THE VALUED VOICE

Allison Couture, DO has won this year’s Stephen F. Brenton Health Policy Scholar Award, which honors a La Follette School graduate candidate demonstrating a career interest in advancing health care policy in Wisconsin. The annual award is $8,000, which can be used to pay for tuition while pursuing advanced studies.

A 2015 medical school graduate who completed her residency at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Dr. Couture currently works part-time at UW Health Verona Family Medicine Clinic and expects to obtain her Master of Public Affairs degree in May 2020.

“This past year of studying public affairs while simultaneously being at the front line of clinical care has been a stimulating and informative experience,” Dr. Couture said in her thanks for receiving the award. “This allows me to focus on studying and to continue serving in the community, as I am committed to improving the health of all Wisconsin residents now and through their lives.”

“We’re thrilled to help Dr. Couture further enhance her dedication to Wisconsin patients and our health care system,” said WHA President and CEO Eric Borgerding. “She embodies exactly what the Brenton Award is all about – a drive to further improve Wisconsin’s health care and the aptitude to make a real difference in shaping and advancing health care policy in Wisconsin.”

First awarded in 2015, the Stephen F. Brenton Health Policy Scholar Award was created to honor former WHA President Stephen Brenton, himself a UW-Madison graduate (BA ’76, Political Science) and a steadfast advocate for sound health care policy in Wisconsin.