WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. - Aspirus Health is proud to announce the addition of Renee Powell, MSN, APRN, CNP, and Jennifer Koch, MSN, APRN, CNP, to the care team at Aspirus Wisconsin Rapids Hospital Family Birthplace, located at 410 Dewey Street, Wisconsin Rapids. Together, they bring decades of neonatal and pediatric expertise to strengthen care for families in the community.
Powell brings more than two decades of neonatal and pediatric nursing experience to Aspirus. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Rush University in Chicago, IL, specializing as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP). She is a Certified Nurse Practitioner and has dedicated her career to advancing neonatal care and family-centered health.
Powell has been an instructor for the American Academy of Pediatrics Neonatal Resuscitation Program since 2012. She has taken advanced studies toward a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at the University of Florida and earned certification as a Nurse Educator Novice (CNEn) in February 2025. Her philosophy of care emphasizes patient safety, advocacy, and family-centered care. “Parents deserve honest, open communication along with anticipatory guidance and the education to make informed decisions for their children,” Powell said.
Koch brings nearly three decades of specialized experience in neonatal and family care. She is a National Certification Corporation (NCC) board-certified Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, a certification she has held since 2005. Her impressive 28-year career spans high-acuity university medical centers and community hospital settings across Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin, providing comprehensive care to infants and their families.
For the past 17 years, Koch served at the Mayo Clinic La Crosse, where she worked in both the Neonatal Intensive Care setting and provided care for healthy newborns on the Family Birthplace unit. She is a long-standing Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) certified instructor and certified provider, underscoring her commitment to the highest standards of infant safety and emergency care. Her professional interests include congenital cardiac conditions, well-newborn care, and advancing patient safety protocols. Koch is passionate about the connections she forges with the people she serves.
“Welcoming a new life into the world is an incredibly personal and vulnerable experience for families,” said Koch. “My goal has always been to provide the highest standard of medical care while building meaningful, supportive relationships with parents during their stay. Being invited into those precious first moments is a privilege that drives my practice.”
Outside of her clinical practice, Koch embraces a vibrant personal life in southeast Minnesota, where she resides on a dairy farm with her husband, daughter, three dogs, and three cats. She also channels her creativity into a small business, crafting home, bath, and body goods for customers and wholesale accounts, appreciating the connections she makes within her community through this endeavor as well.
Aspirus Health is excited to welcome both Powell and Koch to Wisconsin Rapids. Their combined expertise, compassionate approach, and dedication to family-centered care will enhance neonatal and pediatric services for families across the region.
To schedule an appointment, visit aspirus.org.