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November 17, 2025
FOND DU LAC – Ground has been officially broken for SSM Health Fond du Lac’s Cancer Care expansion – a $15-million project at the health system’s 480 E. Division St. location in Fond du Lac.
“This expansion project is more than just bricks and mortar – it’s a bold step forward in our mission to deliver exceptional care that is patient-focused, convenient and compassionate,” SSM Health Fond du Lac Market President Shane Smith said. “It’s a reflection of our ongoing commitment to innovation, stewardship and healing.”
With CD Smith Construction serving as the project’s general contractor and Zimmerman Architectural Group as the project designer, officials said the expanded facility – which currently houses SSM Health Cancer Care services – will feature another 12,000 square feet, additional parking and welcome infusion and anticoagulation services.
Other highlights include:
- A remodel of existing areas
- A new, welcoming entry, registration area, nourishment space and family lounges
- Addition of ambulatory infusion services
- Space for four private infusion rooms and 20 semiprivate
- On-site laboratory, pharmacy, physical therapy, massage therapy, boutique and wig fitting room
- Enhanced patient, employee and provider spaces to accommodate growth
- Healing garden for respite and reflection
‘Comfort in mind’
Kim Schram, SSM Health Wisconsin Oncology, said the expansion is being built with comfort in mind, with a design that incorporates a lot of natural light.
“While we were designing the infusion bays, we wanted them on the outer perimeter of the building so patients have access to windows and natural lighting,” she said. “We’re using a color scheme that’s warm, updated and refreshed but bringing in the natural elements that are found in Wisconsin.”
Due to its welcoming design, Schram said the facility won’t feel like a traditional hospital setting.
“Cancer patients can be a little anxious about that first appointment, so we are trying to incorporate things in the surroundings that will bring a calming presence to them without even having to say or do anything,” she said.
Michael Jones, a board-certified medical oncologist with SSM Health, said he’s excited about how vibrant the new building will be.
“When I started here 17 years ago, at the time, the color schemes were darker,” he said. “I’m amazed when I look at the renderings of how the new cancer center will look.”
SSM Health Greater Fond du Lac Radiation Oncology’s manager, Dani Mann, said the SSM Health staff know what their patients need when it comes to comfort during treatment.
“That includes lighting, chair [types], design of the facility, what is safest for our patients and what is most efficient for our staff,” she said. “Though it’s been a long time since the initial need was presented for the expansion of the center, it’s really been a labor of love to ensure our patients have what they need and our staff also have what they need.”
Other benefits
While the current clinic design feels somewhat segregated, Jones said the new building layout will promote better staff integration.
“Right now, we kind of have staff over here and staff over there,” he said. “It creates a bit of an uncoordinated effect. With the new design, we’ll be more incorporated into a cohesive team.”
Over the years, Jones said he has seen the need for an expansion grow.
“Thirty years ago, we were one of those unique places where we put both radiation and medical oncology under one roof,” he said. “In fact, I’ve been told stories by [people] who have since retired that we would have other outside cancer centers come to tour our new state-of-the-art cancer center 30 years ago.”
Jones said the comprehensive care approach being used by SSM Health Fond du Lac is “really unique.”
“I think other cancer centers are striving to work toward that, but it’s unique to our community, and it really enhances our patients’ care,” he said. “I hear time and time again from patients how satisfied they are with the compassionate care delivered by this team. I tell folks, ‘It truly makes my job quite a bit easier to have that focus on the patient-centered comprehensive care.’”
Having everything under one roof, Jones said, also reduces stress on patients.
“When a patient can go to one center for their radiation and their chemo and then get all of their other supportive services, including social workers and pastoral care, in the same building, it reduces travel and the fatigue of timing appointments out at different locations,” she said.
Schram also said evidence shows that local access to cancer care “truly can save lives.”
“Research demonstrates that when patients are closer to a comprehensive cancer treatment center, their overall health and their outcomes will improve,” she said. “This expansion will help with faster diagnosis and better access to treatment.”
A vision three years in the making
Mann said expansion plans date back more than three years, with SSM Health Fond du Lac officials determined to leave “no stone unturned” in designing the new facility.
“The time frame was to ensure we could provide our patients with everything they need,” she said. “Our staff were at the table, reviewing the floor plans and giving the architects exactly what was needed to treat our patients safely.”
When the cancer care unit opened its doors in 1994, Mann said there were originally 22 staff members.
Today, she said that number averages around 55 team members.
“We are utilizing every square inch of the building to ensure our patients have the care they deserve,” she said. “We have seen growth in the last 30 years and have made renovations and updated our technology.”
Over the years, Smith said SSM Health had planned for a potential expansion at the Division Street location, which included purchasing three homes on Eastgate Place.
As part of the project, he said those vacant homes were first used by the City of Fond du Lac Police and Fire/Rescue teams for training exercises.
Once the training was complete, Smith said the homes were demolished, and the facility expansion plans moved forward.
Shelly Haberman, senior communications consultant with SSM Health, said the expansion will be completed in phases.
“The building will be completed in its entirety in spring 2027,” she said, “but when each stage is completed, we’ll start patient care in those new areas – it will give us opportunities as each area opens.”
