A Wisconsin legislative committee has cleared $10 million for a mental health and substance use disorder treatment center in western Wisconsin, nearly two years after the region lost its largest inpatient facility, Wisconsin Public Radio reported Feb. 5.
The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee approved the one-time grant with a unanimous 15-0 vote. The funding decision follows Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System’s exit from Western Wisconsin in 2024, including the closure of two hospitals, several clinics and the L.E. Phillips-Libertas Center, the region’s largest inpatient treatment center.
The funding will support Oconomowoc, Wis.-based Rogers Behavioral Health, which plans to build a treatment center in Chippewa Falls, Wis. The nonprofit has purchased an 18-acre property in the city and has contracted a construction company for the project.
Rogers Behavioral Health President and CEO Cindy Meyer said in a statement the organization is in the design phase and expects the treatment center to open in early 2027. Before the inpatient facility opens, Rogers plans to launch outpatient clinics in Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire, with services anticipated to begin in September 2026. The clinics will offer partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient programs, outpatient counseling, psychiatric evaluations and medication monitoring services.
Since the Libertas Center closed, people in need of inpatient mental health and substance use treatment have had to travel to Madison, Wis., Milwaukee or Minnesota, the National Alliance on Mental Illness Chippewa Valley told Wisconsin Public Radio.
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