Courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services

WISCONSIN – Grants totaling more than $3.1 million to increase access and enhance quality care in rural Wisconsin were announced by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) on Thursday, Oct. 29. The grants support education and training to assist rural hospitals and clinics in filling “high need, high demand” positions.

“We know that quality care requires the right workers with the right skills,” said DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm. “This is especially true as we move to new models of integrated care and other strategies to reduce disparities, increase quality, and improve health. These grants also continue the State’s investment in growing our own rural physician workforce by prioritizing individuals with Wisconsin ties for new resident positions.”

Grants to support Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs were awarded to:

• The NEW Dermatology Group, Green Bay – Micrographic Surgery/Dermatologic Oncology Fellowship
• Marshfield Clinic Health System, Marshfield – Anesthesiology Residency Feasibility Study
• Mayo Clinic Health System, Northwest Wisconsin Region, Eau Claire – Rural Psychiatry Training Track
• The Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee – Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship
• Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center – Family Medicine Resident Training Program
• University of Wisconsin and UW Health – Obstetrics and Gynecology Rural Track Residency Program

Hospitals receiving Advanced Practice Clinician (APC) grants, targeting physician assistants and nurse practitioners, are:

• Aspirus – Central Wisconsin
• Aurora UW Medical Group – Northeast Wisconsin
• Cumberland Memorial Hospital – Cumberland, Wisconsin
• Upland Hills Health – Dodgeville, Wisconsin

Allied Health Professionals (AHP) Education and Training Grants, targeting health professionals that are not doctors, nurses or dentists, were awarded to:

• Gundersen Lutheran Memorial Hospital – La Crosse, Wisconsin
• Marshfield Clinic Health System – Marshfield, Wisconsin
• Marshfield Medical Center Beaver Dam – Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
• Prairie Ridge Health – Columbus, Wisconsin
• Stoughton Memorial Hospital – Stoughton, Wisconsin

The DHS Health Care Workforce Initiative is a collaborative partnership with the Wisconsin Hospital Association, Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural GME, University of Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin, colleges and technical schools, and numerous hospitals, clinics, and health systems to expand access to quality health care in rural areas.