Prairie Ridge Health is a not-for-profit, 25 bed critical access hospital (CAH) providing personalized, high-quality healthcare, wellness and education in a compassionate and innovative environment for community members in Columbus, Fall River, Cambria, Lowell, Marshall, Randolph, Reeseville, Rio, Waterloo, Beaver Dam, and Sun Prairie, and other surrounding communities. Our team of providers, healthcare workers, volunteers, and board members live by our mission, “by building caring relationships with those we serve, we guide the journey to health and wellness”.

Prairie Ridge Health offers a vast array of services from Diabetes Education, Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, and General Surgery to ICU, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics, Orthopedics, Rehabilitation, Swing Bed, and much more! Prairie Ridge Health also owns and operates three clinic locations under the name Prairie Ridge Health Clinic (PRHC) in Columbus, Marshall and Beaver Dam, WI offering Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Orthopedics, Obstetrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology (OBGYN), and Rheumatology services.

Prairie Ridge Health is dedicated to educating the future healthcare workers of tomorrow and ensuring their placement in a rural setting. Nationally, and in the state of Wisconsin, healthcare workforce shortage has been a topic of conversation for years. Projections by leading experts and researchers show that there may not be enough healthcare workers to meet the needs of patients across our state and in our communities. To address this need, Prairie Ridge Health partners with a variety of academic organizations to offer clinical rotations and other learning opportunities in a rural hospital and/or clinic setting:

  • Advanced Practice Providers (PA-C and NPs) 
  • Medical Students
  • Diabetic Educators and Nutritionist Students
  • Laboratory Tech Students
  • Medical Imaging Students
  • Nursing Students
  • Surgical Tech Students
  • Job Shadow Opportunities (College and High School Students)
  • Club Scrub (High School Students)

Through a positive, team-based culture with Prairie Ridge Health and partners, students will leave feeling prepared and ready to seek a career as a valued member of the rural healthcare workforce in Wisconsin. 

To learn how you can engage in one of the listed educational opportunities, please contact the Education Manager at 920-623-1276.