Longtime Nurse Maria Leary Named Rural Health Ambassador

Maria Leary, R.N., recently retired Infection Control Nurse at Upland Hills Health, received the Rural Health Ambassador Award from the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative.

During her tenure at Upland Hills Health, Leary served as a nurse in several departments, including in Medical-Surgical, Nursing Home, Emergency, Employee Health, Nurse Supervisor and Infection Prevention. Her leadership in the hospital, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, impacted her colleagues at Upland Hills Health, and the entire community. Leary was instrumental in developing community COVID-19 vaccination clinics and assistance programs over the last two and a half years. She helped prevent numerous infections and diseases throughout the UHH hospital and community through her excellent training, education and policy development.

Lisa Schnedler, President/CEO of Upland Hills Health explained, “Maria’s expertise, dedication, and thorough approach to infection control is second to none. This has always been evident, but never more so than during the pandemic. We will miss Maria’s valuable contribution and patient-first approach. We wish her all the best in her retirement!”

The Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative gathers nominations each year from its member hospitals to recognize a hospital employee who shows dedication to bettering the health of the community through leadership and dedication beyond the scope of their job descriptions.