MCW-Green Bay, Prevea Health Retain Physician Talent Locally
August 12, 2026
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Since its inception in 2015, the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW)-Green Bay has trained medical students within the surrounding communities. Today, many alumni—now practicing physicians—still call the region home, helping to offset the physician shortage in Northeast Wisconsin. Many of these physicians work for Prevea Health, a Green Bay-based healthcare system with more than 75 locations and over 400 physicians and providers in Northeast Wisconsin.
MCW-Green Bay’s ties to the community began on day one when nearby healthcare and educational systems helped shape the program’s development.
These community partners included St. Norbert College, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Bellin College, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Emplify Health, Hospital Sisters Health System, ThedaCare, and Prevea Health. Prevea was one of several generous community donations that helped jumpstart the MCW-Green Bay campus.
“As an MCW alumnus myself, I am incredibly proud to see the lasting impact MCW-Green Bay has had on our community over the last decade. Prevea Health's early investment in MCW-Green Bay was an investment in the future of healthcare for Northeast Wisconsin," said Ashok Rai, MD ’97, President and CEO of Prevea Health. "By immersing students in local health systems like Prevea from day one, we are building a vital pipeline of medical talent that directly addresses our region's healthcare needs. I am truly honored to now call many of these graduates my physician partners and colleagues.”
MCW-Green Bay leverages an accelerated, targeted curriculum that students may complete in three years. The program immerses students in regional healthcare systems, including Prevea Health, from the start of medical school.
“I didn’t want to go to a traditional school where I spent the first two years sitting in a classroom,” says Shelby VanRossum, MD ‘21, family medicine physician at Prevea Health. “MCW-Green Bay allows you to work on your clinical skills right off the bat.”
At MCW-Green Bay, students refine their clinical skills through active, tailored experiences where they work side-by-side with residents and attending physicians.
The hands-on education pays off: MCW-Green Bay boasts a 100% match rate since its inception. The inaugural cohort also holds the distinction as the first-ever group of U.S. medical students from a three-year program to match in the nationwide program.
“At MCW-Green Bay, I rotated with Prevea OBGYN doctors, who were an exceptional group of people to work with,” says Allison Gustafson, MD ‘20, obstetrician and gynecologist at Prevea Health. “I also loved the patient population they took care of and how connected they were to them and the broader community. I am not from Green Bay, but when I went to residency out of state, I told them, ‘I’ll be back.’”
Many alumni— 74%— choose to continue their education in the Midwest, particularly in Wisconsin. The most common residencies, chosen by 71% of graduates, include family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry. These specialties are particularly in-need in Northeast Wisconsin.
In 2021, MCW-Green Bay and Prevea collaborated again to establish and operate the MCW-Prevea Green Bay Family Medicine Residency Program, the first and only family medicine residency program in the city. The 3-year unopposed family medicine residency program allows resident physicians hands-on, well-rounded experience in both the clinic and hospital setting featuring a wide variety of elective and core rotations under the supervision of experienced faculty physicians and community preceptors.
Once residency is complete, a sizable portion of alumni— about 50%— remain in the state to practice. Many return to the hospital systems and clinics they rotated with during their time at MCW-Green Bay.
“The MCW-Prevea Family Medicine Residency Program perfectly fit my needs as a physician in training,” said Austin Wills, MD ’25, former chief resident and current hospitalist at HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center in Green Bay. “It allowed me to build relationships with many of my future Prevea colleagues and also give back to the community that raised me. Growing up in the Fox Cities, I feel proud to serve the patients of Northeast Wisconsin and call this area home.”
MCW-Green Bay’s ties to the community began on day one when nearby healthcare and educational systems helped shape the program’s development.
These community partners included St. Norbert College, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Bellin College, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Emplify Health, Hospital Sisters Health System, ThedaCare, and Prevea Health. Prevea was one of several generous community donations that helped jumpstart the MCW-Green Bay campus.
“As an MCW alumnus myself, I am incredibly proud to see the lasting impact MCW-Green Bay has had on our community over the last decade. Prevea Health's early investment in MCW-Green Bay was an investment in the future of healthcare for Northeast Wisconsin," said Ashok Rai, MD ’97, President and CEO of Prevea Health. "By immersing students in local health systems like Prevea from day one, we are building a vital pipeline of medical talent that directly addresses our region's healthcare needs. I am truly honored to now call many of these graduates my physician partners and colleagues.”
MCW-Green Bay leverages an accelerated, targeted curriculum that students may complete in three years. The program immerses students in regional healthcare systems, including Prevea Health, from the start of medical school.
“I didn’t want to go to a traditional school where I spent the first two years sitting in a classroom,” says Shelby VanRossum, MD ‘21, family medicine physician at Prevea Health. “MCW-Green Bay allows you to work on your clinical skills right off the bat.”
At MCW-Green Bay, students refine their clinical skills through active, tailored experiences where they work side-by-side with residents and attending physicians.
The hands-on education pays off: MCW-Green Bay boasts a 100% match rate since its inception. The inaugural cohort also holds the distinction as the first-ever group of U.S. medical students from a three-year program to match in the nationwide program.
“At MCW-Green Bay, I rotated with Prevea OBGYN doctors, who were an exceptional group of people to work with,” says Allison Gustafson, MD ‘20, obstetrician and gynecologist at Prevea Health. “I also loved the patient population they took care of and how connected they were to them and the broader community. I am not from Green Bay, but when I went to residency out of state, I told them, ‘I’ll be back.’”
Many alumni— 74%— choose to continue their education in the Midwest, particularly in Wisconsin. The most common residencies, chosen by 71% of graduates, include family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry. These specialties are particularly in-need in Northeast Wisconsin.
In 2021, MCW-Green Bay and Prevea collaborated again to establish and operate the MCW-Prevea Green Bay Family Medicine Residency Program, the first and only family medicine residency program in the city. The 3-year unopposed family medicine residency program allows resident physicians hands-on, well-rounded experience in both the clinic and hospital setting featuring a wide variety of elective and core rotations under the supervision of experienced faculty physicians and community preceptors.
Once residency is complete, a sizable portion of alumni— about 50%— remain in the state to practice. Many return to the hospital systems and clinics they rotated with during their time at MCW-Green Bay.
“The MCW-Prevea Family Medicine Residency Program perfectly fit my needs as a physician in training,” said Austin Wills, MD ’25, former chief resident and current hospitalist at HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center in Green Bay. “It allowed me to build relationships with many of my future Prevea colleagues and also give back to the community that raised me. Growing up in the Fox Cities, I feel proud to serve the patients of Northeast Wisconsin and call this area home.”