Rice Lake Clinic to Begin Offering Behavioral Health Services

Rice Lake area residents will have a new option for behavioral health services as NorthLakes Community Clinic expands their offerings.

Following previous healthcare closures, organizations like NorthLakes Community Clinic have sought to expand their services to fill the gaps in care left behind. In addition to the closure of the HSHS hospitals and Prevea Clinics in the region, Rice Lake also lost the Pediatric Therapy Clubhouse to layoffs in 2023.

While state lawmakers have scrambled to replace the lost emergency services in the Chippewa Valley, services like mental healthcare and imaging have fallen by the wayside. Plans for two new hospitals in Chippewa Falls and Lake Hallie are underway, but both facilities are at least a year away from opening. The Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative is also considering reopening St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls, but even that facility wouldn’t be operational until the end of this year.

As plans for the creation of new hospitals in the region come to fruition, individual organizations have taken the reigns on expanding access to those non-emergency services.

According to a Rice Lake Chronotype report, NorthLakes Community Clinic will reopen the Pediatric Therapy Clubhouse location to offer their behavior health services. Organization officials also say they plan to hire a number of the providers who had previously worked at the facility when it was owned by Marshfield Clinic Health Systems prior to its closure.

In a press release, NorthLakes Community Clinic CEO Ana Tochterman said “Our expansion of behavioral health services is a direct response to the community’s needs, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to comprehensive, accessible healthcare.”

The organization also plans to offer a sliding fee scale for behavioral health services in an effort to remove any potential financial barriers for residents seeking care.