WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — It was a stormy and rainy afternoon in Central Wisconsin, but that didn’t stop North Central Health Care (NCHC) from celebrating the beginning of their campus construction project.
On Monday afternoon NCHC held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the beginning of construction on the campus aquatic therapy pool. The therapy pool marks the first phase of the $73 million construction project to the campus at North Central Health Care.
During the groundbreaking, NCHC CEO Michael Loy said the pool helps some residents in the area be able to live their lives with less pain.
“This pool gives people independence. The ability to continue to live in their homes and out in the community. It helps them improve their mobility. It’s really a huge part of their therapeutic treatment that they get that they can continue to be functioning in the community. It’s a life send.”
The pool is only the first part of the $73 million projects The pool itself cost $6 million to build. Over 600 donors raised over half of that money, with the final $3 million being contributed by Marathon County.
Loy says the pool once it’s constructed will be the center of the new campus.
“It’s the cornerstone. This is what people will first see when they come in. It’ll be a unique feature of our campus and our service offerings. We’ll really build the whole campus around it. We need to get it moving obviously because of the donors and it needed to be the first phase. And we’re very excited to see it get off the ground.”
Several other improvements are coming to NCHC’s campus with the project. Loy describes some of the next projects coming in the construction plan.
“Later this fall we’re going to be doing the groundbreaking for a new youth psychiatric hospital. A new crisis stabilization facility. And then the first phase of our skilled nursing facility.”
Despite the large price tag of the construction update, many residents in the community have been supportive of NCHC’s planned expansion. Loy says that was evident with how many community members attended the groundbreaking despite the rough weather conditions.
“They just want to be part of this day because it been a long time for people that have supported this pool to see this happen. And they just want to be part of the day. It’s really kind of ceremonial that we actually have a storm today because everything with the pool over the last couple of years has seemed stormy. But we’re here today and we’re excited about moving forward.”
Construction on the aquatic therapy pool is expected to be completed by next spring. Loy says the facility is shooting for an April opening. The entire campus construction project is set to conclude in 2022 for NCHC’s 50th anniversary.
