UW Health, Madison, Wis.

UW Health, the integrated health system affiliated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison, provides services for more than 800,000 patients each year, with more than 1,900 employed physicians and 24,000 employees.

Its network includes six main hospitals in Wisconsin and Illinois; more than 90 primary and specialty outpatient locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan; a Level I trauma center at University Hospital; a Level II trauma center at SwedishAmerican Hospital; a Level IV neonatal intensive care unit at American Family Children’s Hospital; three urgent care locations, and four behavioral health facilities.

With a mindset for growth and evolution, UW Health will open Eastpark Medical Center in Madison, Wis., to patient care this fall.

Featuring one of the world’s first upright chairs for proton therapy cancer care with advanced theranostics and nuclear medicine capabilities, the project organizes multiple specialties and treatments around the patient in one facility for easy access and care.

Aiming to achieve LEED-Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, the medical center includes the largest rooftop solar farm in Wisconsin, generating over 1.2 megawatts of power for the building from an onsite renewable source.

As part of its Strategic Facilities System Plan, UW Health recently began construction on a 101,500-square-foot module addition at University Hospital in Madison, with substantial completion targeted for April 2026.

Another project under development and navigating final board approvals is a phased expansion at UW Health East Madison Hospital in Madison, which is currently programmed to add inpatient, surgical, diagnostic, and emergency room capacities.

These projects will incorporate lessons learned from the pandemic, advancing the planning and design for future environments of care.

While investing in its care environments, UW Health is also committed to supporting its employees. In 2023, the organization added more than 1,000 new staff members, including 300 frontline nurses.

As a leader for retention, the organization has an overall turnover rate of 15.5 percent; in nursing, the turnover rate is 11.3 percent, making it among the best in the country.

Additionally, taking proactive measures to address workforce shortages, the nonprofit healthcare organization has created new employment pathways with expanded pharmacy tech and medical assistant apprenticeships and the nation’s first registered nursing apprenticeship program, lowering the barrier for people interested in a career in nursing to receive education, training and certification.

For its existing employees, UW Health has been an early adopter of artificial intelligence to reduce provider burnout, collaborating with Microsoft and Epic to innovate and advance real-time applications to healthcare.

This effort includes ambient listening for notetaking during appointments and generative AI draft responses for patient communications in the online patient portal.

Whether expanding care services, delivering cutting-edge facility designs, or investing in its workforce, UW Health’s efforts lead the way in improving treatments, care environments, and outcomes for the patients, staff, and communities that it serves.

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