Foundation and chair of the Gundersen Medical Foundation Board in January 2020
"After more than 35 years of clinical service and 20 years of administrative service, I have decided to set down my scalpel and pen. I have been blessed with the opportunity to work across the organization from operating rooms to regional board rooms," says Dr. Sig.
In 1983, Sig Gundersen, III, MD, proudly graduated from Northwestern University with his medical degree. After an internship in Milwaukee and residency in New Mexico, Dr. Sig returned to La Crosse in 1988 to take up the family business as a surgeon, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great grandfather.
"Going home gave me the opportunity to practice broadly, and it was a setting where I could focus on the care of my patients," he explains. "I could also teach and pass on the skills and knowledge I had gained."
Dr. Sig is a skilled general surgeon, but his interests have been in pediatric, vascular and trauma surgery. "I have particularly enjoyed pediatric surgery because I get to help someone who has his or her whole life in front of them," states Dr. Sig.
Dr. Sig has served as medical chief of the Gundersen Medical Foundation and chair of the Foundation Board since 2014. "The plan is to have someone new in place as the medical chief of the Foundation and the chair of the Foundation Board at least a month before I leave, so we can have a smooth transition," Dr. Sig reports.
During his time here, Dr. Sig has also served as a member on the Gundersen Health System Board of Governors, the Executive Committee, the Peer Review Committee, Compliance Committee and several others.
While Dr. Sig has earned a relaxing leisure-filled retirement, he has different plans. "I have a long list of things I've been putting off," he quips. He and his wife, Jean Ann, will continue to volunteer with Global Partners and a surgical travel club that provides medical training and cultural exchange. They are also active in their church.
"Gundersen Health System has given me the privilege of caring for patients both young and old," says Dr. Sig. "When I think back on the opportunities provided and the support offered, I can think of no other organization I would have rather spent time with. I offer my deep and profound thank you for the most professionally and spiritually rewarding career one could ask for."