Wausau Family Medicine Residency Program Moves to New Facility
Each year, more than 12,000 patients receive highly skilled medical care at the University of Wisconsin’s Wausau Family Medicine Residency Program. That number is expected to climb even higher in 2008, thanks to the opening of the Aspirus Medical Education Center. The two-story, 29,000 square-foot facility, opening in March 2008, will be a focal point for patient treatment, recruitment of residents and community education.
Dr. Kevin O’Connell, program director, says the $6.5 million center is a welcome replacement to the freestanding facility that housed the residency program for more than 25 years. Now located on the campus of Aspirus Wausau Hospital, the building is more visible and accessible to the community.
“We’ll operate in a much more functional style,” O’Connell says. “Services available to patients will be the same, but the focus will change from provider-centered to patient-centered.”
From information-filled waiting areas to tech-savvy exam rooms, AMEC’s state-of-the-art facility is designed with the focus on education and patient satisfaction. A patient education center provides patients access to online information with printing and video capabilities, while electronic medical records and online health tools allow physicians to print medical material specific to each patient’s condition.
AMEC’s investment in the latest medical technology also means added convenience and privacy for patients.
“As smaller equipment becomes available, we’re doing everything we can to bring equipment to the patient’s room,” O’Connell says. “Portability and miniaturization of technology are very important.”
Digital X-rays, hearing and vision screenings, and a full-service lab are just a few of the many services offered at AMEC.
In addition, a central patient-business services area means patients need only make one stop for all follow-up care before leaving.
On the second floor, classrooms, a multipurpose room and 64-person amphitheater provide convenient meeting places for group sessions, continuing education programs, educational forums and more. O’Connell says the rooms will be used by the broader health-care community as well as residents, medical staff and patients. Health programs, faculty offices and a community resource office for education also are housed upstairs.
“One of our core missions is community service,” O’Connell says. “We have a lot of health learners, but we’re here as a community asset and want to be able to give back.”
O’Connell hopes the center also will attract and facilitate additional health learners, including third- and fourth-year medical students. Currently, the program provides training to 18 family medicine residents each year.
“Being more than just a residency program is part of our goal. This is an exciting point in time for us, and it’s generating excitement in the community as well. It’s like a new start,” he says.
