On Jan. 5, 2026, HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital began construction on a $5.5 million dollar renovation of the hospital’s Women and Infants Center. Key upgrades include modernized labor and delivery rooms, a tub room for use during labor, a refreshed nursery and an improved nurse station to increase efficiency of care.
 
The full project will take place in three phases, set to be complete in July 2026. This three-phased approach ensures the Women and Infants Center remains fully operational during this time. Throughout construction, patients can expect the same quality and compassionate care they have come to know and trust at HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital.
 
“This is much more than an aesthetic upgrade,” says Andrew Bowman, Chief Administrative Officer of HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital. “This is an investment into the communities our hospital serves, to ensure the women and babies we care for receive the best possible care in the most comfortable environment, both today and well into the future.”
 
This project is funded through the generosity of the community and strategic capital investment made by Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS). From 2023 to 2024, community donors contributed $1.7 million dollars to the HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the nonprofit hospital, to benefit Women and Infant services, perinatal mental health services and breast health initiatives.
 
$1.1 million of those community donations, along with a $4.4 million strategic capital investment by HSHS, will fund the $5.5 million Women and Infants Center renovation. The remaining dollars raised by the community were used to purchase new mammography technology and launch perinatal mental health services at HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital.
 
“Over 470 total community members, businesses and hospital colleagues donated to this project— the most donors we’ve ever had contributing to one campaign— showing a real recognition for the importance of keeping care local and accessible,” says Laurie Radke, Foundation Director for the HSHS Wisconsin Market. “We are grateful to every single one of them for helping us improve health care for women and children in our community.”
 
Bowman says that, though the hospital’s current Women and Infants Center serves the community well, this renovation comes at the perfect time— a time when the health care landscape is rapidly changing.
 
“HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital is invested in this community and here for the long haul, which is why we’re so excited to be improving the labor and post-partum experience and continue delivering exceptional care for generations to come,” says Bowman.
 
To learn more about the Women and Infants Center at HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital, please visit https://www.hshs.org/st-nicholas/services/pregnancy-and-birth/women-and-infants-center