Aurora puts new hospital on the table

Oconomowoc Focus, January 4, 2007

Gabe Wollenburg, staff writer

Town of Summit - Aurora Health Care has upped the number of beds proposed for its Town of Summit hospital from 88 to 110, according to planning documents delivered to town officials Tuesday.

Also, the estimated cost of the project has climbed. Now Aurora expects construction of the facility to cost $189 million.

"It's bigger, and it's expected to cost more now," said Town of Summit Chairman Len Susa. "But doesn't everything cost more now, two and a half years down the road?"

Aurora officials, however, explain the discrepancies between the hospital that was first pitched in April 2004 and the hospital pitched Tuesday as a mater of planning and forward thinking.

"You're really looking at a more-detailed plan," said David Ulery, an Oconomowoc pediatrician and president of Aurora Wilkinson Medical Clinic.

Calling the proposal that was filed in Summit on Tuesday a "more detailed" version of the hospital plan, Ulery admitted that in the time between the first proposal and the latest one, Aurora has incorporated additional ideas and tried to adapt from experiences it has had in the interim.

"Our goal was to give it a little more foresight," he said. "We went into this one planning for a hospital that will open in 2009."

Also, he said, the major cost increases have to do with inclusion of expenses such as landscaping and lighting. Those figures weren't factored in 2004, he said.

As far as material additions to the proposed hospital, Ulery said he didn't think Aurora's designers and planners have added anything they didn't anticipate back in 2004. Things such as increased cardiac care, a cancer center and fully electronic patient recordkeeping were always in the plans, he said.

According to a statement sent out by Aurora on Tuesday, the new medical center also will feature a new model of patient-centered care.

"We are working throughout our organization to make sure that we design care around the needs of our patients," said Donald J. Nestor, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Aurora Health Care. "You will see this emphasis reflected in every aspect of this new hospital."

The hospital will have 110 patient rooms, all of them private, and each with a full bathroom. Aurora says the patient rooms will feature homelike furnishings, individual temperature controls, warm colors, natural wood trim and other amenities to ensure that a hospital stay is as comfortable as possible.

The medical center will be built at the southeast corner of I-94 and Highway 67. It will occupy part of a 156-acre triangle of land in the Town of Summit that Pabst Farms developers have designated for healthcare-related development.

The 53-acre hospital campus will feature extensive landscaping and include a "healing garden," providing a tranquil retreat for patients, family members and staff. A paved walking path will ring the campus.

Construction of the hospital was considerably delayed by the failure of the Waukesha County Board of Supervisors to approve a land-use change that would have allowed a hospital on the site.

The City of Oconomowoc was convinced to use its extraterritorial zoning power to pave the way for the hospital development in a deal cut with Aurora officials that dismissed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the city and several city officials.

Susa said he was pleased that the plans showed a commitment to creating more than 50-percent green space on the land. "That is important to the Town of Summit," he said.

Also, Susa said he was very pleased with the outside appearance of the proposed facility. "The architecture will set the standard for the rest of the development," he said. "It's going to be a great gateway to our community."

The medical center will incorporate a 593,000-square-foot hospital and a 180,000-square-foot medical office building. The office building will be the new home for the physicians and staff of Aurora Wilkinson Medical Clinic, which has outgrown its space in Oconomowoc. Aurora will explore new uses for the clinic building at 915 Summit Ave. in Oconomowoc.

The services now available at the new Aurora Wilkinson Women's Center at 1284 Summit Ave. in Oconomowoc also will move to the new medical center when it opens, along with the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic that will open soon next door to the women's center. The Wilkinson Clinic locations in other communities will continue to operate.

Total initial employment at the medical center is estimated at 950 full- and part-time employees, including the Wilkinson Clinic employees who will move from the Oconomowoc locations.

The proposal will be officially unveiled to go to the Town of Summit Plan Commission on Jan. 18, and, according to Summit Town Administrator Henry Elling, a special meeting to discuss the hospital proposal will be held Jan. 29 or 30.

According to Elling, a copy of the filing is available at Summit Town Hall, 2911 N. Dousman Road, for public inspection.

AURORA MEDICAL CENTER PROPOSAL AT A GLANCE

Aurora Health Care released a fact sheet Tuesday that outlined several key points found in the design documents submitted to Town of Summit officials Tuesday.

Here are some of them:

• a modern, efficient design that emphasizes comfort and convenience for patients and their families
• the latest technology for diagnosis and treatment
• a full-service emergency department staffed 24 hours a day by physicians board certified in emergency medicine
• 110 patient rooms, all private, and each with a full bath, homelike furnishings and separate temperature controls
• large rooms for labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum care
• cardiovascular services, including heart catheterization labs
• a comprehensive cancer center, including radiation oncology and a Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic
• an easy-to-navigate floor plan with patient corridors separate from those used by the public
• comfortable family lounges
• a cafeteria
• a gift shop
• a chapel
• a community education room
• a retail pharmacy
• a vision center
• a new, expanded Aurora Wilkinson Medical Clinic with offices for primary-care physicians and specialists
• separate entrances for inpatient care, the medical office building, the cancer center, ambulatory surgery and the emergency department, each with a covered patient dropoff area, and each with convenient adjacent parking
• extensive landscaping, including a tranquil healing garden for the enjoyment of patients, family members and staff
• a convenient Pabst Farms location at I-94 and Highway 67 providing easy access for residents from throughout western Waukesha County
• an estimated project cost of $189 million
• an expected summer 2009 completion date for the medical center