Oct. 22, 2021
MINOCQUA – Construction of a 3,400-square foot ambulance base at Marshfield Medical Center-Minocqua is underway to house ambulances for the growing medical transport team.
The Marshfield Clinic Health System transport service, which began in December 2020, provides inter-facility transport service between the Health System's hospitals in Park Falls and Minocqua. The Minocqua ambulance base will be the first of its kind to support 24-hour inter-facility patient transport for the Health System.
Dr. Michael Schaars, vice president of medical affairs for Marshfield Medical Center-Minocqua and Marshfield Medical Center-Park Falls, said the need for a dedicated service has become apparent over the last year.
“We had initially planned on using outside services when we built the Minocqua Center but soon realized we'd have to open our own transport service," Schaars said. “Our dedicated transport team takes patients to all the hospitals in the Health System to see the specialists they need. The new base will indirectly improve patient services by improving staff capability with sleep rooms, training space, and storage for equipment."
The building will feature three garage bays for ambulance rigs, three sleep rooms for transport crews, an office, a kitchen and living room area, a bathroom, and a storage and work area that will include a training space.
The Marshfield Medical Center-Minocqua Critical Care Transport team is staffed by three full-time critical care paramedics, five full-time registered nurses and six full-time EMTs. Each ambulance is staffed 24/7 with critical care level paramedics and nurses, the highest level of care recognized by the State of Wisconsin. It can handle patients of all ages experiencing everything from major trauma to critical illness.
“Our patients never plan on being in an ambulance," said EMS Supervisor Britt Tucker. “Often they are having one of the worse days of their lives if they meet our transport team. They deserve the best care from our team. This bunk house gives our team a place to train and continually improve our skills to give exceptional care to those we serve. These quarters will help with retention of the current team and for recruiting other teammates allowing us to expand our services to not only the Minocqua community, but other communities as well."
Expansion of the transport service currently is being planned for Marshfield Medical Center-Weston with later expansion to the Chippewa Valley area.
