Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/407833
w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m N o v e m b e r 2 0 14 • I NSIGH T | 37 Access to health care expands in northern Wisconsin within the region, many maintained by private clubs. Several of the ATV trail systems are now available year-round. e cold weather is not a deterrent for these folks. "If you are really into these activities, below freezing temperatures don't really make that much of a difference to you," Gehlhoff says. "e equipment they use and the clothes they wear are designed for it." e colder temperatures are better for the trail as well, says Roy Lawrenz, president of the Bagley & Brazeau Joyriders Snowmobile Club, which is based in the Lee Lake area. "ey are best between 0 and 10 degrees," he says. e club maintains nearly 100 miles of trails that connect into other trail systems that can take snowmobilers across the state and into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan if the snow conditions are right. While most clubs are tied to a community, the Bagley & Brazeau club draws members from communities such as Neenah, Menasha and Green Bay. "We generate a pretty good influx of people coming north to enjoy the sport," Lawrenz says, noting that only about 10 percent of the residents in the Lee Lake and Kelly Lake area live there year-round. "All throughout the area there are summer homes and cabins in the woods, and that's where the influx comes from." As popular as fall and winter sports are, not everyone is a fan of the cold weather. Not to worry, there are plenty of opportunities to camp, fish and enjoy the outdoors throughout the year. Indeed, the water — frozen or thawed — plays a central role in the tourism attractions year-round. e region is dotted with lakes, streams, rivers and campgrounds, and is blessed with miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. It's also home to some of the state's pristine, or wild, rivers that have been declared off- C ommunity Memorial Hospital of Oconto Falls has joined the Hospital Sisters Health System, joining St. Vincent and St. Mary's hospitals in Green Bay as part of a broader Eastern Wisconsin network. Now known as HSHS St. Clare Memorial, the hospital is the first added to the Hospital Sister's system since 1987. HSHS is based in Springfield, Ill., and is composed of 14 hospitals, eight on that state and six in Wisconsin. e hospitals in Eastern Wisconsin Division work with Prevea health, which provides access to more than 200 physicians in more than 50 areas of specialization. "We are creating the foundation upon which we will continue our mission of providing high quality health care close to home," says Dan DeGroot, CEO of HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital. [continued] » St. Clare began working with HSHS in 2011 when it entered into an affiliation agreement to enhance physician recruitment and improve health care delivery. "A lot of the rooms and cabins are booked the year before and it's been the same groups booking them for years. It's not just the gun deer season, but bow hunting and then the extra seasons — we can have hunters in the woods until near the first of the year." – A n n H a r t n e l l, exe c u t i ve d i re c to r o f t h e M a r i n e t te Co u nt y A s s o c i at i o n fo r B u s i n e s s & I n d u s t r y