FOND DU LAC — After two years of construction, SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital has completed an expansion to support the growing need for timely and quality life-saving heart care services.
With the $8.5 million expansion, the Dale Michels Heart & Vascular Care now includes a new Cardiac Electrophysiology (EP) Lab, three additional preparatory and recovery rooms, and expanded employee spaces to accommodate increased staff, according to a news release from SSM Health Greater Fond du Lac.
Patients and their families also will see a renovated reception area, a new private consultation room and a semi-private family waiting area, as well as aesthetic improvements to the Intensive Care Unit.
“The demand for quality heart care in Fond du Lac has outgrown original resources,” Agnesian HealthCare Foundation Executive Director Shawn Fisher said. “We have added expert providers, innovative and advanced technologies, and now much-needed additional space.”
According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the nation’s leading cause of death of men and women, and in Wisconsin, one in three deaths are caused by heart attack or stroke.
SSM Health Greater Fond du Lac announced the expansion in 2022 as a way to accommodate its growing list of physicians and heart services, reduce wait times for heart procedures and continue to provide comprehensive heart care in one location.
The Michels family donated $3 million of the cost — their second donation to the center honoring the late Dale Michels, former owner and president of Michels Pipeline Construction, Inc.
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In 1998, Michels suffered a heart attack at home in Brownsville, Michels’s son and current Michels Corporation President Pat Michels said when the expansion was announced. He needed a Flight for Life helicopter to take him from St. Agnes Hospital to a Milwaukee heart center that could provide the care he needed, but freezing conditions that night delayed the helicopter with engine problems.
Michels underwent heart surgery immediately upon arriving in Milwaukee, and though it was successful, he suffered a stroke and later died from complications. He was 65 years old.
“It became clear at the time that there was a void in first-class cardiac care in the Fond du Lac area,” Kevin Michels said when the expansion completed.
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The Michels family donated $1.5 million to the construction of St. Agnes Hospital’s heart center in 2006, then called Dale Michels Center for Heart Care, in an effort to avoid situations like his.
Since then, the center has grown into a destination for cardiovascular excellence, and became the fastest-growing and third-largest WATCHMAN treatment program in Wisconsin, performing most structural heart procedures.
“The Michels family donation has helped established a one-of-its-kind program in a city this size, providing most cardiovascular services with the exception of transplant and pulmonary hypertension,” SSM Health Fond du Lac Regional Clinic Cardiovascular Services Chief Tadeo Diaz Balderrama said. “Their continued support has impacted thousands of lives and continues to provide improved access to cardiovascular care to the city and the surrounding communities.”
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Both Kevin and Pat Michels were impressed by the equipment and efficiency of the center when touring the new space, and felt the Fond du Lac community is fortunate to have cutting-edge care available in the area.
Members of the Michels family also helped celebrate the expansion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside members of Agnesian HealthCare Foundation and SSM Health Greater Fond du Lac physicians and leaders.
Daphne Lemke is the Streetwise reporter for the Fond du Lac Reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
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