JAMESTOWN, Wis. — A cutting-edge surgical center is nearing completion in southwest Wisconsin.
Construction has concluded on Upper Mississippi Surgery Center, and staff members now are working to receive the necessary regulatory approvals to open the space to outpatient surgical clients. Pending those approvals, the center could open as soon as next month.
“We hope to be up and running some time in February,” said foot and ankle surgeon Nicole Jedlicka. “We’re all very excited to get in there and show the center off to all of our patients in the tri-state area.”
Upper Mississippi Surgery Center, located at 454 Badger Road in Jamestown Township, is led by 10 independent practitioners — including Jedlicka — from Dubuque Podiatry, Dubuque Surgery, Dubuque Orthopedic Surgeons and Dubuque ENT Head & Neck Surgery.
Jedlicka said the group decided to locate the center in Jamestown — just past the Iowa-Wisconsin bridge at the intersection of Badger Road and Wisconsin 11 — because it will still be close to the providers’ Dubuque base while also offering a chance to expand into southwest Wisconsin and northwest Illinois.
Construction on the project began in 2023 and concluded in late 2024.
The center includes three surgical suites, as well a dozen perioperative waiting rooms and areas for administrative and staff offices.
In total, 15 to 20 practitioners are expected to use the space for a variety of outpatient services such as hernia repairs, carpal tunnel releases, colonoscopies and other same-day operations that can safely be performed outside a hospital.
Jedlicka said insurance companies are beginning to push for such surgeries to be done at ambulatory surgery centers because they can be more cost- and time-effective than a hospital, where there is a higher risk that surgeries could be bumped to accommodate emergent cases.
“(Ambulatory surgical centers) allow doctors to treat more people in less time, and to save both the insurance companies and the patient money,” she said. “There’s still a place for hospital-based surgeries, … but this center allows us to be more efficient with certain operations.”
Surgical center staff members currently are working to sterilize the center’s operating rooms to ensure a clean, safe surgical environment.
Practitioners then will be able to perform the 10 preliminary surgeries required to request a Medicare inspection.
Once passing that inspection, Jedlicka said, the center will be able to move forward with its official opening.
Grant County Economic Development Director Ron Brisbois heralded the impending opening as a positive sign for Grant County both in terms of the jobs it will bring to the area and the way it will bolster local health care access.
Brisbois said he frequently hears questions from prospective residents or business owners about the availability and accessibility of health care in the region. He said the surgical center complements services already offered at existing health care facilities.
Already, Grant County is home to three hospitals and several smaller health clinics.
“This (center) is something a little unique for us, but ultimately, it’s another service provider for quality health care in Grant County,” Brisbois said. “For me, having more options for residents adds to the quality of life.”
For more information and future updates on the surgical center, visit uppermississippisurgerycenter.com.