History
GIVN began with the vision of one newly elected county board member representing two townships in rural Northern Wisconsin. During his meetings with voters in the spring of 2021, a lack of services for seniors was constantly mentioned. This individual (Richard Logan) discussed this matter with the Town Boards of Presque Isle and Winchester and held discussions with a rural development consultant and grant writer (Dan Peterson) who had recently moved back into the community. They held several meetings about the best approach for improving local service delivery. Mr. Peterson strongly advocated for the formation of a rural health network and said these organizations had proven successful in developing needed services in many similar rural communities nationally.
In August of 2022, a core group of public officials agreed to form a planning committee for the network. This committee agreed to meet with local providers who may be interested in joining the network. Between September of 2022, and January of 2024, members of the planning committee met with a total of 22 agencies and providers about the need to address the region’s health concerns. These include five hospitals, three tribal health centers, and numerous local health care providers. Considerable time and effort were given to the drafting of personnel, financial management, and other policies and procedures that would allow GIVN to apply for state and federal grants. In November of 2023, GIVN selected its first board of Directors and became a state non-profit organization (in Wisconsin a non-stock corporation) in December 2023. GIVN received recognition as a federal non-profit in September of 2025.
Starting in January of 2024, GIVN began a series of meetings with the Aspirus Ironwood Hospital, the Lakeland Retirement Foundation (also called Generations) and local county Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ARDC’s). In March of 2024, KM Dental of Wakefield, one of the few remaining dental providers in Gogebic County, agreed to join the network. This brought the membership of GIVN to five organizations and allowed GIVN to apply for a state opioid grant (that was never reviewed) and a Health Resources and Services Administration Network Planning Grant. This one year grant was awarded to GIVN on 9/29/25. On 1/17/26, Sarah Maki, MBA was hired as the Health Planner for the GIVN strategic planning project. A copy of the GIVN strategic plan that includes a five year action plan is provided as an attachment to the website.
In September of 2024, GIVN began arranging community meetings and commenced data collection for the strategic plan. With the hiring of Sarah Maki in January of 2026, GIVN began scheduling meetings with numerous agencies in the Northern Wisconsin and the Western Upper Peninsula. GIVN also began arranging meetings with Federal and state legislators and relevant health agencies. Over the course of the next 9 month, GIVN met in person or arranged video meetings with 35 health care providers and government agencies. GIVN also held five community meetings and completed a rural health survey posted on its website. This included meetings with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Nursing Program, the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Behavioral Health Program, and the Office of Rural Health of Northern Michigan University. Both UWM and the MCW expressed interest in working with GIVN and agreed that establishing a rural health network could be beneficial for Northern Wisconsin. The UWM Nursing Program also expressed interest in development of regional tele- psych program that would involve nursing PhD students.
In September of 2025, GIVN received notification that it had received designation as a 501c3 non-profit agency. In that same month, GIVN published its strategic plan that included numerous recommendations for expanding and improving services within the three counties served by the network. GIVN also began focusing on numerous federal and state grants that would benefit its service population. In March of 2026, GIVN applied for state funding to establish a family practice rural training track program. In April, it developed a collaborative grant with the UWM Social Work Program to train social workers who would provide needed medical social work and behavioral health services. In June, GIVN applied for a VA Suicide Prevention grant to establish a veteran’s service center for Northern Wisconsin. The network is also committed to establishing a sliding fee scale clinic for Northern Wisconsin, a behavioral health tele-psych program, and a family practice residency program. These are among the many services GIVN hopes to establish in the next four years.
Although in the opinion of its leadership, establishing a rural health network for Northern Wisconsin and the Western Upper Peninsula proved more difficult than anticipated, GIVN believes it is well on the way to successfully implementing the first phase of its strategic plan. This is to implement fundable programs that are supported by the GIVN membership and to complete the planning for other services that warrant additional study. As mentioned above, GIVN remains committed to establishing a sliding fee scale clinic, a regional behavioral health program, and outreach services for veterans. It also plans to fully implement a regional MSW training program with UWM, and a family practice residency program with the University of Wisconsin and the Medical College of Wisconsin. By the end of fiscal year 2027, the GIVN Board of Directors is anticipating the organization will grow to $1.3 million in project funding to include a staff of ten or more.