Weisheipl’s Biggest Reward is Empowering Women
Recently ThedaCare in Berlin added Midwife Shelly Weisheipl,RN, MSN, CNM to its medical staff. She is at home at Berlin and is at ease in her role in women’s healthcare because she previously worked as a registered nurse in the Berlin Memorial Hospital obstetrics and birth care unit.
Women’s heath has always been close to Weisheipl’s heart. She loves nurturing, educating and treating women with the many issues they face. This could include birth control, pregnancy, incontinence, depression, anxiety and more. Women are complex and Weisheipl loves her practice as it allows her to spend quality time with her patients. Her biggest reward is empowering women.
Weisheipl was the in the first class that graduated from the two-year midwifery program at Marquette University in 1995. Since that time she has held numerous positions in the Fox Valley and spent the past year at Berlin Hospital as a labor and delivery nurse. “Working with the doctors and nurses at Berlin prompted me to open my practice here. I saw physicians and nurses when they were delivering at 3 a.m. or anytime and they were always pleasant to work with. I wanted to be a part of the team and be with the mothers from their first exam through labor and delivery,” she said.
A midwife is unique because they labor with the patient. Weisheipl will be there for the patient and the father and be as involved as she is needed. Sometimes the father prefers to be a bystander and watch the process; others want to be more involved. Each patient is different and she says she gets to know her patient needs. ThedaCare employs two other nurse midwives: Kristin Neilsen in Neenah and Deborah Ferguson in Waupaca.
Weisheipl’s first delivery at ThedaCare in Berlin will be in about a week. The first-time mother-to-be is Sandra Snow, a registered nurse from the hospital’s OB department. Snow and her husband, Brent, are excited about the birth of their first child and they are also very anxious because they chose not to know the gender of the baby. This will be a greatly anticipated event for the Snows and their midwife, Weisheipl. Her supervisor at Berlin Memorial Hospital is David Budde, MD. She has office hours Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. She can be reached at 920.361.5737.
Weisheipl lives in Oshkosh and has two daughters Megan, 27, an attorney in Illinois, and Kaitlin, 29, a counselor at Oshkosh North High School; son-in-law, Donovan, and one grandson, Henry. In her off time she enjoys cooking, traveling and has a passion for health and fitness.
For more than 100 years, ThedaCare™ has been committed to finding a better way to deliver serious and complex healthcare to patients throughout Northeast Wisconsin. The organization serves over 200,000 patients annually and employs more than 7,000 healthcare professionals throughout the region. ThedaCare has seven hospitals located in Appleton, Neenah, Berlin, Waupaca, Shawano, New London and Wild Rose as well as 34 clinics in 14 counties. ThedaCare is the first in Wisconsin to be a Mayo Clinic Care Network Member, giving specialists the ability to consult with Mayo Clinic experts on a patient’s care. ThedaCare is a non-profit healthcare organization with a level II trauma center, comprehensive cancer treatment, stroke and cardiac programs as well as a foundation dedicated to community service. Construction of ThedaCare Regional Cancer Center in Appleton opened in February. For more information, visit www.thedacare.org or follow ThedaCare on Facebook and Twitter.
