THE VALUED VOICE

Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services (DHS) has announced the award of the second round of grants to help rural health care providers increase the number of advanced practice clinicians (APCs) and allied health professionals. These WHAsupported grants are modeled after a successful matching-grant initiative crafted by WHA to expand capacity for physician residency experiences in Wisconsin. The APC and allied health professional grant programs were first authorized in the 2017-2019 state biennial budget through legislation aimed at improving rural health care.

Grants totaling over three-quarters of a million dollars were awarded to eight Wisconsin health care organizations.

Providers receiving the APC grants:

• Aspirus - hospitals located in central Wisconsin
• Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) Eastern Wisconsin Division/Prevea Health - hospitals located in Northeast Wisconsin
• Marshfield Clinic Health System - Marshfield, Wisconsin
• SSM Health - hospitals located in South Central Wisconsin

Providers receiving the allied health grants include:

• Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) St. Clare Hospital and HSHS hospitals located in Northeast Wisconsin
• Marshfield Clinic Health System, Marshfield, Wisconsin
• Oregon Mental Health Services, Oregon, Wisconsin
• Upland Hills Health, Inc., Dodgeville, Wisconsin

Eric Borgerding, WHA president and CEO notes, “These grants make training opportunities available to expose more individuals to rural communities and help address rural workforce shortages. This ‘grow our own’ strategy is another great example of bipartisan policymaking to support the workforce needed to sustain Wisconsin’s top-quality health care.”