State News
High School Students Explore Futures in Health Care
Milwaukee high school students with aspirations to work in health care took a hands-on trip to their futures last week. Nearly two dozen students from James Madison Academic Campus, an MPS charter high school, visited the Medical College of Wisconsin as part of their participation in Milwaukee Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Youth Health Service Corps (YHSC) program. (Source: Milwaukee Community Journal) [Read article]
Governor Walker Backs Improved Care for Veterans
Walker announced his support for legislation being introduced by State Senator Van Wanggaard and Representative Robin Vos to convert Gates Hall on the campus of the Veterans Home at Union Grove into a skilled nursing facility for area veterans. The conversion of Gates Hall would take one year to complete and would eliminate a waiting list of veterans needing care. (Source: Ofc of the Governor) [Read article]
NFL Leads Push For Youth Concussion Bill
The National Football League, the Green Bay Packers and a host of medical groups plan to make a public push in the next few weeks to gain final legislative approval for a youth concussion bill. The bill directs the state Department of Public Instruction, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, to develop guidelines and other information to educate coaches and athletes and their parents about the risk of concussion and head injury in youth athletic activities. The bill, which passed easily in the Assembly last year, has been stalled in the Senate.
Healthcare Reaching Rural Farmers
For many rural farmers, health care is not their biggest concern. Meeting the needs of rural farm families can be difficult, long hours on the farm and long distances to nearby clinics make it hard to leave the farm. That's why nurses plan to bring the health care to them. The program is now expanding to Outagamie and Waupaca Counties as well with financial support from the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health. (Source: Fox11online.com) [Read article]
Program To Address High Cancer Deaths In Adams County
Fewer Adams County residents may get cancer than others in the state, but if they do develop it, they are more likely to die than the state's residents as a whole. The UWCCC and its Adams County partners - Adams County Health and Human Services Department, Moundview Memorial Hospital and Clinics and Adams County UW-Extension - are at the beginning stages of developing a public education program focused on basic cancer education, prevention and screening.
Agriculture Deputy Secretary Merrigan Announces Funding To Create Jobs and Strengthen the Economic Foundation of Rural America
Merrigan announced that USDA has selected 298 recipients in 44 states and Puerto Rico to receive business development assistance through the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. Please see a complete list of recipients receiving grants. (Source: USDA) [Read article]
Gaps Persist In Campus Mental Health Services
In Wisconsin, understaffed counseling centers are prioritizing services for those with urgent needs, expanding group therapy options to reach more students, and referring patients off campus for long-term treatment. And students are forming campus organizations to support peers and fight the stigma of mental illness. In the series of stories and interactive map, you are able to explore data on mental health services across the UW System.
Testimony of Secretary Dennis G. Smith on An Evaluation of Medical Assistance Program Report 11-15
Secretary Smith discusses the Audit Bureau’s evaluation of the Medicaid program with the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. (Source: WI DHS) [Read article]
Grant Assists Infant Smiles
A $5,000 grant will help the Wood County Health Department educate new mothers on the importance of their babies' oral health -- an issue officials say local parents have a lot to learn about. The health department will use the American Dental Association funding to mount an educational advertising campaign with billboards throughout the county. The grant also will cover oral health packets for the parents of an anticipated 900 newborns in Wood County this year.
Map Pinpoints Lyme Disease Risk Areas
Researchers who spent three years dragging sheets of fabric through the woods to snag ticks have created a detailed map they claim could improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. The map shows a clear risk of Lyme disease across much of the Northeast, from Maine to northern Virginia.
