Froedtert Health has acquired the former Wisconsin Heart Hospital property in Wauwatosa from Ascension Wisconsin.
While specific plans for the site have not yet been determined, Cathy Jacobson, president and chief executive officer of Froedtert Health, said Froedtert’s acquisition of the shuttered hospital at 10000 W. Bluemound Road was driven by the increased demand for services at the health system’s flagship hospital.
The Heart Hospital site is located about one mile from Froedtert’s medical campus in Wauwatosa.
“Proximity to the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin academic medical center campus and continuing capacity constraints at Froedtert Hospital made this a logical step for us,” Jacobson said.
The Wisconsin Heart Hospital opened in 2004 as a joint venture of the Covenant Healthcare System and a coalition of 90 physicians and 30 private investors. The 30-bed campus cost $44 million to build. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare bought out its partners in 2006 and became sole owner of the Heart Hospital.
Wheaton closed the hospital in 2016, shortly after the health system became part of Ascension Wisconsin. The building has remained closed since then.
Bernie Sherry, senior vice president of Ascension Healthcare and ministry market executive for Ascension Wisconsin, said the health system will focus on building out services at its nearby clinic, Ascension SE Wisconsin at Mayfair Road, 201 N. Mayfair Road.
“Ascension Wisconsin has a significant presence at our Mayfair Road location offering urgent care, ambulatory surgery, primary and specialty care services which is in close proximity to the Bluemound Road property,” Sherry said. “Going forward, Ascension Wisconsin will continue to focus on keeping care local and convenient by developing additional services at our Mayfair Road location.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.