Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce highlights successes as HSHS/Prevea Recovery Task Force concludes operations
After more than four months of providing critical resources and achieving significant support for Chippewa Valley residents and businesses impacted by healthcare closures, and as the future healthcare market in the region continues to evolve quickly, the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce today announced that the HSHS/Prevea Recovery Task Force will pause its efforts.
“Along with over 125 community leaders, the Task Force was organized to help prepare for a new healthcare landscape in the Chippewa Valley and promote an open dialogue about how best to address future healthcare needs,” said Task Force co-chair Jerry Jacobson, president, Northwestern Bank. “We are all deeply grateful for the leadership of Dave Minor and the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce for being the catalyst to pull this group together and be a trusted resource of information and support.”
“The Task Force put a bright light on the pressing issue of providing rural healthcare in our state, and quite frankly, in our country,” said Task Force co-chair Bill Rupp, retired CEO of Mayo Clinic & Hospitals – Eau Claire. “Because of the advocacy and work that the Task Force completed, new providers began to look at our region and public agencies were able to quickly provide support to the impacted workforce.”
“I believe the Task Force was an essential forum for communications and provided a clear window into our community’s needs,” said Task Force board member Jeff Halloin, president, Landmark Company. “Without the significant support and resources provided by the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce leadership and staff, this level of coordination and cooperation could not have been completed.”
“The Task Force provided a level of stability in our community during a very challenging time,” said Task Force board member Karl Hoesly, president, Xcel Energy-Wisconsin. “As we move forward as a community, we are in a much better place because of the dedication and focus of the many volunteers who stepped forward to offer their expertise and guidance.”
"I want to recognize and thank my Menomonie and Chippewa Falls Chambers counterparts, Ashley DeMuth and Allyson Wisniewski. As we know, the healthcare industry is woven throughout the Chippewa Valley. As such, it would have been impossible to address this issue without their partnership and continued support," said David Minor, president and CEO of the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce.
Among the notable successes of the Task Force included:
- Working with 14 new providers interested in expanding here and helping them make connections with business leaders and elected officials.
- Supporting the Rural Health Innovation Alliance, an effort spearheaded UW-Eau Claire, to assemble health care providers, entrepreneurs and other partners and transform the Chippewa Valley into a rural health-care “epicenter” through the establishment of testbeds, microsites and other ways to reduce barriers to innovation.
- Committing with HSHS to ensure that money contributed by community members to the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis Foundation will stay in the region through a partnership with the Eau Claire Community Foundation and Community Foundation of Chippewa County.
- Creating a robust website and e-newsletter that provided consistent and timely information for the community to stay informed.
As the Task Force concludes its operations, the work of the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce will continue as it seeks to collaborate with its members and investors and advocate for a strong economy so that businesses can continue to thrive and succeed in the region.
“The Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce has always been an advocate for quality, affordable health care in our community and that won’t change,” said Dave Minor, president & CEO, Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce. “I have never been so proud of our staff and the many volunteers from around the Chippewa Valley who quickly and selflessly severed on our Task Force committees. The unprecedented support reinforced our collective commitment to overcoming these challenges and providing a framework for other communities who are, or will, face these same issues with rural healthcare.
“By working together, we have better positioned the Chippewa Valley for the future, and I am confident that our best days are yet to come,” Minor said.
