Project Highlights
The Wisconsin Office of Rural Health held a series of EMS listening sessions in rural areas across the state in October and November of 2018.
The intent was to give a platform for rural EMS providers to describe their work, and the conditions in which they operate. Wisconsin has seen a steady decrease in volunteerism over the last two decades, and municipal budgets are stretched very thin, leading to the closure of several rural services in the last few years. The final portion of each evening was devoted to sharing ideas for solutions that could help rural EMS providers to keep their doors open while providing quality patient care.
State legislators, county and municipal leaders, hospital leadership, and citizens were invited to attend. But our intent is that the messages from these meetings echo beyond those rooms, to the policymakers that can address the situation.
For more information, results, and media mentions, please click here.
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In 2016, the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health asked all ambulance services in Wisconsin—from rural to urban—about their patient care policies and practices. The assessment focused on the policies and procedures for the treatment of time critical diagnosis patients (e.g. those suffering from a cardiac arrest, stroke, ST-elevation myocardial infarction, or trauma).The goal of the assessment was to provide examples for agencies of what a high capacity EMS service's policy might look like regarding patient care. We then issued four resources on best practices for EMS agencies.
Our office plans to complete another such assessment in 2019.
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The Healthy Aging in Rural Towns (HeART) project seeks to support older adults to thrive in their rural communities as they age in place, with the goal of enabling older adults to live comfortably in their homes in rural communities. The project seeks to leverage the power of rural areas, while combating rural issues like a lack of health providers, scarce public transportation, and social isolation.
For this project, our office collaborated with the Center for Aging Research and Education (CARE) at the UW School of Nursing, and stakeholders in the three rural communities. Learn what communities are doing in Iowa County, Langlade County, and the City of Waupun. For resources and more, visit CARE's project page.
The Clark County Public Health Department received a grant from our office to promote healthy lifestyles and personal well-being in Clark County. As a result, the Clark County Eat Right, Be Fit Committee worked to coordinate, promote, and sustain projects in three main areas: physical activity, food security, and nutrition. One outcome of that committee was the creation of a county-wide guide to increase options for healthy eating and physical activity.
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Rescue Divas is a hands-on, residential summer camp designed for middle school girls interested in exploring careers in emergency medicine. Throughout the week, girls participate in exploratory, hands-on activities that focus on a variety of skills needed in emergency medicine careers.The camp includes off-site tours of ambulance halls, police dispatch centers, firehouses, and hospital emergency rooms. Campers also learn from a Search and Rescue mission, and earn certifications in first aid, CPR, and AED use. The idea was developed by a team at Northwestern Wisconsin CEP, and received funding from the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health to implement the project. Rescue Divas aims at increasing the pipeline of future EMTs, particularly for women, who are underrepresented in emergency medicine. Communities can implement their own Rescue Divas program using guidance from our office.
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Each year the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health collaborates with the Wisconsin Hospital Association and the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative to plan the annual Rural Hospital Finance Workshop. The workshop consistently receives rave reviews each year, and has grown to be a valuable resource for finance professionals in Wisconsin's rural hospitals. Jeremy Normington, CEO of Moundview Memorial Hospital states, "The Rural Hospital Finance workshops provide valuable information to me and my executive team. The education presented has been timely, pertinent, and put to immediate use in our community hospital." The annual event attracts 40-50 finance staff from Critical Access and Rural Hospitals around the State. The workshop is typically held in August and features State experts who provide Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Regulatory updates, Medicare/Medicaid updates and other timely topics.
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Since 2003, the Office of Rural Health has funded over 60 Rural Community Grant projects, providing resources to rural coalitions working to address health challenges in their community. One of these successful projects was the Medication Safety Red Bag Program. Langlade Hospital, in Antigo Wisconsin, and partners, including Langlade County Departments of Health and Aging and the Antigo Fire & EMS Department, developed a program to address medication safety and reduce accidents related to medication misuse. The coalition, Community Partners for Medication Safety, used grant funds to purchase different sizes of red bags to distribute to patients discharged from the hospital, in assisted living and others in the County. Recipients were instructed to keep their medication in the bag and bring it along to every medical appointment. EMS and first responders were trained to look for red bags on calls and bring them along. The Partners have distributed over 2,000 Red Bags. Poisoning by drugs, medicinal and biological substances decreased by 50% since the project began. In 2009, the Joint Commission reviewed the Red Bag program, shared it with other hospitals and recommended it as a best practice.
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The Wisconsin Office of Rural Health, in partnership with the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC), provides an opportunity for Critical Access Hospitals in Wisconsin to adopt and implement web-based event reporting. Utilization of a web-based reporting system has proven to increase reporting and completion of timely investigation. Through this project hospitals have gained a better understanding of systems issues related to patient safety.
Hospitals subscribe to the Healthcare SafetyZone® Portal, supported by The Clarity Group, Inc. and participate in building locations and user access lists prior to implementation. Project leads from each hospital actively participate in bi-monthly virtual meetings and periodic webinars. Hospitals also agree to share data (free from PHI with respect to HIPAA requirements) with RWHC and the group to the extent that the data-sharing identifies opportunities to improve both the hospital’s utilization of the Healthcare SafetyZone® Portal, and patient safety.
Locally owned and operated ambulance services or emergency medical services (EMS) are a vital component of the rural healthcare system in Wisconsin. In recent years these services have faced growing challenges related to declining volunteerism, more demand for services and increasing clinical, operation and financial complexity. As rural healthcare becomes more regionalized the importance of these local services grow.
To assist local EMS leaders in meeting these challenges The Wisconsin Office of Rural Health sponsors an EMS Leadership Academy. The Academy is a 60-hour leadership development and training program specifically designed to build the abilities and skills of those operating local EMS agencies. The Academy is a product of SafeTech Solutions, LLP, an international leadership development firm that specializes in EMS and rural healthcare.
The Academy is provided in four 15-hour levels that use engaging, participatory and experiential learning methods. Participants learn the fundamentals of leadership and leading change and the key elements of creating EMS agencies that are reliable, sustainable and consistently providing high quality services.
Since 2011, 255 managers and leaders from more than 100 Wisconsin ambulance services have participated in the Academy. Participants consistently give the Academy high ratings.
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There is a well-documented shortage of health care providers in many rural and urban communities; this is only expected to become worse in the future. Wisconsin is fortunate to have a well-funded Health Professions Loan Assistance Program, which leverages federal funds to provide education debt repayment awards to providers who agree to work in these rural and urban underserved areas. These awards are a provider recruitment and retention tool. In order to be an effective tool, providers must be aware of this opportunity. WI-ORH staff engage providers and health care students in a number of ways throughout Wisconsin and neighboring states. These include participating in physician assistant program job fairs and orientation programs, speaking directly with students at medical and dental schools, talking with medical residents throughout the state and providing nurse practitioner and dental hygiene training programs with program information. WI-ORH staff have talked directly with hundreds of students and providers about the loan assistance program, promoting loan assistance and also talking with them about pursuing careers working in underserved communities.
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In 2011 the Office of Rural Health began hosting training opportunities targeted at rural hospital foundations. An effective hospital foundation can bring many benefits to a rural hospital: raise and sustain its profile and standing in the community, provide and leverage funding for community health projects and provide invaluable support in carrying out large capital or building plans. Among rural hospitals that have an established foundation, many are single-person operations with few resources or little time to seek out training opportunities. WI-ORH sought to fill this gap with appropriate workshops, with topics on engaging physicians and staff in philanthropy efforts, building board engagement, planned giving and designing appropriate metrics to measure success.
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In 2012-2013 the Office partnered with the University of Wisconsin Masters of Public Health program to provide support to rural community grant recipients in developing evaluation plans, needs assessments and program planning. MPH students fulfilled a field experience requirement working in a rural setting, many for the first time. Grantors are increasingly expecting high level evaluation models and outcome measurements. The students were able to provide these resources to the communities which will aid them as they move forward implementing their programs. Deliverables included logic models, community surveys and strategic plans. The community projects assisted included community based and family based obesity reduction programs and a substance abuse intervention program. Students and community partners saw great value in these partnerships; all three communities expressed interest in working with students for a second year.
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In 2012 and 2013 the Office of Rural Health sponsored TEMS training sessions for rural emergency medical services providers. TEMS is comprehensive pre-hospital medical support of emergency response teams involved in active crime scenes or other hazardous situations, including natural disasters. TEMS training instructs Paramedics, EMTs and Emergency Responders how to respond in high-risk situations. Participants learn to safely provide medical care in what is often an unsafe setting that is too hazardous for untrained providers. Graduates learn abilities to maintain the wellness of a response team's members and provide immediate medical care to anyone in need: law enforcement officers, firefighters, bystanders or suspects. 50 EMS providers have successfully completed the course, taught by Waukesha County Technical College staff.
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The Rural Health Initiative is a program designed to address growing concerns on the health and safety issues facing today’s farm families. At the center of this program is a healthcare professional who makes house calls to interested farm families to provide health screening, information, education, and referrals to area services and, most importantly, lends a trusted ear to listen and keep in confidence concerns and issues these families face today — a concept they like to call “kitchen wellness”.
In 2009, the WI-ORH provided funding to expand the RHI from Shawano County into Outagamie and Waupaca Counties.
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Club Scrub is a fantastic way to “grow your own” health care professionals for the future! This program is designed to expose 7th and 8th grade students to health care careers in a way that engages them and opens their minds to possibilities in career choices that they may not have considered, and to do so at an early age.
Students sign up to participate in Club Scrub and the hospital provides several sessions that highlight different departments. These departments offer hands-on activities to simulate the work they do, and a glimpse into what a career in that field might be like. Studies from Experience, Inc., an organization who follows generation Y career paths shows that students who are exposed to experiential career opportunities as early as middle school are more likely to stay with that career choice throughout college. Early hands-on internships open those doors early!
This tool kit is set up to help you get started. It has everything you need - the forms, the letters, the lesson plans and the resources so that your group can hit the ground running. Take what is here and customize it to your own hospital. You could use this tool kit just as it is, but are encouraged to tap the creativity of your own professionals in coming up with new ways to engage the young learner!
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