From Vision to Reality: CVHC’s Second Annual Member Meeting
A year ago, the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative gathered its members to share plans. This June, members came back to hear something different – significant progress.
At the Second Annual Member Meeting on June 9, 2026 the Cooperative reported on a year of tangible milestones: a hospital campus acquired, new clinical programs open, and a growing team of healthcare professionals committed to rebuilding care in the region.
“We exist because of the people of the Chippewa Valley and our members,” said Board Chair Bob Krause. “Everything we’ve accomplished has been possible because our community decided to take ownership of its healthcare future.”
Appreciation for Thomas G. Larson
Before starting the vote to elect directors and the nominating committee members, Krause, shared a special thank you to Thomas Larson who is retiring off the board of directors after serving first as a original Organizer and then a Director on the board. “Tom has been an extraordinary member of the board, working tirelessly to position the Cooperative for success,” said Krause. “Thank you for your extraordinary contribution to the community…and I have your phone number, and I won’t be shy about using it.”
Krause turned the meeting over to Secretary and Records Officer of the Board of Directors, Andrea Blaeser to introduce the candidates for the board and the nominating committee. She shared the provisions for board members (must be members of the Cooperative, Community members vote for two community board directors, and medical professionals vote for one physician board director in each class), and that one community candidate, Christine Ouellette had withdrawn from consideration as she is unable to serve at this time.
New Board Members & Nominating Committee
At the end of the meeting, Blaeser announced the directors and nominating committee members.
Board of Directors Class of 2027
Community Directors: Patti Darley (64 votes) and David Nelson (58 votes) (Ouellette – 7 votes)
Physician Member: Kyle Dettbarn, MD (7 votes)
Nominating Committee Members Class of 2027
Kathy Fagerlin (71 votes), Andrew Johnson (67 votes), and William McCullough (69 votes)
Mike Sanders, CEO of the Chippewa Valley Cooperative Hospital and Erik Dickson, MD then provided an update on the Cooperative’s progress since the first annual meeting.
A Mission Born from Crisis
The Cooperative was formed just six weeks after HSHS announced it would close Sacred Heart Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and Prevea Health operations across Western Wisconsin — one of the most significant healthcare disruptions in state history. More than 70,000 residents were left without local access to many essential healthcare and hospital services.
Rather than accept those losses, local physicians, business leaders, and community members organized around a different path: build a healthcare cooperative with an independent hospital governed locally, accountable locally, and focused entirely on the needs of Chippewa Valley residents.
A Campus and a Faster Path to Care
One of the year’s most consequential decisions was the acquisition of the former St. Joseph’s Hospital facility in Chippewa Falls. The Cooperative had originally planned to focus on constructing a new hospital in Lake Hallie, but when the opportunity to purchase St. Joseph’s returned, leaders moved quickly. The acquisition created a path to restore services years sooner than new construction alone would allow.
Reopening a hospital is not as simple as unlocking the doors — licensing, regulatory approvals, staffing, medical equipment, IT systems, and electronic records all have to be in place before patients can be served safely. Cooperative teams have been working through those requirements while simultaneously building clinical programs and recruiting staff.
Sanders explained, “We will build the Lake Hallie hospital in the near future. All of our focus now is on opening up the Chippewa Falls hospital campus as a full service hospital as quickly as possible to care for the people of the Chippewa Valley as fast as possible.”
Cancer Care Comes to Chippewa Falls
CVCH Cancer Center Team
One of the year’s most visible successes was the opening of the CVCH Cancer Center, a service that, notably, never existed at St. Joseph’s before.
The center launched last fall with a team of four. Eight months later, that team has tripled to twelve oncology specialists and support staff, and the center is already approaching capacity. For patients who had been traveling hours for chemotherapy and infusion treatments, having that care available locally has made a real difference during some of the most difficult periods of their lives.
The Cooperative is now actively planning to add radiation therapy services, moving toward a comprehensive cancer program for the region. Much of the center’s early momentum came from the experienced team behind it, Medical Director Dr. Mihailo Lalich and Director of Hospital Services Angela Quick, who helped reunite many former Sacred Heart Cancer Center professionals to rebuild care for local patients.
Wound Care and Expanded Access
CVCH Would Care Center Team
Earlier this year, the Cooperative also opened its Wound Care Center under Medical Director Dr. Emily Mason. The closure of HSHS facilities significantly reduced wound care capacity in the region, and the new center addresses that gap, including by dramatically expanding access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy. With two hyperbaric chambers, the Cooperative has tripled the region’s capacity for this specialized treatment, which can be the difference between recovery and permanent disability for patients with diabetic wounds, chronic ulcers, and radiation injuries.
A Team Taking Shape
As Sanders explained, “Facilities matter, but people make a hospital.” The response from healthcare professionals has been one of the most encouraging signs of the Cooperative’s momentum. More than 1,200 professionals with hospital and healthcare service experience have expressed interest in working with the Cooperative, more than half of them nurses. In addition, more than 100 physicians have committed to caring for patients at the hospital.
“For a startup healthcare organization, those numbers are extraordinary,” said Sanders. “With staff and physicians with large patient populations wanting to care for their patients at the Cooperative hospital when it opens, we are well positioned for success.”
Dr. Dickson shared his perspective with the members of the audience about the impact both the Cancer Center and Wound Care Center are already making in the community.
“We’re already caring for hundreds of patients,” said Dickson, “and we’re moving as fast as we can to open the rest of the doors up to provide a full service hospital where people can be cared for close to home, instead of being transferred from an emergency room to other hospitals hours away for follow-up care .”
The Work Ahead
Cooperative leaders were direct with members: significant work remains. Fundraising, financing, and the systems required for full hospital operations are still being completed. More than $31 million has been secured to date, and the Cooperative continues to build toward the comprehensive hospital the Chippewa Valley needs – one with emergency care, surgery, labor and delivery, intensive care, well-staffed hospital beds, and the full range of services a community depends on.
When finished, the hospital is expected to employ more than 300 people and generate approximately $40 million in annual payroll.
A year ago, members heard about what the Cooperative hoped to build. This year, they heard about patients being treated, departments opening, and a team coming together. The work isn’t finished – but the Chippewa Valley is no longer only talking about what was lost. It’s building what comes next.
