News

From Insight on Business — ThedaCare Medical Center-Fond du Lac, the health system’s ninth hospital will welcome its first patients April 16. The organization broke ground on then $35 million hospital in February 2024. The 25,000-square-foot hospital has emergency care, inpatient beds, and 24/7 coverage with board-certified emergency medicine physicians.

From Becker’s Clinical Leadership — Froedtert Hospital is among 168 health systems and medical centers that Optum may refer its commercial payer and employer clients to for complex transplant needs. Optum conducts an annual evaluation process alongside a national panel of industry experts to assess providers across the country, which offers patients a wide range of benefits — including more accurate diagnoses, higher survival rates and lower out-of-pocket costs.

From The Journal of Healthcare Contracting — Jack Koczela, director of supply chain systems at Froedtert ThedaCare Health, was one of four supply chain executives who have nurtured deep ties with clinicians to share their insights on clinical integration. As a health care supply chain leader, Koczela expresses interest in clinicians’ focus on integrating outcomes and clinical data into supply chain contracting decisions, supply chain sourcing decisions and formulary management.

From CBS58 — Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network is working with the Milwaukee Health Department to introduce a Mobile Maternal Clinic to provide services to expectant and postpartum mothers. Services include prenatal and postnatal exams, vaccination administration, family planning, screening for STIs, postpartum depression and cervical cancer, access to psychiatric and psychological services and access to lactation services.

From TMJ4 — Bob Wagner has spent the last six years fighting against the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. He and his wife Debbie shared their family's story to help raise awareness of the disease. Ahmed Obeidat, MD, PhD, Froedtert & MCW neurologist, said they tried several different common treatments before expanding their options to find the correct cocktail of medicines.

From News Graphic — The Cedarburg Chamber of Commerce and its ambassadors celebrated the Froedtert & MCW clinic, which opened March 31, at N69W5269 Columbia Road. The clinic offers internal medicine and pediatric care, plus diagnostic lab services. 

From TMJ4 — April kicks off Donate Life month to encourage people to register to be an organ donor. A Waukesha woman did not just register, she donated her kidney to a complete stranger. Ty Dunn, MD, Froedtert & MCW transplant surgeon, talked about the need for organ donors — particularly kidney donors. She said diabetes and high blood pressure are driving the need for kidneys. There are currently 90,000 people waiting to get a kidney in the country. It is the number one needed organ.

From Becker's Clinical Leadership — Amir Ghaferi, MD, Froedtert & MCW bariatric surgeon, was one of three experts discussing the future of bariatric surgery in the wake of new weight loss drugs. He believes bariatric surgery will continue to be the gold standard for managing severe obesity and its associated conditions. He added that we should embrace these new medications as an important element of our broader toolkit for weight management. Hospitals and health systems can significantly improve community health outcomes by investing in comprehensive weight management programs that include all treatment options.

From the Waukesha Freeman — The statistics are harrowing. According to the most recent data compiled by the City of Milwaukee Health Department Community Health Assessment and the Office of Violence Prevention: 86% of victims of gun violence in Milwaukee are Black; 82% of victims of gun violence are Black men; and 46.7% of those victims are between the ages of 18 – 29. The story included the 2023 Medical College of Wisconsin partnership with Milwaukee Health Services Inc., Froedtert Health and Children’s Wisconsin to develop the state’s first Teaching Health Center (THC). The THC designation came with the ability to offer a new family medicine residency designed to bring more family physicians to Milwaukee neighborhoods suffering the worst healthcare shortages.

From Spectrum 1 News — Just over 20,000 people are living with multiple sclerosis in Wisconsin. Ahmed Obeidat, MD, a Froedtert & MCW neurologist, said MS impacts everyone differently, whether it’s vision changes, weakness or cognitive changes.

From AP News — Layer Health, a leading health technology company leveraging advanced AI to revolutionize chart review, today announced $21 million in Series A funding. Layer Health’s technology streamlined quality data abstraction for the Froedtert & MCW health network, reducing the time required by more than 65%. This efficiency allowed staff to redirect their efforts toward higher-value tasks, enhancing both operational productivity and care delivery.

From Spectrum News 1 — Five years have passed since the start of the pandemic. Mary Beth Graham, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control for Froedtert Hospital, was one of the health care professionals looking back on the work done during unprecedented times. Dr. Graham said thinking about the toll the pandemic took is still very raw for a lot of people.

From MDLinx — Rucking (walking with a weighted backpack or “rucksack”) is gaining popularity as a low-impact, full-body exercise. Karie Zach, MD, a Froedtert & MCW board-certified sports medicine physician at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin, shared the details of a study that found rucking “improved cardiorespiratory demand,” meaning that the exercise could be particularly helpful for patients trying to lose weight.

From Newsweek — The Froedtert & MCW health network was included in Newsweek's 2025 list of America's Greatest Workplaces for Women. Employers were judged based on their proactive management of a diverse workforce, sustainability and awareness, compensation and benefits, training and career progression, work-life balance, working environment, company image and corporate culture.

From Spectrum News 1 — In June 2023, Roger Thompson received a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Rajakrishnan Vijayakrishnan, MD, Froedtert & MCW cardiologist, talked about how an LVAD can help those with end stage heart failure extend and improve their lives. 

From HealthTech — Bradley Crotty, MD, president and chief digital officer at Inception Health and chief digital engagement officer at the Froedtert & MCW health network, talked about our digital-first primary care model, through which patients can begin their journeys virtually with AI agents, then be directed to a clinician. There’s also conversational AI in the system’s call center and on its website.

From Fox News — A Wisconsin doctor achieved a once-in-a-lifetime feat this month when he participated in seven marathons on seven different continents — seven days in a row. T. Clark Gamblin, MD, a Froedtert & MCW cancer surgeon, is a testicular cancer survivor who ran in the World Marathon Challenge from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6. Dr. Gamblin represented the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the most pervasive cancer impacting young men.

From TMJ4 —  A Grafton runner continues to beat the odds on Valentine's Day, one year after receiving a heart transplant at Froedtert Hospital. Derek shared his story during National Heart Month to encourage others to keep their bodies and hearts healthy. Rajakrishnan Vijayakrishnan, MD, FACC, was one of the cardiologists on Lindstrom's care team. Vijayakrishnan said Lindstrom was the model patient who worked extremely hard to achieve his goals.

From the Ozaukee County News Graphic — Froedtert & MCW Mequon Health Center at 11430 N. Port Washington Road is undergoing expansion on its first and third floors. The project began on Jan. 6 with work on the first floor, which included adding DXA scanning for bone density and five new non-oncology infusion chairs. The space on the third floor is being built out to include a Cancer Center. All specialty clinics, including cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, neurology and psychiatry, will be moved to the third floor as well. Two new specialties — urology and pulmonary — will also be offered at the Health Center once the project is completed in August.

From Healthcare IT Today — Melek Somai, MPH, vice president, chief technology and chief product officer at Inception Health and the Froedtert & MCW health network, talked about the “clinical technology stack” at Inception Health.

From Telemundo Wisconsin — National Wear Red Day is celebrated on the first Friday in February. The American Heart Association promotes the event to raise awareness about women's heart health. According to the American Heart Association, 44% of women are aware that cardiovascular disease is their top health risk. Jorge Saucedo, Froedtert & MCW cardiologist, spoke about the importance of prevention and early education, and encouraged you to wear red to support the AHA's advocacy efforts.