to see how it works. Demonstrations show how the robotic arm functions and performs more minimally invasive surgery.