RWHC Rural Health Ambassador Award Presented to Sauk Prairie Healthcare Employee

The Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC) recently bestowed their 2023 Rural Health Ambassador Award to Christy Wehler, Transformation Program Manager at Sauk Prairie Healthcare.

The award recognizes healthcare employees at RWHC member hospitals who have gone above the call of duty in promoting their respective organizations, while making significant contributions to rural health. Nineteen individuals from across the state received awards this year. Each recipient demonstrates a history of fostering positive communication and relations within the hospital’s respective service area by serving on community boards/service organizations, taking advantage of volunteer or public speaking opportunities, and supporting community health activities beyond the scope of the hospital.

Wehler is active in many community-based initiatives and is currently focusing on improving mental health in local communities. When Sauk Prairie Healthcare launched an effort to improve access to mental health services for adolescence, she insisted on becoming the project manager and helped implement several pathways for teens to get help. Wehler also engages with the Farmer Angel Network – an organization that offers mental health and suicide prevention education, resources and fellowship to farmers around Sauk County, Wisconsin. Last year, she devoted nearly 100 hours to the network in her role as a board member, and serving on the finance and marketing/social media committees.

Previously, Wehler engaged in RWHC’s QI and Patient Experience roundtables. She used the groups to continue advancing Sauk Prairie Healthcare’s performance in several domains and often finds herself facilitating projects that result in the organization’s recognition as a top performer nationally in Quality, Patient Safety and Patient Experience.

Incorporated in 1979, RWHC receives national recognition as one of the country’s earliest and most successful models for networking among rural hospitals. RWHC serves as a catalyst for regional collaboration and as an influential and creative force on behalf of rural communities and rural health. Owned and operated by 44 acute, medical-surgical hospitals, RWHC offers its members a wide range of shared services that meet local community health needs, including staffing, consulting, management, networking and education. Sauk Prairie Healthcare is an active member of RWHC; their employees support the shared mission of “strengthening and sustaining rural health.”