The Reporter from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin • A3

FDLREPORTER.COM WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2023 3A ROSENDALE James W. Warmbier, 83, of Rosendale, died on Monday, May 1, 2023, at Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh. He was born on October 20, 1939, in Eldorado, the son of Arthur A. and Myrtle Rusch Warmbier. He was a graduate of Rosendale High School, Class of 1958.

He married Barbara L. Hein, on February 16, 1980, at Peace Lutheran Church, Rosendale. Jim worked at Rosendale Canning Factory, La- martine Creamery and at Mercury Marine for 37 years, retiring in 2002. He later worked at Rosendale Cemetery for ten years and also worked at Rosen- dale School System, retiring from both in 2012. He was a member of Peace Lutheran Church, Rosendale.

Jim enjoyed hunting, snowmobiling, fishing, sturgeon spearing, geocaching and traveling. Each year, Jim and Barb would go to Rhinelander for a week-long with no relation, only them and all the friends know for 32 years. Jim will be remembered as the and a man with a heart of gold. He is survived by his loving wife Barbara Warmbier of Rosendale, two stepchildren: John (Deb) Waterworth of Fond du Lac and Tina Wa- terworth of Green Bay; his grandson Austin Peterson, his sisters: Patricia Abbs of Rosendale and Diana (Donald) Ballwanz of Neshkoro, WI; his three nephews, who he loved dearly: Robert (Shelly) Abbs, David (Jackie) Ballwanz and Gary (Pamela) Abbs, his brother-in-law: Robert (Diane) Hein of Spring Hill, FL, his sister-in-law: Paulette (Jim) Neibauer of Beaver Dam; nieces and nephews: Jeff (Tiffany) Hein, Scott (Ashley Sauter) Hein, George (Stacey) Stegner and Dawn (Paul) Bruley. He is preceded in death by his parents, his in-laws: Henry and Audrey Hein, his brother and sister-in-law Eugene and Bernette Warmbier, his brothers-in-law: Victor Abbs and Fred Hein.

VISITATION: The family will greet friends from 12:00 2:00 PM, on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at Peace Lutheran Church, 124 South Main Street, Rosendale. SERVICE: Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at Peace Lutheran Church, with Rev. Jonathan Stanchfield officiating. Burial to follow at Rosendale Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials appreciated to Peace Lutheran Church, Rosendale.

Kurki Funeral Chapel Crematory is serving the family, on-line guestbook can be found at www.kurkifuneralchapel.com. 920-921-4420 James W. Warmbier FOND DU LAC Sandria K. Schmitz, 60, of Fond du Lac passed on Saturday, May 6, 2023 at Cherry Meadows Hospice surrounded by her family. Sandy was born on November 4, 1962 the daugh- ter of Milton and Marion (Manthey) Prochnow in Waupun, Wisconsin.

She was baptized in 1962 and confirmed in the Lutheran faith in 1977 at St. Lutheran Church. She was a 1981 graduate of Markesan High School and 1982 graduate of Moraine Park Technical nursing program. Sandy met Steve in 1985 and they married on September 10, 1988, at Faith Lutheran Church in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Sandy dedicated her life to taking care of her husband, daughters, grand- daughter, and family.

She proudly raised her four daughters, nursed Steve back to health after a life-threatening accident, and cared for her parents, aunt, and sister near the end of their lives. Being Grammy to Kelsey and taking care of her weekly brought her incredible joy and happiness. When not caring for those around her Sandy loved reading, shopping with her daughters, watching her spending quality time with her husband, baking, watching Survivor, taking trips with her sisters, and doing puzzle books. Her smile and contagious laughter will be forever missed. She was devoted to Christ and has found peace with Him in Heaven.

Sandy is survived by her husband of 34 years, Steve; her daughters: Stacy Schmitz (Daniel Buechel), Megan Schmitz (Austin Kaiser), Katie (Cody) Pankow, and Emily Schmitz (Brady Nehring); her granddaughter: Kelsey Pankow; her sisters: Janice (Paul) Obry, Cynthia (Tim) Pagel; her brother Ronald (Alison) Prochnow; in-laws: Bob Resheske, Mary Schmitz, Denise Joel Enking, and Mark Rosie Schmitz; nephews: Ryan, Craig, Ben, Zach, JJ, Tony, and Aaron; and nieces: Leah, Lauren, Alannah, and Lindsay. She was preceded in death by her parents, her mother and father-in-law, her sister, Patrice Resheske, and her brother-in-law Dave Schmitz. Visitation for Sandy will be held on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 from 4-7 pm at Zacherl Funeral Home and Thursday, May 11 from 10-11 am at Faith Lutheran Church. The funeral will take place at Faith Lutheran on Thursday, May 11 at 11am with a lunch to follow. The family wishes to express a heartfelt thank you to ThedaCare ICU and Cherry Meadows Hospice.

Your kindness will always be remembered. The Zacherl Funeral Home in Fond du Lac is serving the family. Sandria K. Schmitz ANCHORAGE, AK Fr. Alfred John (A.J.) Fisher, 95, passed away on April 21, 2023, in Anchorage, Alaska.

He was born January 22, 1928, of Paul and Gertrude (Ziegler) Fisher in Lamartine, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. He was an active priest for 64 years. Dairy farming was his culture as was rural Cath- olic religion. His education started in a one room schoolhouse, followed by attendance at St. Springs Catholic high school and a philosophy de- gree from St.

Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, WI. He studied theology at Regina Cleri Seminary in Regina Saskatchewan, Canada. A sabbatical was taken at the Cath- olic University in Washington, DC. Along the way he studied the Mexican language in San Antonio, TX. The first 32 years of his priesthood was spent as a pastor in the Baker Diocese, Oregon.

He served at the Indian mission, school and ranch. Coun- try high desert and timber areas in the mountains provided more unique assignments. His second 32-year career consisted of part time ministry in the Sunday circuit in Alaska. His many postings in Alaska include: Holy Rosary Academy Chaplain, Auxiliary Chaplain for the Air Force and Army. Fr.

Fisher has a gravestone in Woodhull, Wisconsin, that reads, to Oregon and He is survived by one brother Marvin (Marilyn) Fisher of Des Moines, Iowa; nieces nephews: Donna (Steve) Buck, Ann (Jerry) Kaiser, Dan Fisher, Sherry (Dan) Simon, Jim Fisher, Cindy Hammes, Mike (Tammy) Fisher, Susie Fisher, Patty (Chad) Beardslee, Deb (William) Links, Jeannie (Steve) Franke. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Vincent, Lawrence, Francis; sister-in-law Elaine; niece Diane (Bob) Gelmi. SERVICES: Fr. family will receive relatives and friends on Satur- day, May 13, 2023, at Our Risen Savior Church, N6499 Co Rd Eldorado, WI 54932, in Woodhull from 10:00 to 11:00 am for visitation. A mass will be celebrated at 11:00 am.

Burial will be in the parish cemetery. A mass of Christian Burial was held in Alaska on May 10. A complete obituary can be found at www.zacherlfuneralhome.com Fr. Alfred J. Fisher parts of the body.

Wisconsin opened a clinic in Appleton in March that provides complex care in more than 22 special- ties including audiology, gastroenterol- ogy, asthma, allergy and cardiology. The clinic will provide pediatric care to around 70,000 patients a year. The clin- ic also expanded services in nutrition, physical medicine and rehabilitation and orthopedics. Since 2020, Bellin Health, Prevea Health and Aurora BayCare have invest- ed a total of $125 million into more than half-a-million square feet of medical in- frastructure that will provide new facil- ities to outpatient services, ortho- pedics and ambulatory surgical centers. At the same time, a number of specialty clinics have either moved to the area or opened.

Nutex Health a Houston-based company, is adding to that with a micro-hospital at 2465 Monroe Road, which is currently in construction and will cost about $10 million, according to a press release from October. This facility will provide emergency treatment and inpatient care and will have an imaging depart- ment. Northeast Wisconsin is a market for low-cost and quality health care The construction of surgical centers and new specialty clinics might seem like a new trend, but it said Sandy Jean Fragale, CEO of Orthopedic Sports Medicine Specialists, an inde- pendent medical center established in 2008 after the merger of Green Bay Or- thopedics and Orthopedics Associates. a need for addi- tional Fragale said. also a matter of patient satisfaction, quality health care and lower Fragale said there is a backlog for treatment due to the pandemic, but the region also has an older population, which may require more or care.

Green Bay population is getting she said. course, the older you get you are going to need more health care In Brown County, 41,000 people are over 65 years old; 15.4% of the population. Similarly, 16.7% of Calumet population is 65 or older. Over- all, 17.5% of Wisconsinites are aged 65 and older, with a median age of 39.1, ac- cording to U.S. Census Bureau esti- mates.

OSMS has seen consistent growth every year, Fragale said. In the northern region, which includes Green Bay, Oconto Falls and Marinette, the clinic saw a increase in patients from 2021 to 2022. She expects this area to con- tinue to grow in the coming years. In the southern region Neenah, Oshkosh and Chilton that growth is noticeably higher, with a increase between 2021 and 2022. think we are going to continue to see care move to independent specialty locations and specially places like am- bulatory surgical she said.

Wisconsin Technology 2023 report the PULSE: How Quality Health Care Builds a Better echoed these with one of the emerging trends from the American Hospital Association: notion that all patients should receive the same clinical model increas- ingly is being called into question by those seeking to advance consumer en- gagement. Some health care companies are focused on further segmenting their services to themselves and grow within diverse The report measured mortality rates, 30-day hospital readmissions, length of stay, inpatient charges, single and fam- ily health insurance coverage and other metrics with data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Na- tional Healthcare Quality and Dispari- ties Report, the Wisconsin Hospital As- sociation and many other institutions and reports. For example, the report said the U.S. average cost of care was more than Wisconsin was the eighth least expensive state overall with a per capita rate of $9,626 per person. It also said of Wisconsin adults went without care because of cost, compared to na- tionally.

But even as care is becoming more accessible and cheaper for some demo- graphics, for others, like children, it can still be a hurdle. Expanding access makes complex care more attainable for northeast Wisconsin families Many statewide programs for more complex care tend to be based at med- ical centers headquartered in Milwau- kee. About 50,000 visits at Wisconsin were children coming from northeast and central Wisconsin, driv- ing two to three hours each way depend- ing on where they live, according to Anne Broeker, a Wisconsin spokesperson. Those families would need to take time work or school to make the drive for appointments and procedures. It can become a full-day trip for appointments that may be just 15 minutes long.

Be- cause of the distance, Wis- consin pediatric cardiologist Dr. Mat- thew Buelow said many patients avoid getting necessary why opened up the Appleton clinic, with physicians who can provide the advanced pediatric and specialty care that previously available in the region. The clinic will provide pediatric care to around 70,000 patients a year. Bringing more services to Green Bay and the Fox Valley makes it a more ac- cessible place of care for the rest of the state and makes it less likely for pa- tients to skip appointments. be as much a burden for Buelow said.

Quality of care also develops when more specialty doctors can work direct- ly with primary care physi- cians in the region can share testing results and health screen- ings instead of repeating the same tests at the Buelow said. A critical component of expanding advanced care includes creating more integrated medical records. a really tangible example that will be helpful for families where data and their history can be shared to improve overall he said. Major health systems have been ex- panding partnerships in the northeast region to improve higher levels of care. Recently, ThedaCare announced it will merge with Froedtert Health in part to provide a more seamless network of care.

Making it easier for patients to from the initial appointment to recovery locally allows the quality of that care to improve, said Dr. Imran Andrabi, The- daCare CEO, in an interview announc- ing the merger. can take care of them in the com- munity in Andrabi said. When complex care is more accessi- ble, it also opens up resources to physi- cians to perform more services. makes it easier for patients to access that whole spectrum of care to get to the right care at the right time in the right Andrabi said.

Ariel Perez is a business reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can reach him at or view his Twitter at rez85. Benita Mathew is a health and science reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Contact Benita at or follow her on Twitter at Clinics Continued from Page 2A.