Mercy Walworth slated for expansion
If you go
What: Williams Bay Village Board meeting
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Williams Bay Village Hall, 250 Williams St., Williams Bay
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Artist rendering of proposed MercyWalworth expansion as seen from the south east.
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Artist rendering of proposed MercyWalworth expansion as seen from the north east.
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GENEVA TOWNSHIP — Mercy Health System is planning to more than triple the size of its Walworth County facility to better meet the growing area's medical needs, a vice president said.
"Our objective always—as we look at the addition of services in a region—is to be responsive to community needs," Mercy Vice President Rich Gruber said. "We'll be providing a broader, more inclusive set of services than we've been able to as a result (of the planned expansion)."
Plans call for expanding the existing Mercy Walworth Hospital and Medical Center at N2950 Highway 67 from 60,000 square feet to almost 200,000 square feet to include additional hospital beds, a birthing center, an intensive care unit and an outpatient clinic, he said. And with the expanded services comes about 70 full-time jobs, he said.
For months, Mercy has been working with the town of Geneva and village of Williams Bay to obtain the appropriate zoning and conditional use permits for nine parcels it owns along Highway 67 in Geneva Township.
The existing hospital sits on a 6-acre parcel at the intersection of highways 50 and 67. The Town of Geneva Plan Commission, the Geneva Town Board and the Williams Bay Extraterritorial Zoning Committee have approved rezoning the remaining eight parcels from residential to business.
The Williams Bay Village Board could approve the rezone at its meeting Monday.
Gruber said things are moving along with one exception: Mercy is seeking access to the Williams Bay water system, but officials are concerned about extending services outside the village.
Mercy gets its water from a well on the property, Gruber said. An expanded facility would overburden the well, which is why Mercy is seeking access to village water, he said.
Williams Bay Village President Don Weyhrauch said a hookup is a possibility.
"We're working on getting all the information—dotting all the I's and crossing all the T's," he said.
Once the village learns if its water system could handle the increased usage, then negotiations can begin, Weyhrauch said.
Since the original facility opened in 1995, Mercy has had access to the Williams Bay sewer system.
Reaching a similar agreement for water services "will dictate the rest" of the process, Gruber said.
"Getting through the permitting process is the key in terms of our calendar," he said.
Gruber said the $40 million expansion project is slated to begin in summer, and construction would take about 18 months.
Mar 19, 2009 at 10:56 a.m.
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Being a Medic for many years in Walworth Co I have had the chance to use both the Mercy system and Aurora. Many of the patients that are delivered to Mercy end up being transfered to Lakeland Medical center. Lakeland does have board certified emergency doctors. For heartcare they send people to St Lukes in Milwaukee. That is the leading heart care facilities in the nation. They do almost 2000 cases to Mercys 125. Everyone has an opinion but I hate to see anyplace bashed for no good reason. It is great that Mercy donated the equipment to the Fire Dept. Paramedics we should all support our Fire Departments and EMT's.
Feb 27, 2009 at 7:08 p.m.
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JimPl-I understand that you live near Mercy Walworth. I am just concerned if you drove yourself to the hospital? A heart attack can cause lose of consciousness.
Feb 27, 2009 at 4:03 p.m.
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nurse4u, I appreciate the comments and concern. I'm well aware of the time crunch when it comes to life threatening situations. I happened to be very near Mercy Walworth when my pain became concerning. Had I been further away, I would have called an ambulance.
Feb 27, 2009 at 4:02 p.m.
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jvl4life, no I'm not cynical towards health care facilities in general. For example, I happen to think Waukesha Memorial Hospital is one of the best around. I've just had bad experiences at a couple of the local facilities. My mother suffered with very poor health for a number of years before she died. Due to her various illnesses and injuries, I've become rather familiar with several different health care facilities in Walworth and Waukesha counties.
Feb 27, 2009 at 2:30 p.m.
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JimPl-Can I make a suggestion? In the event that you experience a life threatening situation again-please call an ambulance right away. You will be assessed immediately by the paramedics. Also, they are trained to administer oxygen, start IVs, establish an airway, CPR, etc. When arriving at the hospital, you will be a priority.
I only suggest this because in the event of a heart attack or stroke, time can become your enemy.
I hope everything continues to go well for you and I wish you the best.
Feb 27, 2009 at 11:29 a.m.
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sounds like your cynical towards healthcare facilities period, JimPI. For clarification, I'm not familiar with Mercy Walworth so I don't know if they offer ER services, but if they do and both Urgent care and ER services are in one location (meaning you are checking in with the receptionist for one service or another) then YES: shame on them for not addressing your chest pains immediately.
Feb 27, 2009 at 9:36 a.m.
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jvl4life wrote: JimPI-chest pains warrant a trip to the ER-not URGENT CARE.
So you're telling me Mercy Walworth isn't equipped to handle chest pains? Silly me figured that since I was much closer to Mercy Walworth than to Lakeland, I'd go to the closest medical facility. Personally, I wouldn't trust the Lakeland Hospital ER to handle a freakin' hangnail, but maybe that's just me.
Next time I'm involved in a life threatening emergency, I'll be sure to stop and check the Yellow Pages and determine the closest ER, as opposed to Urgent Care. Thanks for the advice.
Feb 27, 2009 at 9:08 a.m.
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I will be looking forward to the expansion in the Walworth area, as there is definitely a growing need there.
Feb 27, 2009 at 8:01 a.m.
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I also had excellant care at 67 and 50 and am looking forward to the extra services that Mercy can give to this area.
Feb 27, 2009 at 7:18 a.m.
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My opinion is that Mercy has connections with the Gazette to not post those articles in their paper....otherwise why wouldnt they have been??? Think about it....1 major story and 1 interesting story about a Major Corporation in the newspapers hometown that has raised some eyebrows before....why would they not publish it unless there is something going on behind the scenes....maybe Javon is sending some of his millions under the table????
Feb 26, 2009 at 9:46 p.m.
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Mercy does have some great staff and some do a great job. there was also another sight posted on here that was wrong as to the doctors involved and that was a man and wife that was quite interesting read it and watch the video.
Feb 26, 2009 at 9:05 p.m.
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nurse4u: Mercy Healthcare in Janesville saved my life. nuff said.
Feb 26, 2009 at 9:02 p.m.
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the whole point is ....why didn't the Gazette report the story about the photos being taken (or did I miss it somewhere??) And come one..just because they didn't give his name certainly doesn't make it any better. You don't take pictures of patients...EVER.
Feb 26, 2009 at 5:41 p.m.
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The cell pictures of the X-Ray (referencing the article posted below), although unfortunate, didn't expose the patients identity. Though I agree firing those involved was the right thing to do, I don't believe any actual privacy rights were violated. If the nurses had posted "This is John Doe's X-ray," I'd think differently. Nonetheless, as mentioned before, there are bad apples in every organization. Especially in a company who employs as many as Mercy. I've had nothing but good care at Walworth and Janesville Mercy clinics and hospitals. It would be tough to find any hospital or clinic that doesn't have a percentage of unhappy patients. However, I've been to medical facilities across the country and I can say with confidence that Mercy is better than a vast majority of them.
Feb 26, 2009 at 3:56 p.m.
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I agree with the previous poster. Mercy took immediately action and terminated the employee. And they are one of the few organizations in the area that are creating jobs.
Feb 26, 2009 at 3:45 p.m.
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I just would like to say "Thank You" to all of the patients who have expressed their appreciation for Mercy Hospital. We strive to provide excellent care and compassion. We also ask that patients please speak up about any concerns that they have at the time of treatment so that we can address the issue immediately.
Once again, thank you.
Feb 26, 2009 at 3:38 p.m.
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JimPI-chest pains warrant a trip to the ER-not URGENT CARE.
Feb 26, 2009 at 3:04 p.m.
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My dad had a heart attack (he lives in Elkhorn) and he was taken to Mercy Walworth. He was treated immediately and sent off to their Janesville center for heart surgery. He is alive today because of their good doctors and staff.
Feb 26, 2009 at 2:58 p.m.
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Add me to the list of patients who had bad experiences there.
A few years ago, I went to the Urgent Care there because of severe chest pains. I could barely stand upright due to the pain in the left side of my chest. Shooting pain down my left arm as well. I sat in the waiting room for almost an hour. Why? Because they were understaffed and were dealing with a child who had a possible staph infection. There was no one else being treated in the Urgent Care at the time and I was the only one in the waiting room. Absolutely unforgivable in my opinion.
Feb 26, 2009 at 2:52 p.m.
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I am a large patient and was able to have an MRI at Mercy Walworth in their open MRI. They were nothing but fantastic. My mom (Ellen) was admitted to their hospital and received great care. I do agree with Mike, the parking needs to be improved.
Feb 26, 2009 at 2:48 p.m.
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It's great to see expansions like Mercy's on the horizon. Lord knows we need more jobs created in this scary time of so many losing their jobs. Thanks Mercy for giving me something positive to think about in today's gloomy environment.
Feb 26, 2009 at 2:47 p.m.
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I’ve visited Mercy Walworth for a Mobile MRI and also an outpatient procedure and have nothing but great things to say. The staff was very courteous and professional. My only complaint was the parking, but they were pretty busy on both occasions.
Feb 26, 2009 at 2:41 p.m.
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I am glad to see Mercy Walworth expanding and doing well (despite the stupid actions of those nurses - glad Mercy fired them immediately). My boyfriend was having dinner at the old Interlaken Resort and suffered a heart attack. He was taken immediately to Mercy Walworth's ER and they saved his life. I am a big fan of them. He was transferred to the Mercy Heart Center and quad bypass surgery and is my husband today! Thank you Mercy Walworth.
Feb 26, 2009 at 2:30 p.m.
Feb 26, 2009 at 2:25 p.m.
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It is too bad you are judging Mercy on something that they had no intent on happening. Just as there are "bad apples" in any organization, Mercy was unfortunate enough to have these two lift their ugly head.
I have had four surgeries at Mercy Walworth at Mercy Janesville. One for my back, one for my foot, one for my heart and one for my eyes. All were done with exceptional care and skill. Mercy has always taken good care of me and I will continue to have my family cared for there.
Feb 26, 2009 at 2:14 p.m.
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And I hope they get the new hospital (St. Mary's) back on track. JMO
Feb 26, 2009 at 2:11 p.m.
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Ty for the sights interesting. I had surgery there in 08 and will never go back. Ended up having it redone 4 months later.
Feb 26, 2009 at 1:10 p.m.
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why didn't the gazette print an article about the photos taken by nurses of a patient?
Feb 26, 2009 at 12:56 p.m.
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DDoright: that's not all....
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/gas...
Feb 26, 2009 at noon
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OUCH!
Feb 26, 2009 at 11:35 a.m.
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The same Mercy, wonder why this isn't in the paper here?? It's on CNN too.
http://www.wisn.com/cnn-news/18796315/de...
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