CHIPPEWA VALLEY HEALTH COOPERATIVE MEMBERS ELECT FIRST BOARD OF DIRECTORS, NAMES OFFICERS

Jun 30, 2025

CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI – June 23, 2025 – The Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative (CVHC) held its first Annual Meeting on June 16th, where members elected its first board of directors, and the nominations committee for the 2025-2026 year. At the first meeting of the Board of Directors on June 16th, the board elected officers for the 2025-2026 term.

The Cooperative was founded by a Board of Organizers, seven Chippewa Valley area community and business leaders, who served from February 29, 2024, to June 16, 2025.

The Board of Directors has nine members, six community directors elected by the community members, and three physician members elected by the medical professional members. They are: Patti Darley, Kyle Dettbarn, MD, Erik Dickson, MD, Peter Hoeft, Mickey Judkins, Robert Krause, Thomas Larson, Eric Rygg, and Kamal Thapar, MD, PhD.

Robert Krause and Patti Darley were unanimously elected as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively. Andrea Blaeser, Director of Development, was unanimously elected to serve as Records Officer and Financial Officer.

Terms

Directors serve three-year terms. Since this is the first year with the board of directors in place, the board members randomly chose one-, two- or three-year terms, to establish the regular voting cycle for the board of directors. Directors with one-year terms can run again in 2026; directors with two-year terms can run again in 2027. One-year terms: Darley, Dettbarn, and Larson; Two-year terms: Hoeft, Judkins, and Thapar; Three-year terms: Dickson, Krause, and Rygg.

The Nominations Committee member-elected committee members were also elected on June 16th. Kathy Fagerlin, Jessica Hodnett, and Andrew C. Johnson for the 2025-2026 term. The Board of Directors will appoint four members in an upcoming board meeting.

Election Results.

Community Board Director Candidates: Darley – 96, Hoeft – 88, Krause -88, Larson – 78, Eric Rygg – 74, Judkins – 72, Lemminger – 32, Stearns – 23, Steele – 18

Physician Board Director Candidates: Dettbarn – 20, Dickson – 20, Thapar – 20

Nominations Committee Candidates: Fagerlin – 116, Hodnett – 116, Johnson – 116

 

About the Cooperative

The Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative is a community-owned healthcare organization dedicated to providing accessible, affordable, and high-quality medical services to residents of the Chippewa Valley region.

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Kamal Thapar

Kamal Thapar, MD, PhD., FRSC, FAANS, FCNS

is widely respected by patients, their families, and their doctors. Dr. Kamal Thapar has served the region for more than two decades. He maintains one of the largest private neurosurgical practices in Wisconsin and provides the full spectrum of advanced neurosurgical care. Dr. Thapar has held leadership roles at Marshfield Clinic, Sacred Heart Hospital, and Chippewa Valley Orthopedics. He specializes in minimally invasive and reconstructive spine surgery, brain tumor surgery, pituitary tumor surgery, and skull base surgery.
Erik Dickson

Eric Rygg

President of 4th generation Silver Spring Foods and Huntsinger Farms, lives in Eau Claire with his wife and three children. Among his volunteer community service, Eric has served as Host and Executive Committee member for the 2021 Wisconsin Farm Days, and currently serves on Eau Claire Confluence Arts/Pablo Center, and the Culinary Advisor Committee for Chippewa Valley Technical College. He earned his BA from Middlebury College, and an MBA, Food Marketing from Saint Joseph’s University – Erivan K. Haub School of Business.
Erik Dickson

David Nelson

Retired after 30 years as a health system finance administrator with five national and regional health systems and five years in public accounting focused on healthcare companies, Dave Nelson dedicated his career to not-for-profit organizations providing health services for local communities. Active in the community, he has served on numerous nonprofit and private boards of directors, including as the Past Chair and Emeritus Board member of the American Red Cross of NW Wisconsin. He is also Disaster Assistant Director for the Red Cross, responding in leadership roles to over 25 disasters.
Erik Dickson

Mickey Judkins

is the CEO of Details, Inc. and a recognized business and entrepreneurial consultant. She has served on many boards in the Chippewa Valley and Madison, including as President of the Eau Claire Economic Development Corporation, and as a director of the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce board. She also served on Business Forward’s Local Leadership Council in Washington, D.C., working to bring the small business perspective to the President’s policy making. She was active on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Advisory Board for Chancellors Mash and Levin-Stankevich. In 2007, Governor Jim Doyle appointed Mickey Executive Director and Administrator of the Investment and Export Division of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. She graduated magna cum laude from UW-Eau Claire with a BA in Sociology. She lives in Eau Claire with her husband Jeff Rochon.

Erik Dickson

Peter Hoeft

is CEO and Owner of Hoeft Builders Inc, a 40-year-old construction management firm he has led for the last 20 years. Raised in Eau Claire, Peter attended Regis High School, where he met his wife, Jill; they have twin boys. Peter has served on many community boards including Chippewa Valley Airport Commission (current), WNB Bank (current), Children's Museum of Eau Claire, Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce, and the Eau Claire Area Economic Development Committee. He holds a B.S. in Construction Management from Colorado State University.

Erik Dickson

Erik Dickson, MD

has provided medical care to the people of Chippewa County for more than 25 years, his entire career has been dedicated to this community. As a family medicine physician at OakLeaf Clinics in Chippewa Falls and medical director for our Urgent Care locations in Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, and Menomonie, I’ve worked on the front lines of local healthcare—helping families through everyday challenges and urgent needs alike. I also work as a first responder and EMS Medical Director in Chippewa County. In addition to my clinical practice, I serve as the medical director for several area nursing homes, where I work closely with our senior population to ensure continuity, compassion, and dignity in care. My affiliations with organizations such as the American Academy of Family Physicians and the National Association of EMS Physicians reflect my deep commitment to best practices and physician leadership. I am board-certified in Family Medicine with the American Board of Family Medicine.

Robert Krause

Kyle Dettbarn, MD

has called the Chippewa Valley home for more than two decades. Since moving here in 2003, he has served this community as a physician specializing in pulmonary, critical care, internal medicine, and sleep health. Today, he serves as Board President of the Oakleaf Medical Network—a network that has remained committed to patient-focused care for over 30 years.

Robert Krause

Patti Darley

Vice Chair
retired, from Xcel Energy’s Customer Service Department and before that Cray, Inc.’s Technical Training Department. Patti is a long-time resident of Chippewa Falls, and is well known for her volunteer service in the community. She has been an elected or appointed member of the board of directors of HSHS St. Joseph’s and Sacred Heart Hospitals, the Community Foundation of Chippewa County, and Give Chippewa County, as well as in many other volunteer organizations. She has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University.