Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative now accepting new members

Community members 18 years and older in the 15-county Chippewa Valley region and physicians licensed to practice medicine in Wisconsin can 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. Members will vote to elect a formal board of directors by early fall.

The nonprofit cooperative was formed Feb. 29 by seven prominent Chippewa Valley business and community leaders concerned about access to and the cost of healthcare across the region. The cooperative formed after HSHS announced its complete exit from the western Wisconsin region alongside multiple Prevea Health locations.

“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,” a press release from Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative says.

The cooperative recently announced it is moving forward to build an independent, nonprofit community hospital in the region. 

The new community hospital will have 60-70 beds with an emergency room, and will operate as a nonprofit organization governed by a local board of directors elected by cooperative members. 

“Our members will be a powerful force for building the new nonprofit independent hospital and providing other critical health care services for our Chippewa Valley region,” said Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative Chair Robert “Bob” Krause. “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 governed by its members, who also use its services designed to meet a common need.

“The first members of a cooperative are instrumental to its existence and its ability to serve the community,” said UW-Madison law professor Bill Oemichen. “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 adviser and 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.

Wisconsin has more than 850 cooperative businesses across various industries.