Bayfield, Ashland counties receive healthcare funding

Projects in Ashland and Bayfield counties received a total of $3 million in funding marked for behavioral health services.

The funding, announced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, may also add more housing options in the Bay Area.

Tamarack Health in Ashland received $2 million to renovate the behavioral health services building. The structure is separate from the main hospital building. Work scheduled to start in May is largely maintenance work, said Cherie Morgan, marketing director for Tamarack Health, including things like replacing windows and doors and the HVAC system.

The project will also include a designated community room that will be used for group sessions, group meetings and family sessions.

"Our team is very excited about this new space and the opportunities it will provide patients and families," Morgan said.

These renovations are necessary to ensure Tamarack Health will be able to keep offering behavioral health services to the Bay Area, she said.

“We are extremely grateful to Senator Tammy Baldwin and the congressional support for funding to aid and improve access to vital healthcare services in Northern Wisconsin,” said Luke Beirl, Tamarack Health Ashland Medical Center interim president & CEO and Hayward Medical Center president & CEO, in a news release. “This funding allows us to continue to make the necessary investments needed to deliver behavioral health services, expand primary care, and sustain obstetric services for the people of our region.”

One million dollars was also earmarked for Bayfield County to support development of rural workforce housing. County officials should soon learn whether they received tax credits for a 40-unit housing development project proposed for Washburn. The tax credits don’t cover the entire cost of the project, and that’s where funding from Baldwin helps out, County Administrator Mark Abeles-Allison said.

“The shortage of affordable workforce housing is a problem everywhere, but rural communities like those in Bayfield County are at a greater disadvantage when it comes to finding the necessary resources to do something about it,” said Abeles-Allison.