In March 2024, Milwaukee-based Froedtert ThedaCare Health broke ground on an $84 million hospital in Oshkosh, Wis. The facility will bring around 60 new jobs and is expected to be complete in late 2025.
Becker’s connected with Robert Cavagnol, MD, president of the North Region of Froedtert ThedaCare Health, and Jenny Nikolai, vice president of ThedaCare Medical Centers-Fond du Lac and Oshkosh, to discuss how the campus fits into the system’s expansion plan and how it is working to recruit and retain talent for the facility.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: How does the new Oshkosh campus fit into ThedaCare’s broader strategy for expanding care in the region?
Dr. Robert Cavagnol: At ThedaCare, our mission is to improve the health and well-being of our communities by empowering each person to live their unique, best life. Our goal is to make exceptional care effortless. That means going above and beyond treating a particular condition — it means helping each person achieve not just longer life, but also better health for life. We put patients and families first at every interaction.
Understanding each community’s specific needs allows us to remain proactive in care, to predict and prevent disease before complications arise. This is why we decided to build ThedaCare Medical Center-Oshkosh in the specific location. Nearly 73% of Oshkosh’s residents live east of Interstate 41, while most of the current healthcare services are located west of I-41, meaning east-side residents are more than 15 minutes away from a hospital or emergency room.
The new campus also rounds out clinical care we have been providing the Oshkosh community for years, including cancer care, behavioral health, urgent care, orthopedics, physical therapy, primary care, pediatrics and more.
The Oshkosh campus is designed to be different from other hospitals. When complete, the campus will be approximately 114,000 square feet, with an estimated $84 million investment. The hospital will have 24/7 emergency care and inpatient services. We will also provide comprehensive radiology services including computed tomography scans, X-ray, ultrasound, mammogram, MRI and lab services. Our facility will offer access to a retail pharmacy, ambulatory surgery center with operating rooms and a medical office building for primary care and specialties.
Q: What financial strategies are in place to ensure the $84 million investment remains sustainable long term?
RC: As a not-for-profit health system, ThedaCare is dedicated to protecting access to care and enhancing patient experience through responsible financial performance. In order for the system to invest in the latest medical technologies, facilities and its team members, as well as provide health and wellness to the communities it serves, ThedaCare must be good stewards of its resources.
We have a variety of strategies in place to ensure the campus remains sustainable. For example, the Oshkosh campus will include an ambulatory surgery center, which generally offers a lower cost for outpatient procedures and can create a positive impact for patients.
Our teams were also intentional in the design of the campus. We created the campus with the opportunity of potential expansion.
We are being thoughtful in the plans we have to staff the Oshkosh campus, efficiently using our resources. Traditionally, smaller community hospitals do not require a large number of ancillary staff when compared to other larger campuses. This provides us with an opportunity to attract the appropriate team members for this campus. We can support team members to work at the top of their license, utilizing their full scope of training and expertise.
When we think about the commitment to our communities, it’s more than our system. The planned project complements the community development efforts underway in the area. The campus will be located on the Fox River in downtown Oshkosh and will complement the area’s major redevelopment, including new condominiums, restaurants and more. Approximately 60 new jobs are expected to be created for caregivers and staff at the campus. These efforts are important to ensure the campus remains sustainable long term and that ThedaCare continues to be a strong pillar in the communities we are proud to serve.
Q: What strategies is ThedaCare implementing to attract and retain employees for the 60 new roles at this facility?
Jenny Nikolai:
Work is already underway to attract and retain our team members for ThedaCare Medical Center-Oshkosh, including developing and implementing a strategic plan to provide information in a variety of ways and outlets.
For example, we have proactively shared many of the open positions on our Careers page, months ahead of the projected opening of the campus. We are in the process of planning our marketing and social media campaigns to share open positions using ThedaCare-owned channels. The campaign includes various ways to connect with people of all age groups including with video, photos and testimonials, highlighting why ThedaCare is a great place to work and grow a career. We are planning numerous in-person hiring events where prospective team members can meet with ThedaCare leaders to learn more about opportunities.
ThedaCare also has a special partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. ThedaCare and UWO have various programs which allow students to receive clinical training ahead of graduation. Many of the graduates have already had prior experience within our system through internships, training or learning opportunities. They can jump right in and begin offering compassionate care for our patients. UWO noted there are more than 60 UWO graduates from the classes of 2022 and 2023 that ThedaCare employed, in a variety of healthcare-related fields.
Q: How is ThedaCare ensuring strong leadership at the new Oshkosh campus to drive its success from day one?
JN: Understanding the health of the community entails our leaders taking the time to meet face to face with, and listen to, the stories of people who live and work in the community. This paints a picture of opportunity and action for our leaders. It can also help us better understand the needs of the community to meet patients and community members where they are.
The health campus in Oshkosh is a natural extension of the trusted care we currently provide to the Oshkosh community. In addition to recruiting new team members, we are also leaning into leaders who are already employed within the ThedaCare system and have been providing steadfast leadership within the Oshkosh community for years.
A multitude of leaders have been and continue to be highly engaged and heavily involved in planning. We are excited and ready to support the final stages ahead of the campus opening. As we continue to progress toward the opening of ThedaCare Medical Center-Oshkosh we are in a solid position and look forward to opening our doors and caring for our community.
