MARQUETTE — High-quality, local healthcare is a key component of thriving communities. Patients across the Upper Peninsula have traditionally had access to attentive, compassionate care yet sometimes have had to travel to seek advanced specialty care. Exciting new partnerships and expansions in four area cities are expected to change the face of healthcare in the U.P., adding jobs, increasing local healthcare spending, and bringing more advanced care closer to home.

Within the past year, healthcare access in the Upper Peninsula has begun rapidly expanding. Dickinson County Healthcare System in Iron Mountain and War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie have both joined larger healthcare systems. Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital in Manistique has expanded its facility, and Aspirus Health is finalizing plans for a new facility in Ontonagon. As a result of these projects, people in the U.P. will have more access to convenient, high-quality healthcare.

“These projects will have a major positive economic impact on our region and enhance our quality of living,” said InvestUP CEO Marty Fittante. “It’s no secret that rural healthcare is vulnerable. According to recent findings from The Chartis Center for Rural Health, at least 135 rural hospitals across the U.S. have closed since 2010, and more than 400 others are in danger of closing. These expansions will have a stabilizing influence on local jobs, local economies, and the health of the people who live in and around these communities.”

The U.P. first experienced the impact of such mergers more than a decade ago, when larger networks like UP Health and Aspirus acquired smaller local hospital systems. Both hospital networks have since infused millions of dollars into the region and expanded healthcare access to local communities.

Dickinson County Healthcare recently joined Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) to become Marshfield Medical Center – Dickinson. Chuck Nelson, CEO of Marshfield Medical Center – Dickinson said, ” Our excellent local delivery of care across a wide range of services has been expanded and strengthened by our affiliation with Marshfield. We are investing in every health care offering in our core service area and expanding regional access to state-of-the-art programs locally in cancer care, heart care, pediatrics, orthopedics, and more. We are excited to serve as a regional hub for quality healthcare.”

Effective on January 1, 2022, War Memorial Hospital (WMH) in Sault Ste. Marie became the eighth medical center in the MyMichigan Health system. David Jahn, President and CEO of WMH says the agreement will increase the number of local service lines and provide financial stability. “Although our last two years were some of highest performing, running an independent rural hospital is a challenge. This agreement will allow us to provide higher end care right here. Before, if someone needed a cardiac catheterization, they would have to go to Petoskey, Traverse City, or as far away as Marquette.” MyMichigan will invest more than $60 million in capital improvements over the next five to ten years. The agreement also stipulates that no employee will lose their job or benefits for the first five years.

Campus expansions are also having an impact. Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital in Manistique is preparing to wrap up Phase Two of a $12.8 million expansion project that was launched in May of 2021. The project includes a place for rehabilitation services, an aquatic therapy pool, new ambulatory care infusion suites, and a 12,555 square-foot administration building located on the campus’s east end. The rehabilitation/infusion facility was opened to the public on February 21 and the clinic opened on February 22. Administration move-in is currently scheduled for April 1. The project will streamline care by bringing the medical team and services together under one roof. The rehab center was previously two miles from the hospital; now it has its own wing. The expansion project will also allow SCMH to add new providers and offer more services, helping to keep healthcare local.

The latest project for Aspirus Health is the construction of a new $15.8 million hospital in Ontonagon. Construction is expected to begin in the coming months. The new Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital will offer a number of services under one roof, including family medicine, specialty care, outpatient therapies, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, and more. Having multiple services in one location is expected to provide patients of all ages with more efficient access to complete health care. The state-of-the-art facility will incorporate patient-centered design features, starting with easy-access parking and centralized registration. The current hospital will remain open and continue to provide care to the community during the construction of the new facility.

Healthcare is one of the fastest-growing job sectors in the nation and has more job demand than any other industry in the U.P. As the Upper Peninsula’s population ages and more healthcare networks grow, local demand will only increase. “U.P. students considering a career path would do well to focus on health professions,” said Fittante. “As the number and variety of local medical services continue to increase, and more residents take advantage of healthcare close to home, the potential is there for a very solid future job market.”