Sept. 9, 2022 1:30p
(WGTD)---Froedtert Kenosha Hospital--located off of Sheridan Rd. and 63rd St.--is closing its Emergency Room as part of a continuing shift of services westward to Froedtert Pleasant Prairie. But it's also adding inpatient mental health and rehabilitation services.
In a announcement posted on Facebook, Froedtert South President and CEO Rick Schmidt said the ER will be replaced with a 24/7 urgent care center to provide "much needed, cost-effective care for minor, non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries."
Emergency department and other inpatient services will be transitioned to its newer facilities in Pleasant Prairie off of Highway 50, according to the release.
"Our commitment to the people of Kenosha and to Kenosha County as a whole is strong," said Schmidt. The recent pivot to turn empty wings in the downtown hospital into COVID wards demonstrated that commitment, Schmidt said. "We look forward to continuing to find ways to provide exceptional and compassionate care while we promote the well-being of those we serve."
In 2019, surgical and "interventional" services were moved from Kenosha to Pleasant Prairie, the release said. Additional "repositioning" was put on hold because of COVID.
The announcement of pending changes, although rumored for months, caught the Kenosha Fire Department's EMS Director, Nick Eschmann, by surprise.
While city rescue squads were already transporting many critically ill patients to either Froedtert or Aurora in Pleasant Prairie, paramedics will no longer have the option of using the downtown ER. "It's something we will have to work through," Eschmann said. "Everybody has the same interest of our citizens at heart."
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