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.