Marathon County names new health officer

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) – An internal candidate has won the job as Marathon County’s next public health officer.

Administrator Brad Karger has picked Joan Theurer to replace Julie Willems van Dijk, who resigned last month to accept a research job at the UW Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

“Joan was the top candidate in my mind because she brought continuity to a department that’s already moving in the right direction,” Karger said.

“I just couldn’t imagine how this would work from someone coming in and really starting over.”

Theurer has been the interim health officer since Willem van Dijk’s departure. She joined the county in July 2006 as the family health and communicable disease program manager.

Theurer’s appointment is subject to county board confirmation next week.

Theurer was one of two finalists for the job. The other was Grant County health officer Jeff Kindrai.

Theurer grew up on a dairy farm in Rozelville, graduated from Stratford High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from UW Stout and Winona State. She also earned a graduate degree in community health nursing from UW-Milwaukee.

Before joining the county, Theurer worked for 12 years with the state of Wisconsin as a public health consultant.