Ascension Wisconsin investing $10 million in Southeast Wisconsin behavioral health hub

Nov. 19, 2024

Ascension Wisconsin is making a $10 million investment in behavioral health services, creating a comprehensive behavioral health hub at Ascension St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee to serve the Southeast Wisconsin region.

"Residents across the communities we serve have consistently told us that increased access to behavioral health services is a top priority," said Daniel Jackson, ministry market CEO, Ascension Wisconsin and senior vice president, Ascension. "We are configuring our services to answer that call, while also ensuring that we are best positioned to achieve long-term sustainability and continue to deliver high-quality care well into the future."

The extensive behavioral health center to be developed at Ascension St. Francis Hospitalwill build upon the robust behavioral health program already at that site and will provide an array of therapies and care access across the continuum-from outpatient, to partial hospitalization, to complete inpatient care for adolescents and adults-with the goal of up to 60 available inpatient beds.

Addiction treatment services offering integrated, collaborative care with same-day visits and recovery coaches will also be available. Outpatient behavioral health services at all Ascension Wisconsin hospitals will remain as they are today - local and close to home.

The behavioral health hub at St. Francis exemplifies Ascension Wisconsin's strategy of providing broad access to lower acuity interventions and medical management services - such as primary care - while concentrating higher acuity, specialized care - like inpatient behavioral health or labor and delivery services - at centralized locations to optimize patient care and necessary resources, including equipment and clinicians.

"The three factors at the forefront of our investment decisions and ongoing service offerings are quality, viability and sustainability," Jackson said. "By prioritizing the safety and well-being of our patients and ensuring we can consistently and sustainably offer our services and programs at the highest level possible, we can deliver on our shared vision of providing exceptional care to the people of Wisconsin for generations to come," Jackson said.

Construction has begun at St. Francis Hospital to increase behavioral health inpatient capacity, and is scheduled to be completed by July 2025.

St. Francis Hospital will continue to operate its emergency room, operating rooms, and wide range of inpatient and outpatient health services.