Mayo Clinic Begins Final Phase of Facility Redevelopment

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The Mayo Clinic Health System announced that the redevelopment of the vacant fifth floor in the Luther Building at the Eau Claire facility will start this February. According to a statement from the Mayo Clinic Health System on Jan. 4, the project will add environmentally friendly, state-of-the art features and will redevelop the current inpatient rooms located in the older part of the campus. The construction is the summit of a 15-year campus development plan, with the Luther Building being the final phase.

The $19 million project, which was funded by community donations throughout the past 30 years, will also redevelop the south wing of the fifth floor. Randall Linton, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System for northwest Wisconsin, said in the Leader Telegram that he is extremely grateful for the generosity and support of the community, and without the community’s help, the completion of the Luther Building would have been impossible.

The south wing will be the home of the Neuroscience, Pediatrics and Trauma Departments and will provide 20 additional rooms for inpatient care, according to a statement. For patients who will need a hospital stay less than 48 hours, the north wing of the facility will offer 20 rapid discovery and recovery rooms for the patients to stay in, according to the Leader Telegram. The rapid recovery rooms will allow the staff to closely monitor the patients, while also giving them a rehabilitation space. The fifth floor will feature a new rehabilitation center that will include physical, occupational and speech therapy close to the patient’s room.

In 2010, construction on the Luther Building, which gave the facility an additional 358,000 square feet and updated the old facilities, was completed, but the fifth floor has remained vacant until now. The patient rooms will include wireless Internet, showers and sound isolation as well as elements of nature used to decorate the space. The rooms will be very similar to the ones that were finished in 2010.

The building is expected to take about a year to renovate and has an estimated completion date of February 2017.