DARLINGTON — The staff at Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County thinks of itself as one big family, and has bred a culture to back up that claim. When Carlee Segebrecht was in the hiring process to become the hospital’s new Chief Operating Officer, she did a background check of her own — and came to the same conclusion.

“I had researched the hospital before coming here,” Segebrecht said. “One of the things that attracted me is the culture. I am a working mom — I have kids at home and my husband works full-time. Talking with Kathy and Deanna and hearing of the culture they’ve delivered really attracted me to working here.”

Hired in late 2022, Segebrecht’s official first day was Tuesday, Jan. 2. She was reassured almost right away that she made the right decision to join the hospital.

“Since starting, the talent and passion the doctors, the surgeons, the nurses, the support staff — everyone — it’s been really astounding. It’s very impressive that you can find that in a rural community,” Segebrecht said. 

Time and time again, the administration talks glowingly of the “culture” and team effort from across the facility. From Kathy Kuepers, Chief Executive Officer, and the rest of the administrative staff, to the retention rate of quality doctors, nurses, and maintenance staff — the “culture” is what binds them all together.

“It is kind of a culture thing — being from the area, knowing the people in the area, they do develop a certain level of trust for what you bring to the table,” Kuepers said. “That is very important in healthcare, because you need to trust the people that are providing the services for you — whether it’s in administration, patient care, reaching out into the community; all of that. You need to trust that they are doing the best job.”

Kuepers is always looking for strong, committed talent to join her staff, and the hiring process is about getting the best workers available. For example, the current administrative staff is all from southwestern Wisconsin.

“When we focus on filling positions, we definitely do not focus on gender — we focus on talent and skill sets,” Kuepers said.

Coincidentally, the MHLC administration is also all-female.

“To be honest, we don’t think about it. Predominantly in healthcare, women fill the roles — except for administration. Probably somewhere between 15-19% of administrators are women, so we are definitely not the norm here,” Kuepers said. 

In fact, it’s not the first time it’s been an all-female administrative staff — it just works out that way sometimes, Kuepers said. “We happen to have attracted many talented women here that are doing an amazing job. Having said that, we are very, very fortunate. I think talent attracts talent, so when you start getting very talented people in these positions, it attracts other very talented people into your organization. While we don’t focus on it, it still is pretty amazing to work this group of women.”

Deanna Wright, Chief Clinical Officer, said that part of the reason of a high retention rate is the chance to climb up the ladder at the hospital. 

“Most of us in administration worked our way up from within the facility, holding other roles and titles and worked their way through,” Wright said. 

Similar to Segebrecht, Addison Reilly is also somewhat new to MHLC. Reilly took over for Sue Paquette, who retired as the hospital’s Community Outreach Director in early December 2022.

“It’s been really great, and everyone has been really helpful. Even Sue, who retired from the position I was in, she’s always willing to help out. I even saw her the other day and asked her a few questions,” Reilly said. “It does help that I am local, that I grew up here in Lafayette County. I came in and knew most of the people.”

Sally Blackbourn, Director of Nursing, said the staff takes pride in continuing the culture built inside the building over the years.

“That’s one thing with our culture, is we have a great retention of our staff, and they are very proud to work here. They stay here,” Blackbourn said.

It’s also the goal of the staff to continue that culture to the long-awaited new hospital building.

“They are putting their heart and soul into the new replacement facility. They want it to be good for both the staff and the community members,” Blackbourn said.

The new facility will cost more than $50 million, and Kuepers said everyone is hopefully to break ground this spring, and hopefully move everything in to the new hospital over the course of just a couple of days in the Fall of 2024.

“We are really hoping to break ground in April. We are praying that Mother Nature really is on our side — that will really be the determining factor,” Kuepers said.

Bids are being finalized for electrical, plumbing and mechanical needs. The design and layout is being finalized as well, with new equipment also being purchased.

Kuepers and the administrative staff also made it an inclusive endeavor for the entire staff, not only giving updates on the processes, but taking their own wants and desires into account.

“One of our goals was to really engage in our staff in this whole process — because it really is their hospital as well. It was really important to introduce it at every meeting to give them updates. They have been very engaged in the last few months with meetings, and deciding on equipment, and furniture and space — they have been very involved in designing their space and looking at it. We’ve really engaged them in the process and they are all-in and very excited,” Kuepers said.

The new facility will also be bigger, and provide more services. Right now, MHLC has just one operating room in the emergency department, but that will bump up to two in the new facility. The incoming hospital will also have an MRI machine, something the current facility is without. With new equipment comes either new training, or added staff, which the administration is pleased with.

“It’s been an eye-opening journey and very exciting, and something to be proud of. I’m just so proud of our hospital and our community in general and what we’ve been able to accomplish in our small rural area. I think it just speaks volumes to our staff and everyone here of what we’ve accomplished. You don’t accomplish it just by yourself — it takes the whole team. I think with the replacement facility, it’s really going to reflect on our teamwork and just how much we lean on each other and how much we have to work together,” Wright said.

Segebrecht, her husband and children enjoy living in the rolling hills of southwestern Wisconsin. She said her family likes the smaller, rural community aspect of life over the hustle and bustle of the city. However, a lot of times the people in smaller communities have no choice but to go to a hospital in the city to get proper care. She sees the new facility as a way to remedy that situation in Lafayette County.

“I am very excited to give a world class facility to the talented individuals that work here. I live in the rural community, because it’s where I want to raise my family, and it’s nice to not have to drive to a metropolitan community to get those kinds of services. It’s exciting for patients in the community, but I’m also excited for our talented staff and to hopefully give them those new facilities. Everyone here knows their stuff,” Segebrecht said.

Current site or future site, in the end, Kuepers said that she’s proud of the hospital she helps run, the service MHLC provides, and especially the people inside that give it the personal, human touch.

“I think people that work here are very invested in the organization and everything it entails. I’ve been working here a lot of years in a lot of capacities, and something I just really believe is Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County is a great place to work: Great people, and a lot of talent,” Kuepers said.

— This story was originally published in the Jan. 26, 2023 SHE special section, a product of Morris Media and inserted into copies of the Republican Journal, Grant County Herald Independent, The Platteville Journal and the Tri County Press.