Gundersen manager gets government award for supporting Guard service

The Defense Department has recognized a hospital department manager in La Crosse for her support of letting employees serve in the National Guard. 

On Monday, a Patriot Award was given to Carley Buisman at the facility she manages at Gundersen, the Integrated Center for Education. 

Buisman says a member of her staff, named Nolan, nominated her for the award, for helping him take time from work to serve with the military.

“So I think he chose me because while he was gone, I sent him a CARE package and then when he came back, I made sure everything went smoothly,” said Buisman. “I helped him get a start date, and just made the transition pretty easy for when he came back.”

During a brief award ceremony, Nolan said the CARE packages helped keep his morale high. Also, “it was just nice to talk to people back home,” he said, “and then when I came back they were very supportive and helped me get back into work and then gave me more job opportunities.”

Buisman says she learned respect for the government from her father, who attended the ceremony on Monday, and calls Nolan one of the best employees on her Gundersen team.