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CHIPPEWA VALLEY HEALTH COOPERATIVE NOW ACCEPTING COMMUNITY AND PHYSICAN MEMBERS

Jun 19, 2024

Membership Will Support Locally-Lead Healthcare Projects

EAU CLAIRE, WI – June 19, 2024 – Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative (CVHC) is now accepting community and physician members.

The nonprofit Cooperative was formed on February 29, 2024, by seven prominent Chippewa Valley business and community leaders concerned about access to and the cost of healthcare across the region. The cooperative structure ensures that governance and management is in the Chippewa Valley and accountable to the people of the Chippewa Valley, not to management or business interests outside of the community.

Community members 18 years and older in the 15-county Chippewa Valley region and physicians licensed to practice medicine in Wisconsin can now join the Cooperative for a one-time fee of $25 and $100, respectively. Members should be people who plan to use the facilities and services of the Cooperative when they become available. CVHC recently announced that it is moving forward on building an independent, nonprofit community hospital in the region.

“Our members will be a powerful force for building the new non-profit independent hospital and providing other critical healthcare services for our Chippewa Valley region,” said Robert “Bob” Krause, Chair of the Board of Organizers for the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative. “Our friends, family and neighbors deserve to have a hospital and healthcare services accountable to them, not to management teams outside of our region, so that we can have access to high quality healthcare for generations to come.”

A cooperative, or co-op, is a business that is owned and democratically governed by its members, who also use its services designed to meet a common need. Wisconsin is a leading cooperative business state, with more than 850 cooperative businesses, in many different business sectors, that are owned by 2.9 million Wisconsin residents.

Members will vote to elect a formal Board of Directors by early Fall.

“The first members of a cooperative are instrumental to its existence and its ability to serve the community,” said Bill Oemichen, J.D., Professor of Practice-Law at the University Wisconsin – Madison’s Division of Extension. “This is a unique opportunity for the people of Chippewa Valley to have a real say in where and how they receive the healthcare they need to thrive.”

Oemichen is a Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative advisor and an internationally recognized cooperative business expert who previously served as Director of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ Bureau of Preparedness and Emergency Health Services, where he administered the state’s trauma hospital certification and emergency medical services programs.

About the Cooperative

The Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative is an independently governed, locally rooted organization committed to making high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable for the residents of the 15 counties in Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley region. Focused on patient-centered care, prevention, and education, the Cooperative strives to make a lasting, positive impact on the Chippewa Valley’s health and well-being for generations to come. Formed on February 29, 2024, the Cooperative is a Wisconsin Chapter 193 cooperative, which expects to receive 501c3 tax-exempt determination from the IRS. More information is available at www.chippewavalleyhealthcooperative.org.

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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. As a family medicine physician at OakLeaf Clinics in Chippewa Falls and medical director for the Urgent Care locations in Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, and Menomonie, he has worked on the front lines of local healthcare—helping families through everyday challenges and urgent needs alike. Dr. Dickson also works as a first responder and EMS Medical Director in Chippewa County. In addition to his clinical practice, he serves as the medical director for several area nursing homes, where he works closely with our senior population to ensure continuity, compassion, and dignity in care. Dr. Dickson’s affiliations with organizations such as the American Academy of Family Physicians and the National Association of EMS Physicians reflects his deep commitment to best practices and physician leadership. He is 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.