Wood County Board of Supervisors Chair Lance Plimel said the county is moving forward on plans for a federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Wisconsin Rapids that officials expect to cost more than $20 million.

"This is gonna be about a 24,000 square foot facility," Plimel said, adding the center would "employ roughly 50 plus high paying professionals" and provide primary care, substance-abuse treatment, behavioral health services and expanded dental care. Plimel said the project is intended to serve patients across income levels and work with Medicaid and Medicare where appropriate.

Plimel described the FQHC as a multi-year effort supported by local partners, including the Legacy Foundation and Mid-State Technical College, and financed in part with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars the county allocated. He said Congressman Van Orden and Senator Tammy Baldwin have both been "huge" partners in moving the project forward. Plimel said discussions have centered on a site near the YMCA and Boys & Girls Club in central Wisconsin Rapids but that the final location has not been fixed.

The chair said many pre-construction steps — renderings, architectural plans and pledged local funding — are in place but that the project is contingent on receipt of federal funds. "The first step is to get the check from the federal government," Plimel said; once federal funding is secured he expects ground-breaking to follow, with a minimum construction timeline of about a year after work begins.

County officials framed the FQHC as an effort to address a documented lack of local dental services: Plimel said some studies show residents have traveled an aggregate of about 100,000 miles to access dental care. He and county leaders said the center is intended to broaden access to dental and other primary-care services and have long-term benefits for community health.

Next steps described by Plimel include finalizing the federal funding award, confirming a site and moving into procurement and construction planning. No federal award date or firm construction start date was provided during the interview.