2003-2004 Mini-Grant Award Projects

St. Joseph's Community Health Services, Inc.
Hillsboro, Wisconsin

EMT - Paramedic Ambulance and Interfacility Transfer Service

Rough terrain, inclement weather and secondary roads have historically been challenges to fast and safe emergency transfers for St. Joseph's Hospital. Emergency helicopter service is not always a viable option because foul weather can interfere with the helicopters' ability to fly. In fact, emergency helicopter service was only available for 50% of transfers requested by St. Joseph's in 2002. Under these conditions, St. Joseph's and local community members felt it important to provide the highest level of patient care allowed by state statute for EMS care during patient transport. So, St. Joseph's has teamed up with the Hillsboro Ambulance Service to develop an EMT - Paramedic Ambulance and Interfacility Transfer Service. Through this program, EMS personnel will be employed by St. Joseph's and trained at the paramedic level. While interfacility transfer care will be their primary role, these paramedics will also be trained to provide technical assistance to nurses and physicians within a health care institution, provide health advocacy and provide community education. The paramedics will then be the keystone to an integrated hospital and ambulance service, the first service of its kind administered by a Critical Access Hospital in the state of Wisconsin. Additionally, volunteer EMTs, who have historically been the backbone of the local EMS system, will get needed support. For example, the new program will feature distance education options, which will allow volunteers to maintain EMS skills locally and save them the time and travel required for out-of-town trainings.

Through the Flex Mini-Grant Program, St. Joseph's and Hillsboro Ambulance Service will develop their operational plan, upgrade ambulance and communications equipment, provide education to EMS staff and community and pay tuition to upgrade 2 EMTs to paramedic level.

For more information, contact Toni Tengblad.

Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County
Darlington, Wisconsin

Lafayette County Supportive Home Visitation Program

For over 4 years now, each mother who has given birth to a baby at Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County has been offered prenatal and child rearing support through a program called New Beginning. Through the program, women are offered prenatal care and education and then continuing education through their babies' first year. This includes home visits and personal phone calls from a "family friendly" home visitor. When Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County began this program in coordination with the University of Wisconsin Extension Family Living Department and the Lafayette County Health Department, they realized that the success of the program would depend on three things: 1) reaching out to new parents who are eager and excited to learn about caring for their babies 2) opening the program up to all new parents instead of targeting "at risk" families and 3) using a "family friendly" home visitor who was not connected to a county agent so that there would be no stigma attached. Their efforts paid off. All 41 mothers who gave birth at Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County in 2000, the program's first year, participated. Participation rates have continued to be high, and now past participants are electing to join the program again with the birth of subsequent children.

The 3 partner agencies are using Flex Mini-Grant resources to expand this program to mothers giving birth at all hospitals in the county and to broaden the scope to support families having second and third children. The new funding will support staff time, community education and public relations and well as expanded educational materials. The partners are particularly excited that their new home visitor supported by the Mini-Grant, has been successful at reaching out to Spanish speaking parents in the community.

For more information, contact Sherry Kudronowicz.

Wild Rose Community Memorial Hospital, Inc.
Wild Rose, Wisconsin

Ophthalmology Surgery Program

The rural area around Wild Rose, the smallest community in Wisconsin with a Critical Access Hospital, has a high percentage of elderly people. This is not atypical for rural Wisconsin. But when hospital staff members at a neighboring hospital overheard a story while standing in the cafeteria lunch line, they began to ponder a unique geographic obstacle for the elderly in this particular area. They overheard an elderly woman say she had to leave home at 3:00 am to get to Berlin in time for her husband's cataract surgery. It had snowed heavily during the night, so they had to drive slowly over winding country roads from a small community to the southwest of Wild Rose. It was a 45 mile trip that would take one hour under the best of conditions. Upon further investigation, local health care providers realized that the many elderly residents west of Wild Rose had to travel many miles for ophthalmology services. The hubs for these services were in the Fox Valley area (Oshkosh and Appleton) and Stevens Point, and surgeries were offered routinely at rural hospitals to the east of Wild Rose (Berlin, Ripon and Waupaca). None were offered nearby for those living on the western side of Wild Rose.

Wild Rose Community Memorial Hospital, Inc. decided it would be a priority to offer ophthalmology services locally and were fortunate to find an ophthalmologist interested in moving to the area from Stevens Point. They worked together to assess the area need for services, assess equipment needs and other costs, and discuss patient care philosophies. Wild Rose Memorial Hospital was able to assist the doctor to establish an ophthalmology practice and laid a plan for him to offer ophthalmology surgery at the hospital.

With the Flex Mini-Grant funding, Wild Rose Community Memorial Hospital has been able to purchase some of the necessary surgical equipment, launch a promotional campaign and provide education to the nursing staff. The hospital was able to begin offering ophthalmology surgeries this winter and will continue to expand the program.

For more information, contact Barbara Larson.

Memorial Health Center, Inc.
Medford, Wisconsin

Telemedicine Program

Rural locations require creative, state-of-the-art solutions to the challenges of clinical consulting, maintaining staff competency and recruiting quality health care providers. Through a strategic planning process, Memorial Health Center, Inc. in Medford, Wisconsin defined developing its telemedicine capabilities to address these very issues as a priority. Enhanced teleconference abilities would allow more timely remote triage and case management between Memorial Health Center and its outreach clinics and regional trauma centers. It would allow more staff members to participate in distance education to improve competencies and eliminate the barriers associated with traveling to training sessions. And, it would allow medical students to experience a rural healthcare setting while continuing their clinical studies.

Memorial Health Center will use its Mini-Grant resources to outset some of the initial costs of implementing their telemedicine program including training, salary for a facilitator, contracted technical services and some equipment costs.

For more information, contact Nancy Laabs.

Ripon Medical Center
Ripon, Wisconsin

Parish Nurse Program

Ripon Medical Center has striven to meet the individual needs of local community members since it was originally financed through a bond issue during the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Currently owned by the city of Ripon, Ripon Medical Center continues to prioritize community responsiveness and holistic health. That's why administrators at the Ripon Medical Center listened intently to an idea from another local hospital, St. Agnes, in Fond du Lac. Members of two local church congregations had asked St. Agnes Hospital to establish a local parish nursing program, and St. Agnes asked Ripon Medical Center to help them do it. The parish nurse would be a professional registered nurse who delivers primary holistic nursing services in a congregation. The nurse would focus on the spiritual, psychosocial, physical and environmental dimensions of wellness and disease management for patients. Ripon Medical Center felt this would help them reach people who may not otherwise receive medical services. It could help them develop a personal link to community members in an age where hospital stays are shorter and community members feel less able to develop personal relationships with hospital personnel.

With Flex Mini-Grant resources, Ripon Medical Center has been able to defray the start-up costs for this program, including hiring a parish nurse, purchasing equipment and promotional activities.

For more information contact Jean Surguy.

Tomah Memorial Hospital
Tomah, Wisconsin

Operation: Prevention and Intervention

Tomah Memorial Hospital's Community Outreach Program, established in 1996, is committed to enhancing the physical and emotional wellbeing of the community and has led many successful initiatives to this end. So, when the Monroe County Health Department completed a health needs assessment that identified heart disease and obesity as the top health issues for the county, the hospital decided to take action through its outreach program. The hospital has partnered with the Tomah Area School District, the City of Tomah Fire Department and Police Department to develop Operation: Prevention and Intervention. Through the program, 4th graders will be educated on the importance of physical activity and proper nutrition. Adults will receive information on risk factors and warning signs of heart disease through worksite trainings. Additionally, emergency personnel and community responders will receive training on the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and CPR. In this way, heart disease will be attacked on two fronts: prevention and intervention.

Flex Mini-Grant funds will be used to support Operation: Prevention and Intervention activities including marketing activities, educational materials, and staff time.

For more information, contact Susan Summerfield.

Tri-County Memorial Hospital, Inc.
Whitehall, Wisconsin

Youth Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention

Statewide statistics show that Trempealeau County has one of the highest rates of alcohol use among teenagers in Wisconsin. Teenage drinking and driving has led to many vehicular fatalities on the winding secondary roads of this rural county. These conditions have led Tri-County Memorial Hospital to form a large consortium of local entities to design a project to curb the use of alcohol and drugs among youth. The consortium includes the hospital, four school districts, the county sheriff's office, the county health department, and the Trempealeau County Alliance for Youth. These organizations represent the central part of Trempealeau County, and the group wishes to expand its program to the whole county in the future.

The program will include an educational component targeting 7 - 21 year olds and parents, which will address issues such as the negative impact of alcohol use and resisting peer pressure. There will also be an emphasis on working with retailers and law enforcement to restrict the availability of alcohol and illegal drugs to the community's youth. Youth activities will be developed as part of the project to provide alternatives to parties, drinking and use of illegal drugs. Youth will be an integral part of the planning process so that they can design activities which are truly appropriate and appealing.

Flex Mini-Grant will help support the cost of educational materials, promotional activities, and after-school activities.

For more information, contact Curt Johnson.

Boscobel Area Health Care
Boscobel, Wisconsin

Adolescent Early Intervention Substance Abuse Program

Many sources in the Boscobel area have identified a need for an intervention program targeted at young people at high risk for developing long term substance abuse problems. Local social services, law enforcement, and school personnel have identified this high level of alcohol and drug use and have pledged support to the development of this program. Currently, increasing numbers of drug related arrests are being made and more teens are being seen in local mental health programs for reasons relating to substance abuse and mental illness. As well, the average age of first use is decreasing and the intensity of substance abuse is increasing. Boscobel Area Health Care (BAHC) plans to target teens who have already faced some consequence for a substance abuse related behavior. One of the major goals of the program would be to develop a supporting emotional connection between at risk teens and their parents. The 10 week intervention program hopes to establish a supportive and open relationship between teens and parents that allows the teen to make positive developments towards lifting their drug dependence. In addition, BAHC is planning transportation for families that do not have the means to access the program.

For more information, contact Jody Gallaway.

St. Croix Regional Medical Center
St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin

After-Hours Telephone Triage Nurse Line

The St. Croix Regional Medical Center (SCRMS) recently determined through multiple studies that its patients were dissatisfied with the quality of medical advice available by phone after clinic hours. The current system leads to patients waiting for service, inefficient tracking systems, and inconsistent information. Through the Flex Mini-Grant Program, SCRMC is working to implement a formal after-hours telephone triage nurse line. The funding is being used to research and implement a software program that will manage the triage. The software will work to improve consistency of information given, promptness of service, and efficiency of the documentation process. When implemented, the telephone triage will provide the public with access to a nurse and health information 24 hours/7 days a week. In addition, the hospital will be able to advertise its telephone services.

For more information, contact Sandy Williams.

Waupun Memorial Hospital
Waupun, Wisconsin

Inmate Inpatient/Outpatient Services

Serious challenges to provide inmate patient care are currently facing the Department of Corrections (DOC) and the UW Hospital system. The UW Hospital system is reaching capacity, correctional facilities are geographically widespread, and transport of inmates is both costly and time consuming. With increased pressure on the DOC to decrease their budget, a plan has been put in action to develop a new system for inmate care.

Waupun Memorial Hospital (WMH), in conjunction with the DOC and the UW Hospital system, plans to create with funding from the Flex-Mini Grant program an inpatient inmate security unit within the hospital, outpatient inmate waiting area, and establish a medical/physician relationship between the UW Hospital and DOC via a physician director of the secure unit at WMH. All this will be done while taking into consideration staff and community safety concerns.

For more information, contact DeAnn Thurmer.