Board

About Us

Our Board Members

Sacred Heart Hospital is directed by a group of community leaders who serve in a volunteer capacity as the Board of Directors. It has been a guiding principle and belief of the Hospital Sisters that patient and community healthcare needs are best met through local and regional governance and management.

The board provides strategic planning and accountabilities to ensure our hospital’s customer-focused leadership system continues to be innovative, agile, sustainable and able to produce a superior level of performance compared to national high performance benchmarks.

Robert Krause, Chair – Bob Krause serves as chairperson of the Sacred Heart Hospital board. Bob is a Certified Public Accountant and an active member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Bob’s focus is in accounting, finance and technology. He is a long-time community leader and former member of the hospital’s Advisory Council.

Jeff Halloin, Vice Chair – Jeff Halloin serves as vice chair of the hospital’s board. Jeff has been the President of Landmark Company since 1993. Jeff is an attorney and was admitted to the bar in Wisconsin and Illinois. His areas of expertise include legal finance and real estate development.

Sister Marybeth Culnan, O.S.F., Officer – Sister Marybeth Culnan is Senior VP of Sponsorship/Governance & Regional VP of the Hospital Sisters Health System, as 14-hospital network of which Sacred Heart Hospital is affiliated. Formerly serving as Sacred Heart Hospital’s board chair, Sister Marybeth now serves as an officer. She also serves as an officer on Hospital Sisters HealthCare-West, Inc.

James Docksey is a financial advisor and General Partner with Edward Jones Investments in Chippewa Falls and also serves on the board of directors of St. Joseph’s Hospital. He has served individual investors and small business owners and as a Partner with Senior Regional Leader responsibilities, he mentors and consults with other Regional Leaders in Canada. James has served on the board of Friends of St. Joseph’s Hospital for nine years and served as Chair for his last two years. He is a member of the Chippewa Falls Noon Rotary Club and a board member of the Chippewa County Dental Foundation.

Julie Furst-Bowe, Ed.D., is Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She is a sought-after speaker and writer in the areas of higher education, quality and performance excellence, performance improvement, and the Baldrige National Quality Program, a public-private partnership by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the American Society for Quality. Julie spearheaded UW-Stout’s successful Baldrige application. Considered America's highest honor for performance excellence and quality achievement, Julie spearheaded UW-Stout’s Baldrige application and in 2001 the University became the first Malcolm Baldrige Award recipient in higher education.

Thomas J. Leinenkugel (Jake) is President of the Leinenkugel Brewing Company in Chippewa Falls and serves on the board of directors of St. Joseph’s Hospital. Known as “Jake,” in 1986 he became the fifth generation family member to head the Leinenkugel Brewing Company. He was born in Chippewa Falls, and then attended the University of Wisconsin to major in business. He graduated from Pepperdine University with a business degree and served 6 years as a U.S. Marine Corps Infantry Officer.

Chris Longbella, M.D., Secretary – Chris Longbella, MD, serves as secretary on the hospital’s board. He is a practicing obstetrician/gynecologist with Marshfield Clinic and is the past medical director for Marshfield Clinic’s Western Division. He has been practicing with Marshfield Clinic and Sacred Heart Hospital since 1992.

Thomas Peller, M.D. – Thomas Peller, MD, is a gastroenterologist who has been practicing independently and a member of the medical staff at Sacred Heart Hospital since 1994. He is the current chair of the OakLeaf Medical Network Board of Directors.

Stephen Ronstrom, President – Steve Ronstrom serves as President of the hospital’s board. He is President, Western Wisconsin Division, Hospital Sisters Health System. He also serves on the board of directors as an ex-officio member for Hospital Sisters HealthCare-West, Inc.

Sister Janice Schneider, O.S.F. – Sister Janice serves on the boards of directors of Sacred Heart Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls. She also serves as Provincial Secretary/Treasurer of the American Province of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis.