Clinic closure: Colfax seeking opinions on new medical services

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX  —  If you are reading this article, the Village of Colfax wants your opinion on what you would like to see offered for new medical services.

With the Mayo Clinic in Colfax closing as of July 1, Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer, has been working on a survey to find out what residents in the area would be likely to use if a new clinic were to move into that space.

“We need to find out what people want. If they will use a facility other than the Mayo Clinic, or if they will be following their Mayo provider, whether it be Bloomer, Eau Claire or Menomonie,” Niggemann said.

“We want input from the users of the local health care facility in Colfax,” she said.

The survey is intended for residents in the Village of Colfax as well as the surrounding townships, including the Towns of Colfax, Grant, Otter Creek, Elk Mound, Tainter, Cooks Valley and Howard.

EMTs from the Colfax Rescue Squad have been going door-to-door in Colfax to talk to people about the visibility of their house numbers and to distribute copies of the survey.

Niggemann is mailing out surveys to residents of the Colfax school district who have a ZIP code other than 54730 and would like readers of the Colfax Messenger to respond to the survey, too.

The reason that the 54730 ZIP code was taken out of the school district’s mailing list for the health care surveys is because it was too difficult to only separate out the village of Colfax addresses, Niggemann explained.

Anyone who lives in Colfax or the surrounding area is very much encouraged to fill out a survey, she said.

Results from the surveys will help the clinics that have been approached about providing services in Colfax — Marshfield, Prevea and OakLeaf — to know what services people would be likely to use and what hours they would prefer the clinic be open, Niggemann said.

“I think it’s important that we have somebody here (to provide medical services) … this is an issue that people seem to feel strongly about,” she said.

The survey contains five questions and asks for the age groups of family members (younger than 18; 19 to 26; 27 to 62; older than 62); whether you would be willing to use a medical provider other than Mayo such as Marshfield, Prevea or OakLeaf Clinics; which types of providers you are willing to see, such as a doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, a physician’s assistant or a nurse practitioner; if the clinic were only open part-time, which hours would you prefer, mornings, afternoons or evenings; and what types of services would you like a Colfax provider to offer, such as x-rays, blood draws, routine care, sports physicals.

Surveys are available at the village clerk’s office, the Colfax Public Library, Kyle’s Market, Bremer Bank, Dairy State Bank, Colfax Health Mart, Express Mart, Cedar Country Cooperative, the Colfax Health and Rehabilitation Center and online at the village’s website: www.villageofcolfaxwi.org and at the Colfax Commercial Club’s website: www.colfaxcommercialclub.com.

Surveys can be mailed to or dropped off at the village office at 613 Main Street, Colfax WI 54730. Or scanned copies of the survey can be e-mailed to: clerktreasurer@villageofcolfaxwi.org.

For more information or if you have questions, call Don Knutson, director of the Colfax Rescue Squad,  715-962-3049 or Niggemann at 715-962-3311.

The deadline for the survey is July 15.