Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative, a newly formed organization that plans to pursue locally based health care projects – including a new hospital – is now accepting community and physician members.

A group of business and community leaders formed the co-op in February following the announcement that Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals would close. According to organizers, “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.”

Membership is open to community members 18 years and older in the Chippewa Valley region who plan to use the facilities and services of the co-op. They will pay a one-time $25 membership fee. Physicians licensed to practice medicine in Wisconsin may also join for a one-time fee of $100.

“Our members will be a powerful force for building the new nonprofit independent hospital and providing other critical healthcare services for our Chippewa Valley region,” Robert “Bob” Krause, chairman of the co-op’s board of organizers, said in a media release. “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.”

Here is further information about the co-op from the media release:

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 at www.chippewavalleyhealthcooperative.org.