Network & Team

The Town of Presque Isle is in northwest Vilas County adjacent to the border with the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Like other Northern Wisconsin towns, Presque Isle (which used to be called Fosterville) was a mill town and the home of the famous Winegar works.

Based on 2020 census data, Presque Isle currently has a population of 808 full time residents, many of whom live on the numerous lakes found in the area.  Most of the businesses within the town are now tourist related with the population doubling or tripling in the summer months.  Presque Isle is a year-round tourist destination for snowmobiling, fishing, boating, hiking, and paddle sports.  Among the many attractions in the area are the Van Vliet Hemlock State Forest and the Katherine Wolter Wilderness Area.  Due in large part to its woods and water, Presque Isle is known as “Wisconsin Last Wilderness.”  According to USGS data, approximately 17% of the town’s land base of 74 square miles is water, which makes the township unique.  The Town of Presque Isle joined the GIVN network in 2022 and is the current location for network services.

Winchester is an unincorporated community of 546 residents located in the Northwest corner of Vilas County, Wisconsin.  Winchester was originally a mill town located on the Turtle Lake chain, that supported hundreds of millworkers and their families.  In the 1950’s, Winchester became a resort community with many local businesses including the bar and restaurant of the world famous archery expert, Art Laha.  During the summer months, Winchester attracts as many as 3,000 tourists.  In addition to the Mary Lake and Caterine Lake state designated natural areas, Winchester is the home of Winman, an outdoor recreation area operated by a non-profit that provides exceptional hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, and snow shoeing experiences.  Winman attracts 50,000 or more visitors each winter.  Winchester is working closely with other towns in the area to develop paramedic emergency medical services.  Over the past decade the population of Winchester has increased by 40% (from 383 in 2010 to 546 in 2020) with much of this growth being new retirees moving into the community.  The Town of Winchester was a founding member of the GIVN Network, agreeing to join the network in 2023.

The Aspirus Ironwood Hospital is a community-based general medical/ surgical hospital located at N10561 Grandview Lane in Ironwood Michigan.  The hospital  is a fully accredited 25 bed inpatient facility that has a staff of 49 physicians who practice in 25 specialty areas.  These include cardiology, family medicine, oncology, orthopedics, geriatrics, podiatry, OB-GYN, as well as providing full service lab, radiology, and physical therapy.  The hospital also operates a fully staffed 10 bed emergency room. Ironwood hospital was established in 1923 to serve the Iron Range of Upper Michigan and Northern Wisconsin and is recognized by residents for its excellent quality of care.  The Aspirus Ironwood Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission  and its clinic is fully accredited as a patient centered medical home.  Based on this record of performance, Aspirus Ironwood Hospital has been named by the National Rural Hospital Association as one of the top 20 rural hospitals in the nation for the past four year.  The hospital became a member of GIVN in January of 2023.

KM dental provides general dentistry services for Western Gogebic County and is located at 600 Putnum Street in Wakefield, Michigan.  Dr. Kelli McWilliams, who owns and operates KM Dental, has 27 years of dental experience, and is committed to providing the highest quality of care for her patients.  She strongly believes that patients need to be fully informed to be able to make decisions about their dental needs.  This also extends to her commitment to work with community organizations such as GIVN.  KM Dental joined GIVN in November of 2024.  The GIVN Board of Directors has strongly supported network membership for dental providers due to the ongoing lack of services and an inadequate number of dental professionals in Upper Michigan and Northern Wisconsin.  GIVN plans to work closely with Dr. McWilliams and her staff in the training of additional dental professionals and developing long overdue dental prevention and education services for the network’s service area.  

The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UW-PRI) joined the GIVN network at the request of the network’s membership in December of 2023.   Started in the UW Department of Population Health Sciences in 2005, the Institute builds organizational capacity to advance health equity and racial justice.  It accomplishes this mission by assisting communities and non-profit organizations to identify, evaluate, track, and shape the numerous factors that influence people’s health and well-being.  The 100+ staff of the institute have a solid history in developing organizational capacity and are committed to building equitable healthcare systems, structures, and policies.  The UW-PRI is currently serving as the evaluator for GIVN’s rural health network planning grant.  The institute is expected to play a significant role in future data collection, applied research,  leadership training, and implementing quality improvement for communities and partners served by GIVN.

The Generations program was originally established as the Lakeland Senior Center in 1977.  Since its founding, the Generations senior services program has provided a broad range of services to residents of the communities of Arbor Vitae, Hazelhurst, Lac du Flambeau, Lake Tomahawk, Minocqua, and Woodruff, Wisconsin.  These include educational programs, hosting of local organizations and governmental agencies, recreation, local transportation, a nutrition program, and grief counseling, among others.  A 2017 survey found strong local support for building a new senior center.  Since that time, Generations has completed the planning for this facility and is in the process of arranging the funding required for construction.  Generations joined GIVN in December of 2023, and has taken an active role in the development of the organization.

Since August of 2025, GIVN has worked with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) to develop new and innovative services to address documented gaps in the health care system of Northern Wisconsin based on the network’s strategic health plan.  During that month, GIVN staff began a series of meetings with faculty and students of UWM to determine what services could most benefit both organizations.  In January, GIVN began a series of meetings with the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare which led to  development of a successful grant proposal to establish a regional MSW training program for Northern Wisconsin. GIVN and UWM are currently in the process of finalizing a long-term partnership agreement that will include many areas of collaboration.  In specific, GIVN is most interested in recruiting nurse practitioners and psychiatric nurses to work in Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.  UWM believes that there are many opportunities for students and nurse led training, research, and mentorship through collaborations with GIVN.  

The UWM School of Nursing is the state’s largest nursing program with a current enrollment of 1,200 undergraduate and 300 graduate students.  For the past fifty years, the UWM School of Nursing has provided live saving education and training to its 9,000 alumni who provide patient care worldwide. UWM provides one of the largest undergraduate and graduate programs in the state with educational programs ranging from first year nursing  to PhD nursing education and training.  The mission of the UWM School of nursing is to create optimum health and well-being through education, research, and active engagement with individuals, families, and communities.  This mission fits well with the mission and goals of GIVN.  Currently, GIVN and UWM Nursing are working on a collaborative regional telehealth program, and other services to support behavioral health and suicide prevention initiatives of the network.

In July of 2026, GIVN was informed that the MSW training grant it had developed with the Helen Bader Social of Social Welfare had been funded.  This program will train up to 20 social workers who will provide behavioral health, medical support, and other services to counties across Northern Wisconsin.  The UWM School of Social Work is the oldest and largest program in the state offering full and part-time options for students. In the opinion of GIVN, the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare is unique collaboration and directly addresses several of the program goals of the network.  Its advanced MSW curriculum allows MSW students to gain skills in many areas by choosing electives that lead directly to certification in many areas. These include applied gerontology, trauma informed care, and youth substance abuse. Specialized areas of training include behavioral health, clinical social work, and substance abuse counseling.  GIVN currently plans to hire three or more UWM social work graduates in the next two years and is working closely with the program to recruit the first students for the GIVN-UWM Social Work Partnership that began on July 1st.

On August 14th, the Board of Directors of the Gogebic, Iron, and Vilas Network approved the membership of Nicolet College of Rhinelander to join GIVN.  Nicolet College has provided  excellent technical training including many options for pursuing a bachelor’s degree since the school opened in 1970.  The college’s service area includes Iron, Vilas, Forest, and Oneida Counties, which represents a service area of 4,000 square miles and 92,000 residents.  Based on the college website, 92% of Nicolet students attend part-time with 73% being under the age of 29 and 27% being 30 or older.  The Mission of the college is to serve the people of Northern Wisconsin by delivering superior community college education that transforms lives, enriches communities, foster economic development, and expands employment opportunities.

As of fall 2026, Nicolet College offered a total of 15 programs and degrees, many of which are health related.  These included Associate Program Degrees, Technical Diplomas, and Certificate and Apprenticeship Programs in the following subject areas:  Accounting; Carpentry, Heavy Equipment, and Plumbing Apprenticeship; Automotive Technician, Business Management, Cosmetology, Criminal Justice, Culinary, Early Childhood Education, Health, Human Services, IT Computer Support and Web Development, Mechanical Technology, Nursing, Office Management, and Welding. There are also five separate university transfer classes available for transferring students.  Health related programs of the college include Emergency Medical Technician and Phlebotomy, Medical Assistant, Radiology Technician, Substance Abuse Counselor, and Nursing and Nursing Assistant.

During meetings with administration of the college in May and June of 2026, GIVN discussed many possible future areas of collaboration.  One of the most significant gaps in services GIVN hoped to address using Nicolet College was to re-establish a dental assisting and over time establish a dental hygiene program for Northern Wisconsin.  This had been determined by GIVN to be the second greatest program need of its service area.  GIVN was also interested in working with Nicolet to establish a billing and coding curriculum which is considered important for the development of new services for the region.  As of September 2026, GIVN is in the process of scheduling meetings with the workforce development staff of Nicolet to determine possible collaborative areas of training for which grant support is available.  It is also exploring training opportunities to be held in either Northern Vilas or Iron County or on-line classes to address other documented gaps in services such as women’s health, substance abuse treatment for opioid addiction, and home care for patients having Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia.  In summary, GIVN believes there are many potential areas of collaboration with Nicolet College, and it looks forward to working with the college to address many of the most urgent medical needs of the service areas of both organizations in the next five years.