Category: General

The HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital Prevea Oconto Falls Health Center, located at 853 S. Main St., is now scheduling appointments for sports physical examinations for athletes wanting to participate in a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) sport.
Sports physicals are performed by Prevea Health providers and licensed athletic trainers. “We are examining everything from heart issues to musculoskeletal issues,” said Mike LaMere, Prevea Sports Medicine Outreach Manager. “We want to make sure athletes are healthy and ready to compete.”
Sports physical examinations cost $20 and all proceeds will be donated to the athletic department of the school the athlete/patient plays for. Athletes/patients can also request their payment be donated to their sport club. Please see below for available appointment dates and times.

Sports Physicals at HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital Prevea Oconto Falls Health Center

• Tuesday, July 10, 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 31, 1 to 5 p.m.
• Call (920) 846-8187 to make an appointment

For more information, visit: www.prevea.com/wiaa-physicals
Downloadable physical forms are available at: http://www.wiaawi.org/

Money will help hospital program boost aid to local children in need

HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital is pleased to announce the Leon H. and Clymene M. Bond Foundation, Inc., has awarded a $30,000 grant to the Nurse’s Nook program.

Nurse’s Nook provides aid to children in need in the Gillett, Suring and Oconto Falls school districts. Aid provided includes basic needs items, non-perishable food, personal hygiene products, winter clothing and boots, medical supplies/devices and vouchers for transportation to medical appointments. These items are kept stocked within each of the school districts throughout the year and given to students free-of-charge on an as-needed basis. School nurses, guidance counselors and secretaries work as a team to identify the students in need.

The Bond Foundation grant will allow the Nurse’s Nook program to expand into the Lena and Oconto school districts in the 2018-2019 school year, and will allow for the purchase of more supplies to be provided to children in need.

Nurse’s Nook informally began in 2014 when Nuala Nowicki, a Prevea Health school nurse for the Gillett School District, recognized that poverty in the region was negatively impacting students’ abilities to learn and succeed in school. She expanded the program to the Suring School District in 2015. In 2017, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital joined Nuala in her efforts and assisted in expanding Nurse’s Nook to the Oconto Falls school district. Today, Nurse’s Nook operates as a collaborative effort between HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital, Prevea Health, Nuala, local school districts and countless volunteers and donors who dedicate time and effort to collecting supplies, operating the program and helping children in need.

“We are immensely grateful to the Bond Foundation for this generous donation, which will greatly enhance our abilities to serve more children throughout Oconto County,” says Nuala. “It is our mission with Nurse’s Nook to provide local youth increased opportunities to learn and succeed in school, and become healthy, contributing members of the community.”

The Nurse’s Nook program relies solely on support and donations from the community to operate. Anyone who would like to learn more information or donate to Nurse’s Nook should contact Nuala Nowicki at thenursesnook@gmail.com or (920) 272-3415.

Now taking appointments in communities throughout Northeast Wisconsin

Green Bay – Prevea Health and Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) – Eastern Wisconsin Division are pleased to announce the launch of a 3-D and digital, mobile mammography unit to provide residents in rural areas greater access to breast health screenings.

The mobile mammography unit is now traveling on a regular basis to Prevea Health centers in Kewaunee, Luxemburg, Manitowoc, Shawano, Pulaski, Seymour, Oconto, Marinette, Gillett, Mountain and Lena – with additional locations to be added in the future. Appointments can be made now by calling (888) 277-3832.

“High-quality health care, especially preventive health services and screenings should never be difficult for anyone to find,” said Dr. Ashok Rai, President and CEO of Prevea Health. “It should be readily available and close to home when you need it – and that is why we’re here. This is state-of-the-art technology on wheels that, with just some gas in the tank, can provide life-saving care to communities all across Northeast Wisconsin.”

The mobile mammography unit is equipped with mammography technology that has the capability to provide 3-D and/or digital images. It also features two changing rooms and a waiting room, and is staffed by a registered mammography technologist.

“Mammograms provide us an X-ray image of the breast, which can help us detect any tumors or other abnormalities,” said Brittany Demeuse, certified mammographer at Prevea Health who cares for patients in the mobile mammography unit. “They play a key role in the detection of breast cancer, a disease in which an estimated 266,120 women have already been diagnosed with this year alone, according to the National Cancer Institute. If we can catch cancer early with a mammogram, it is likely more treatable. Mammograms can even help us detect some forms of cancer before they develop.”

All women should talk with their health care provider about the appropriate timing for screening mammograms, especially women who are age 40 or at high-risk. A schedule will be based upon an individual’s health. At age 40, any woman may wish to begin regular screening mammograms. By age 45, women should have a screening mammogram and continue to have one at least every other year.

The mobile mammography unit was purchased with funds that were donated by private donors to HSHS St. Vincent/St. Mary’s Foundation – the philanthropic, charitable arm of HSHS St. Vincent Hospital and HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center in Green Bay. HSHS St. Vincent Hospital and HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center are part of HSHS – Eastern Wisconsin Division, which also includes HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan and HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital in Oconto Falls.

“As a not-for-profit health care system, we rely on donations to help us enhance the care that we provide – whether it be through the addition of new services or the purchase of new technology and equipment, such as the mobile mammography unit,” said Therese Pandl, President and CEO of HSHS-Eastern Wisconsin Division. “We are immensely grateful to the donors who made the purchase of this unit possible and are honored to partner with Prevea to deploy it into communities throughout Northeast Wisconsin.”

To learn more about the mobile mammography unit, visit: www.prevea.com/mammo

HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital and Prevea Health are pleased to announce that Dr. Stacee Goedtel Birr, a board-certified family medicine physician, is now seeing patients at the HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital Prevea Gillett Health Center, located at 340 N. Green Bay Ave. in Gillett.

Dr. Goedtel Birr also continues to see patients at the HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital Prevea Oconto Falls Health Center, located at 835 S. Main St. in Oconto Falls.

Dr. Goedtel Birr specializes in the following:

• Routine care for children, adults and elderly
• Preventive medicine and health maintenance
• Osteopathic medicine and manipulative treatment
• Women’s care
• Pregnancy care up to 28 weeks
• Dermatology
• Minor skin procedures
• Minor psychiatric illness

Dr. Goedtel Birr, originally from Lena, Wis., completed medical school at Des Moines University, College of Osteopathic Medicine, and residency at Fox Valley Family Medicine Residency in Appleton.

“My approach to providing quality patient care includes getting to know the patient and involving them in choosing a treatment plan that works best for them,” said Dr. Goedtel Birr. “I believe we must agree on a course of action that is simple and cost-effective, yet complex enough to accomplish all our goals.”

Appointments with Dr. Goedtel Birr in Gillett can be made by calling (920) 855-2823, and appointments in Oconto Falls can be made by calling (920) 846-8187.