State News
Wisconsin Hospitals Standardize Patient Color-Coded Alerts
As of March 1, nearly 80 percent of the hospitals in Wisconsin have met the voluntary standard set by the Wisconsin Hospital Association to standardize their color-coded patient alerts. The move to standardize color-coded alerts was fueled by reports of serious medical errors being narrowly averted. [Read article]
Comparative Summary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Its Implications for Wisconsin
This Wisconsin Council on Children and Families document tracks parts of the federal economic stimulus legislation, showing what many of them will mean for Wisconsin and how they changed during the Congressional process. [Read article]
Wisconsin Summary of Recovery and Reinvestment: Health Care
This is a summary of intended investments in health care from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. [Read article]
PA Staffed ER Model Succeeds in a Rural Health Center
Emergency department physician assistants at Luther Midelfort Northland in Barron, a Critical Access Hospital, were featured in a cover story for the February issue of NEWS-Line for Physician Assistants, a national magazine. The article explains how Luther Midelfort Northland restructured their emergency department. Improved clinical outcomes and increased patient satisfaction data support the change. [Read article]
Health Reform Must Include Long-term Care
There is a call for the inclusion of improvements to long-term care services as part of emerging blueprints for national health reform according to U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chair Herb Kohl. Karen Timberlake, Wisconsin's Secretary of Health and Human Services, offered testimony to the Committee on the state's "Family Care" program, which is transforming and re-programming state and federal Medicaid funding. [Read article]
AHEC Health Careers Camp Counselors Needed
Camp Counselors are part of four Area Health Education Center System (AHECS) Health Careers Camps in Wisconsin. These camps allow the high school students to experience first hand the challenges, opportunities and rewards of health professions. College students interested in camp counseling at any of the 5-day camps are encouraged to apply. [Read article]
Job Losses Show Breadth of Recession
What does the worst recession in a generation look like? It is both deep and broad. WI-ORH has pulled out the Wisconsin portion of the NY Times map and listed it at: http://www.worh.org/WisUnemploy. Within the Interactive Map link, you are able to zoom in on any region, see statistics for every county, and zoom back out to see the disparate impacts on the country and/or the State of Wisconsin. [Read article]
Church Health Services Gets Avon Grant for 7th Year
The Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund has awarded a $21,000 one-year grant to Church Health Services, in collaboration with Beaver Dam Community Hospitals and Dodge County Human Services and Health Department, to increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer. [Read article]
