APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Families, staff and community members gathered together Thursday to help create a mural for the new Children’s Wisconsin Appleton Clinic.
The clinic is set to open its doors on March 6, but there’s some preparations still underway.
Included among the final preparations is the creation of two murals painted by the families of patients as well as Children’s Wisconsin staff and community members.
The design of the murals are by artist Irineo “Neo” Medina, whose work on other murals can be seen throughout the Fox Valley.
“As an artist, I really like to involve the community, especially the people the work is going to be impacting, like the people who are going to exist in the space. And so, we got a variety of different folks coming out to paint with us. So, when they pass through the doors, they can feel like, ‘Oh yeah, I was a part of that. It’s more homey feeling, you know what I mean?”
The 50,000-square-foot clinic will support the increasing number of families whose kids are cared for by Children’s Wisconsin and reduce the need for families to travel to Milwaukee for specialty appointments.
Annually, Children’s Hospital sees approximately 50,000 visits from kids residing in the Northeast Wisconsin region.
But due to current clinical capacities, only about 20,000 of those visits happen at clinics in the area. The remaining 30,000 visits involve traveling down to sites in the Milwaukee region.
The new building looks to significantly reduce the number of long-distance travels for families choosing to have their kids treated by Children’s Wisconsin.
In addition to the specialty medical services, the new Children’s Wisconsin Appleton Clinic will also be home to the Children’s Wisconsin Fox Valley Child Advocacy Center.
A community open house is scheduled for Feb. 25, when community members will be able to take in the finished murals.
