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The Perfect Balance of Big-City Technology & Personal, Small-Town Care

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Mile Bluff Medical Center is a nonprofit organization based in Mauston, Wisconsin. The hospital is uniquely located in the south-central portion of the state within a 70-mile radius of LaCrosse to the west and Madison to the south. It is the only hospital in Juneau County and serves a population of 55,000 residents in a five county rural region.

Mile Bluff Medical Center is dedicated to providing quality, family-centered health care to Juneau County and surrounding communities. Hess Memorial Hospital, a 40-bed acute care facility offering Urgent Care (evenings and weekends), Emergency Services (24 hours), Surgery, In-patient Services, a Birthing Center, and Outpatient Services (e.g.: Pharmacy, Chaplain, Laboratory and Social Services). Active physicians include 18 family practitioners (5 with sub-certifications in geriatric medicine*), 3 gynecologists, 2 podiatrists, 2 surgeons, and a pathologist. Consulting physicians represent 23 fields. Other medical professionals include 2 nurse practitioners, and 13 physician assistants. The facility is equipped with cardiac and industrial rehabilitation centers, audiology, and speech pathology laboratory, a sports medicine department and an EEG department.

In order to improve access to high quality health care in rural areas, Mile Bluff Medical Center owns and manages three community outreach clinics: the Elroy Family Medical Center, Necedah Family Medical Center and Delton Family Medical Center. The physicians who practice at Hess Memorial Hospital manage a third outreach clinic: the New Lisbon Clinic as well as Mile Bluff Clinic, LLP, which is physically attached to the hospital.

These clinics provide area residents with physician services, x-ray and laboratory services. Regular health promotion screenings are also provided at all of the outreach clinics. The Mile Bluff Clinic, LLP is connected to Mile Bluff Medical Center and is owned by the physicians. Patients can also be seen at the UW Specialty Clinic at the Medical Center.

A 60-bed Medicare-certified skilled-care nursing facility, Fair View Nursing Home, is attached to Hess Memorial Hospital (50% of the residents undergo rehabilitation and return to independent living). The medical center also owns and operates a 60-nursing home and Community Based Residential Facility in New Lisbon, Crest View Nursing Home. An additional sixteen beds are located in the Woodland Wing which is designed especially to care for Alzheimer’s/dementia patients. The Community Based Residential Facility (CBRF) houses 12 residents and also specializes in Alzheimer’s/dementia care. A 34-unit elderly living complex, Terrace Heights Retirement Community, is conveniently located adjacent to the hospital facility. In addition, Mile Bluff Medical Center offers hospice services, Hospice Touch, and home health (Hess Home Health) for in-home care.

The medical center actively advocates community education and participation in health promotion. Some of the programs offered to individuals in the community are cardiac rehabilitation, heart check (screening for heart disease), nutrition counseling (including weight loss and cholesterol management programs), diabetic instruction and smoking cessation counseling. Several support groups are offered. Classes and events appear weekly in the local newspaper and access cable station (Mauston Cable Channel 6) and are easily accessible to individuals in the service area. Mile Bluff Medical Center also works in collaboration with several community organizations including the Juneau County Health & Human Services Department, University of Wisconsin Extension Office, Western Technical College, Head Start and the Juneau County Tobacco Coalition. Support is provided to Juneau County’s school districts (speakers, screenings and other ancillary support).

Mile Bluff Medical Center is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and is a member of the Wisconsin Health and Hospital Association, the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, the Wisconsin Association of Homes & Services for the Aging and the National Rural Health Association.

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*The bluffs and scenic lakes of the area attract a large percentage of middle-aged retirees from the Milwaukee and Chicago area who move permanently to their vacation homes. Therefore, Mile Bluff Medical Center sees a higher proportion of patients over the age of 65 than do healthcare facilities in urban areas.