Oshkosh, WI Residents Have A Healthy Outlook
Discover how area health care providers are taking patient care to another level.
Oshkosh-area residents rest easy knowing the area has several top-quality wellness options that offer everything from cutting-edge procedures to long-term care. The largest local health care providers are Ascension Northeast Wisconsin-Mercy Campus, Oshkosh’s first hospital; Aurora Medical Center, a full-service provider known for its emergency services as well as many on-site specialists; and ThedaCare, a community health system with several specialists in Oshkosh and the first in the state to be a Mayo Clinic Care Network member, meaning that ThedaCare physicians have access to Mayo Clinic doctors who can do direct consults.
Ascension NE Wisconsin-Mercy Campus
Ascension is a faith-based health care organization and one of the leading nonprofit and Catholic health systems in the United States, known for giving special attention to persons living in poverty. In FY2019, Ascension provided $2 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs.
“Ascension Mercy gives compassionate and personalized care to all the people we serve, especially the vulnerable, and across the Fox Valley, we provide beds and mental services for children, adolescents and seniors,†says Courtney Shears, RN, Ascension Mercy Hospital director of patient care services. “For example, we have a psychiatric unit in Oshkosh that offers mental health care specifically tailored to seniors with bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety. Then we have a Medical Mission at Home program, which delivers free medical care to those who wouldn’t have access to the typical care.”
Shears adds that Ascension medical services also include emergency and cardiac care, women’s and family services, behavioral health, physical therapy and much more. “The most rewarding part of working at Ascension Mercy is witnessing the compassion that caregivers provide to our patients every day, with every nurse, physician and therapist working as a team,†she says. “We’re all here to do our absolute best.”
Aurora Medical Center
With accolades including being ranked as the second safest hospital in the nation, Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh has also earned national recognition for its breast care center and stroke program. Also available to patients is a Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic and several specialty medical services.
“We have a focus here that adds a level of support to the community needs: orthopedic, sports medicine, cardiovascular, electrophysiology and a vascular program,†says Shane Carter, Aurora Medical Center vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer. “Our new initiative is the growth of our NICU. We’re progressing to a Level 2 center, adding neonatologists and nurse practitioners to have the ability to take care of younger neonates.”
“We’ve raised over $100,000 for the center, including building out a new space with private rooms and bathrooms,†Carter says. “Part of those funds is also earmarked toward having a 24/7 call team that can respond to needs of patients. There’s a significant increase in need for that.”
ThedaCare
As the third largest health care employer in Wisconsin, ThedaCare is a community health system of seven hospitals and 35 clinics, and more than 235,000 patients in 14 counties are served by ThedaCare.
“Our mission is to improve the health of the communities we serve, which is important to all of our team members because these are also the communities where we live – our patients are our neighbors,†says Dr. Mark Cockley, ThedaCare chief clinical officer and president of the Clinically Integrated Network. “Ultimately, we are caring for the teachers at our children’s school and the person in line next to us at the grocery store. We want them to live the healthiest lives possible.”
Cockley points out that ThedaCare is the only Level 2 trauma center in Northeast Wisconsin, and its ThedaStar helicopter picks up patients from neighboring counties.
“We are the first in the area to receive and take care of patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AFib) using the WATCHMAN Device,” he says. “With an irregular heart rate, patients need to have blood thinners 90-95 percent of the time, and this device and procedure allows them to go off those medications. We are also the first in the region to offer the MitraClip procedure to replace leaky mitral heart valves.”