Shriners Healthcare for Children plans to open a new clinic in Woodbury in June as part of a broader shift at Shriners away from providing inpatient hospital care for orthopedic needs.
The developer and the clinic will host a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for the project, a two-story, 42,000-square-foot building south of Interstate 94 and east of Radio Drive. Shriners will lease the first floor.
In February, Shriners put its Minneapolis hospital campus up for sale as part of the shift to clinic care that fits with broader trends. Located on a 10-acre campus on East River Parkway south of Franklin Avenue, Shriners Hospitals for Children stopped providing hospital care late last year.
"All inpatient hospital services ended on Dec. 1, 2018, when Shriners Healthcare for Children — Twin Cities transitioned to an outpatient clinic model in order to deliver specialty pediatric care in the most effective and efficient manner," a spokeswoman said Wednesday in a statement. "The national trend — throughout all health care systems, is for more outpatient-oriented care while the need for overnight inpatient care declines."
Shriners physicians are still providing surgical care in the Twin Cities, but the surgeries are being performed at other hospitals, such as Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul. Advances in orthopedic care have reduced the need for patients to stay in the hospital.
Outpatient care will continue at the Shriners facility in Minneapolis until the new clinic opens.
The local operations are part of Shriners Hospitals for Children, a health care system with 22 locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The nonprofit provides specialty care for children, conducts research and offers training for medical professionals.
The Twin Cities portion of the health system has been operating since 1923. It focuses solely on orthopedic needs. Other locations treat burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate.
At the new clinic, patients will continue to receive care regardless of their ability to pay, the group said. Like with the hospital, the clinic will treat patients from a seven-state service area.
The new clinic will be part of the CityPlace Medical II building in Woodbury. It is being developed by Davis, general contractor Timco Construction and the architecture firm Synergy Architecture Studio.
The Woodbury clinic will be the third local home in 96 years for Shriners. The group's other two facilities have been in Minneapolis.
Christopher Snowbeck • 612-673-4744 Twitter: @chrissnowbeck
