Trempealeau County supervisors on Jan. 20 heard a status update on the county’s newly combined Department of Health and Human Services and a presentation on regional efforts to preserve hospital services through the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative.

The county administrator opened the health-item discussion by calling on Jay, a county Department of Health and Human Services staff member, who said the department remains a level 2 health department following a state Department of Health Services (DHS) 140 review and that the department will follow up with DHS in the coming weeks on action items from that review. "For the time being, we are remaining a level 2 health department," Jay said. He told the board the county is planning interviews for the new health officer in the next couple of weeks and that four applicants are in the screening process. Jay said Chris Havel will continue as public health manager and Nanishka Ruiz will remain interim health officer while the county completes hiring.

Jay told the board the new joint Health and Human Services Board will meet monthly on the second Monday at 5:30 p.m. He also said staff are starting by integrating administrative items such as forms, letterhead and purchasing to streamline workloads.

The board then heard from a representative identified as Carl, who described work by the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative to respond to recent hospital and clinic closures in the Eau Claire area. Carl said two hospitals (St. Joseph and Sacred Heart) and 19 Prevea clinics closed in the area last year and that the cooperative has been organizing a community-owned alternative. He said the cooperative has organized memberships priced at $25 for community members and $100 for physicians and that membership had grown from about 400 to roughly 600 people.

Carl said the cooperative recently received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, making it eligible to receive philanthropic donations, and that a financial pro forma released in December supported the organization’s viability. He described a plan for a new hospital originally estimated at about $150,000,000 that has been reduced to about $140,000,000 and said the cooperative intends to participate in a bid for the existing St. Joseph’s Hospital. Carl said an organizing meeting for members is planned this spring.

No formal county action on hospital ownership or bids was taken at the meeting. The items reported by Jay were discussion and status updates; the cooperative’s presentation was informational. The board approved routine meeting items earlier in the session (agenda and Dec. 24 minutes) but did not vote on health‑system bids or county financial commitments during the health update.

The county’s update and the cooperative presentation together addressed local public‑health staffing and possible future changes to regional hospital ownership and operations—matters that could affect patients, health‑care workers and hospital jobs in Trempealeau County and neighboring counties.

Looking forward, Jay said the county will meet again with DHS to review the 140 findings and proceed with health officer interviews; the cooperative said it will hold an organizing meeting this spring and may participate in a bid for the St. Joseph campus pending its own processes and external approvals.