Excellence in Governance - 2022

Bugher, who became board chair in 2012, has a strong background in education, government and business, retiring from his last position in 2013. During his board tenure, the health system has doubled the number of employees, expanded its hospital network from one to 11, significantly bridged the hospital access gap for rural Wisconsin communities and produced more than $1 billion in annual revenue. He has been instrumental in maintaining Marshfield’s long-term vision of providing innovative care to rural communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership, Marshfield has made significant gains in health equity, diversity and inclusion through hiring efforts, strategic partnerships and new care models that lowered patient costs. In the past 18 months, Bugher helped lead system expansion through new construction, renovations and the addition of its first out-of-state acute-care hospital—in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.