(March 11, 2005) — Three Milwaukee healthcare organizations are joining forces in a partnership that will operate the Sargeant Health Center, a new facility on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
Advanced Healthcare, Froedtert & Community Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin will jointly use the new outpatient surgery center, which will be staffed by both Advanced Healthcare and Medical College physicians. Shorter, less complicated surgeries will be the primary focus of the new center, which will be managed by Advanced Healthcare. The center is scheduled to open on Monday, March 14.
“The new outpatient surgery center responds to an increasing demand for surgical services at Froedtert Hospital,” said William D. Petasnick, President and CEO of Froedtert & Community Health. “Surgeries at the hospital have grown by 25% over the past five years, peaking at 15,000 cases in 2004. The new surgery center will enable us to expand our surgical capacity within the hospital by serving patients who have simpler procedures in an environment that is both more convenient and cost-effective,” he said.
“The collaboration is a natural outgrowth of the strong relationship between Advanced Healthcare and Community Memorial Hospital, which spans 40 years, and the equally solid, longstanding affiliation between the Medical College and Froedtert Hospital,” said Petasnick.
The arrangement strengthens Advanced Healthcare’s presence on the city’s West side, according to Eugene Monroe, M.D., president of Advanced Healthcare. “Our West side patients will appreciate the convenience of this new location,” he said. “This surgery center is a step toward Advanced Healthcare’s ongoing efforts to improve access and therefore increase the quality of our patients’ experience.”
Advanced Healthcare currently operates 14 clinics and two surgery centers in greater Milwaukee, with geographic concentration in the northern and western portions of the four-county area. In addition, Advanced Healthcare is a partner in a third surgery center located on the Community Memorial Hospital Campus. This new facility marks the fourth surgery center location.
T. Michael Bolger, J.D., president and CEO of the Medical College of Wisconsin, said the partnership is a sound strategic step made with the interests of patients at the forefront.
Michael J. Dunn, M.D., executive vice president and dean at the Medical College, said, “Patients undergoing less complicated procedures will benefit from this easily accessible outpatient environment. At the same time, the availability of additional operating rooms will make it easier for Medical College physicians to perform surgeries at Froedtert.” Froedtert is a major teaching hospital affiliate of the Medical College.
Dr. Dunn added that two Froedtert & The Medical College clinics currently located inside the hospital’s buildings, Internal Medicine and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, will relocate to the second floor of the new building by June 1. The move will free up space to expand existing Neurology and Otolaryngology clinics.
Located at 840 North 87th Street, north of Wisconsin Avenue and east of the hospital’s East Clinics entrance, the surgery center has 20,000 square feet with five operating and procedure rooms, preparation and recovery areas, and reception, waiting and support space. Two clinics will share 20,000 square feet on the second level, and the building design allows for expansion to accommodate future growth. An adjacent surface parking lot will ease access for patients.
About Harry W. Sargeant, MD
Harry W. Sargeant, MD, had a reputation for excellence in patient care. A native of Long Prairie, Minnesota, Dr. Sargeant was a 1914 graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Milwaukee (a former name of the Medical College of Wisconsin) and completed his residency at the County Hospital. World War I interrupted his pursuit of a surgical career when he served overseas as a captain in the Army Medical Corp. He returned to Milwaukee in 1922.
Dr. Sargeant became a key figure in the development of this academic health center. He developed the first medical education programs here when he served as the administrator of the Milwaukee County General Hospital. Under his direction, the hospital's teaching programs for physicians, nurses and allied health professionals became the largest in Milwaukee.
His sterling reputation for patient care and education impressed the Medical Center's planning consultants who found his educational programs equal to those of many teaching hospitals in the country. The hospital's prized capabilities in patient care, education and research became a principle element and focal point for the development of Froedtert Hospital on this campus and the development of the whole Milwaukee Regional Medical Center.
About Froedtert & Community Health
Froedtert & Community Health is a Milwaukee -based regional hospital system formed in 2001 by Froedtert Hospital and Community Memorial Hospital. Joining the capabilities of a 205-bed community hospital and a 414-bed academic medical center, Froedtert & Community Health delivers nationally recognized, cost-effective healthcare treatment and technologies from two hospitals and multiple clinic and program sites in southeastern Wisconsin. In 2004, adult patient admissions for Froedtert & Community Health totaled over 30,000. For more information, visit froedtert.com and communitymemorial.com.
About the Medical College of Wisconsin
Founded in 1893, the Medical College of Wisconsin is a private medical and graduate school dedicated to leadership and excellence in education, patient care, research, and community service. Its faculty includes more than 800 physicians who represent every specialty and sub-specialty in medicine.
About Advanced Healthcare
Advanced Healthcare is the largest physician-owned and physician-led multispecialty group practice in southeastern Wisconsin. Nearly 250 physicians represent more than 30 medical and surgical specialties as well as a full array of ancillary services at 14 locations in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Waukesha and Washington Counties.
For more information, contact: Dick Katschke, 414-456-4748, Medical College of Wisconsin; Karen Muth, 262-532-6886, Advanced Health Care; Carolyn Bellin, 414-805-2057, Froedtert & Community Health.