SHELL LAKE -- According to Administrator Shannon Jack, “Indianhead Medical Center’s building is a success due to the networking between the county, city and medical employees, all putting in their suggestions, and coming up with the best-plan scenario.”
Shannon started in his position five years ago, and he is pleased to see how this 50-year-old building can be revamped and revitalized to continue to serve patients efficiently and effectively.
By adding the completely new clinic to the hospital, there has been more room created for the six primary care providers along with a general surgeon. Included are the visiting specialists who work in the following fields - Urology, Orthopedics, Cardiology, and Podiatry.
The clinic has increased in size from 11 exam rooms to 16, including a room for lab draws with an extra-wide seat for a parent to share, a procedure room, an ultrasound room, several other unique rooms along with the basic examination rooms, and a generous waiting room with not only 20 chairs, but a coffee station. All of these services are centered around a reception area with two clinic check-in windows and one for the hospital.
Many of the x-rays and tests are done on a digital basis, which means that there is no longer a need to send them out for an expert to read. They are now immediately available digitally to read and respond to within minutes if needed.
The hospital has a new entrance, and it's through the main doors under the portico. The hospital will be revamping its space for a while longer.
The third floor is slated for offices. The second floor will be for sleep studies, inpatients and outpatients, some who come in for infusions. The Emergency Room will also be revamped, and the Physical Therapy department will be on the first floor. Other changes will take place as needed.
The decision was made right from the start to use as many local contractors as possible. Materials came from Lampert's, and the carpeting was all local. It was only when the committee couldn't find the right fit locally did part of the business go to Rice Lake contractors.
Now that the clinic has been demolished, its space will be turned into an extension added onto the old parking lot east of the facility.
The Sheriff's department was able to take advantage just before demolition began on the clinic by getting permission for their SWAT team to practice yelling and breaking in the old doors.
A beautiful helipad sits directly behind the clinic, and there is a bright and airy new pharmacy directly inside the main doors. Pharmacist Joe Hastreiter tells us that not only are they a fully functioning walk-in pharmacy, they also have a wide variety of over-the-counter drugs. They fill prescriptions for several assisted living facilities locally and in Rice Lake and Barron. The Shell Lake Pharmacy also offers in-town deliveries for Shell Lake. [Pictured is Shannon Jack]
These impressive new buildings are just some of the pieces in Shell Lake's unique and prosperous puzzle, with many more to be added. Even though the medical facility is coming to an end to their ambitious project, the massive building next door continues to grow in height, even during this bitter cold and snowy weather.
The target date of this massive city project is for this fall. From observing what's been done so far and how modern and efficient the medical facility is already, the end result of the entire project will be quite stunning and well worth the wait.
An open house for the new clinic is slated for Wednesday, January 22, from 5p -7p.
Last Update: Jan 23, 2020 7:11 am CST
