WFU Members Speak Up on Rural Hospital Closures, Federal Cuts
- Erin Thompson
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Nobody understands the debilitating challenges that come with hospital closures, unaffordable health insurance options, and cuts to federal programs more than the farmers and rural residents who have to live with the aftermath everyday.
That’s why Wisconsin Farmers Union has partnered with communications hub, A Better Wisconsin Together, to create a series of videos that feature member voices on the pressing healthcare issues that rural Wisconsin is facing. The first two videos in the series are available now for viewing on the WFU YouTube channel.
How do Medicare and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cuts disproportionately hurt rural Wisconsin? Pam Guthman is a Chippewa County Farmers Union member who has a rich family history of farming in the region. We visited her and her father in Holcombe, Wisconsin last fall. In a conversation with Pam, she shared her perspectives on rural health disparities, the prohibitive cost of health insurance, rural hospital closures, and the repercussions of Medicare and SNAP cuts for rural Wisconsin.
Pam has a background in rural nursing and public health. She’s been on the frontlines in a community that lost its healthcare facilities in 2024.
“When the closures of the hospitals and clinics happened [in Chippewa Falls] I was still working as a school nurse here in our local community school district,” Pam said. “People ended up with delayed care, delayed medication, and it caused huge disruptions in the pharmacy. We still haven’t recovered at all.”
During her career dedicated to rural health, Pam has recognized the profound impact that preventative measures, which consider health from a holistic perspective, have on health outcomes over time.
“Where your health really has an impact is… your environment, the outside world, our soil, our water, public education, and certainly housing and food security,” Pam said. “The effects of the Medicaid cuts and SNAP changes are devastating and disproportionate to rural communities.”
Hear more about Pam’s story and how you can take action by viewing the full-length video.
Kari Esbensen and Russell Butkiewicz are Wood-Portage-Waupaca Farmers Union members located in Ogdensburg, Wisconsin. During their interview, the couple pulled on their expertise in healthcare to show how the closure of a Waupaca County birthing unit will have ripple effects for years to come. They discuss how the closure has affected healthcare access for families across Waupaca County, including how longer travel times, limited access to specialty care, and continued cuts to rural healthcare services affect everyday life in Waupaca County.
Russell is a retired family practice physician who spent his career in Waupaca. The hospital and birthing unit in Waupaca are what originally brought Kari and Russell to the area. For Kari, it was important to raise their children in a rural place where the couple could care for the land and raise food. Both Kari and Russell voiced concern over the ways in which healthcare facility closures can hollow out a small town.
“Through the changes that are going on right now in corporate medicine and the downsizing of rural hospitals, I worry about Waupaca disappearing,” Russell said.
In addition to providing critical services, rural healthcare facilities provide good jobs that attract people to the area.
“If you’re losing your rural hospital, it fights against the economic development agendas of rural communities trying to recruit new people,” Kari said.
Russel cites travel times as a significant healthcare access concern, especially in places where hospitals are being shuttered.
“The more closures you have, the bigger and bigger areas and the longer the travel time is for folks,” Russell said.
Hear more about Kari and Russell’s story and how you can take action by viewing the full-length video.
Through conversations with WFU members from across the state, this video series highlights the real-world impacts of public policy on rural Wisconsin. Together, these stories raise awareness of the challenges facing rural communities and encourage conversations about the policies that shape access to healthcare, economic opportunity, and quality of life.
Additional videos produced by A Better Wisconsin Together, in partnership with Wisconsin Farmers Union, will be released later this year. Stay tuned for a conversation with Sauk County Farmers Union member, Tom Kriegl, about the impact of nursing home closures, and a video series focused on the relationship between immigration and Wisconsin’s dairy farms.
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