David Hopkins of Woita & Associates Business & Retirement Planning in Altoona recently earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP) designation. Eligible financial planners must have other certifications in place as well as several years of documented professional experience in order to apply to take the courses and pass the exams required to obtain the designation. RICP candidates receive specific training focused on topics such as converting savings to steady income, choosing when to claim social security benefits and company-sponsored retirement programs, how to cover health insurance, long term care, and protect retirement income. Hopkins joins an elite group of financial planners in obtaining this designation with only a few local individuals having earned it and only a few thousand nationwide possessing the designation.
Wendy McDermott M.D., a hospitalist, recently joined Hospital Medicine at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. A hospitalist is a physician who is dedicated full time to taking care of patients admitted to the hospital. McDermott earned her medical degree from the University of Minnesota-School of Medicine in Minneapolis. She received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. McDermott completed her internal medicine residency at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prior to joining Mayo Clinic Health System, she served as a hospitalist at Bell Hospital and at Sound Inpatient Physicians in Ishpeming, Michigan.
Radiologist Won Song, M.D., recently joined the Radiology Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Song earned his bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry and psychology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Song completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, along with a residency in radiology at the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium and a fellowship in nuclear medicine in San Antonio, Texas. Song is a lieutenant colonel with the United States Army. Prior to joining Mayo Clinic Health System, Song served as chief of diagnostic imaging and nuclear medicine at Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Licensed athletic trainer Sydney Kapitany recently joined the Sports Medicine Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Kapitany earned her master’s degree in education from UW-Stout and a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from the UW-Eau Claire. Her professional interests include concussion management and education.
Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire also announced that it has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period.
Chippewa Valley Home Builders Association announced the following winners of this year’s Parade of Homes People’s Choice Awards:
- Peoples Choice Category I (Up to $280,000) -- Wurzer Builders - House #11
- Peoples Choice Category 2 ($280,000 - $374,999) -- C&E Wurzer Builders - House #12
- Peoples Choice Category 3 ($375,000- $499,999) -- C&E Wurzer Builders - House #3
- Peoples Choice Category 4 (Over $500,000) -- Peterson Custom Homes - House #1