Mayo gets approval for new La Crosse hospital on West Avenue

A new hospital will be built in La Crosse soon to replace an old existing one.

Mayo Clinic Health System announced Tuesday it will build a six-story hospital on its property along West Avenue, which will be connected to the current cancer center.

Dr. Prathibha Varkey, the president of Mayo, said new construction planned in La Crosse and Mankato, Minn., will allow the system to enhance its medical services.

“We are building for the future, by ensuring we have tech-enabled hospitals that offer patients access to novel cures and innovative solutions,” she said, “really bringing the best of Mayo Clinic care regionally to Mankato and La Crosse.”

La Crosse’s new Mayo hospital will replace its current building, which used to be known as St. Francis and Franciscan Skemp. The Mankato facility will see three new floors added on top of its current hospital.

Mayo officials announced last month that there were tentative plans in La Crosse for a six-floor building. The proposed tower would include 70 beds, with all rooms designed for just one patient.

The building would include a surgical floor, a new family birth center, and a flexible ICU and progressive care unit.