New health center for children and teens set to open in Green Bay area

A new health care facility in the Green Bay area will provide better access to pediatric primary and behavioral health services, along with specialty care.

The Emplify Health by Bellin Children and Adolescent Center in Ashwaubenon will serve patients from newborns through the age of 22. The center also includes a Children’s Wisconsin clinic for specialty care for children and teens. It will start serving patients Aug. 26.

The new facility was made possible through the “Connected for Kids” partnership between Emplify Health, Children’s Wisconsin and ThedaCare, said Jamie Hagenow-Sekora, team leader for pediatrics and adolescents at the center.

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It features northeast Wisconsin’s first EOS imaging machine, providing low-radiation body imaging. The only other EOS machines in Wisconsin are located in Madison and Milwaukee, said Hagenow-Sekora.

She said the goal of the center is to provide “comprehensive care closer to home,” bringing primary care, specialty care, radiology, lab services and mental health services under one roof. She said it will eliminate some of the need for people in the Green Bay area to drive to Milwaukee or Madison for certain services.

“Nobody in Wisconsin has a building quite like this,” she said. “This truly does take general pediatrics, adolescent medicine, specialties and therapy all under one building. You can actually see up to nine different providers in one location.”

A doctor’s office exam room with a computer and medical equipment, featuring a round projection of colorful fish on the wall, and blue accent walls. — Fish are displayed on the wall of a lab room in the Emplify Health by Bellin Children & Adolescent Center. *Joe Schulz/WPR*

The facility has a suite of mental health services that includes therapists, a psychiatrist and psychologist, Hagenow-Sekora said. It comes as the state Office of Children’s Mental Health found that mental health problems affect most teens in Wisconsin, with girls and LGBTQ+ teens reportedly suffering the most.

Doctors will also be able to help connect patients with mental health services the same day as a primary care visit, said Dr. Sherri Hoyman, a general pediatrician who will work mainly in the adolescent side of the clinic.

“I can see patients and recognize a need that they may have at that time,” Hoyman said. “I can walk out and have a therapist available to talk about the patient, and then introduce the patient to that therapist in the room, so they can work with the patient right there, and then set up time for follow up appointments if necessary.”

A hand-drawn map of Wisconsin inside a heart, surrounded by colorful sketches of community buildings and roads, with the text “Community of Wisconsin” and “You Belong.”. — Artwork from area children is displayed throughout the Emplify Health by Bellin Children & Adolescent Center in Ashwaubenon. *Joe Schulz/WPR*

The facility also offers a child life specialist, disordered eating services, a life skills apartment, pediatric lab, sensory rooms, an all-abilities gym and playground.

“I’m so impressed by our physicians, how they work together to put the kid first and build around family support and really strive for the highest quality pediatric care here,” said Aly Capp, vice president of northeast regional services for Children’s Wisconsin. “That’s what we’re here to do, and it’s really exciting to see it come to life.”