Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Talk about the health of Wisconsin Annual Report 2006 table of contents A message from our leaders .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 A vibrant academic health center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Heart care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Cancer care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Stroke care .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Critical care .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Community benefit .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Transforming care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Redefining a school .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Primary care and prevention .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Building for the future .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 A statewide resource .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Credits Produced by UW Health Marketing and Public Affairs Editor.............................................................................................................................................................................Beth Fultz Graphic Design...................................................................................................................................................... Angie Fadness Contributors......................................................................................... Juli Aulik, Kari Brotzman, Lisa Brunette, Renae Buchheim, Aaron Conklin, Linda Dietrich, Doug Feingold, Michael Felber, Dian Land, Tim LeMonds, Cathy Mike, Ken Pelatzke, Kathy Schultz, Diane Stojanovich, Beth Zaher Photography............................................................ Alan Craig, Michael Lemberger, Andy Manis, Tom McInvaille (pp. 4, 6, 8, 10), Jeff Miller/University Communications (p. 21), David Nevala, Bob Rashid Talk about the health of Wisconsin A t UW Health, talking about the health of Wisconsin is something we do every day. Conversations about our state’s health take place at our home base in Madison and with colleagues throughout the state. They happen in hospitals and clinics, in classrooms and boardrooms, in research laboratories and outreach programs, between doctors and patients, students and teachers, within research teams and care teams, between investigators and the people affected by their research. In a climate of open discussion and debate, we tackle knotty problems such as access to health services and health insurance, and the economics of modern health care. Listening and talking about Robert Golden, MD Dean, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health; Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs, UW-Madison prevention and treatment of disease, about the health needs of our population as a whole and the vulnerabilities and strengths of particular groups, we gain understanding and direction. From these conversations come plans that lead to world-class patient care, stimulating educational programs and exciting new knowledge about medical science. This annual report is part of our ongoing conversation. In its pages, you’ll learn how UW Health is addressing the most serious health concerns of our state—heart disease, cancer, stroke and unintentional injury. These health threats claim the largest numbers of our citizens’ lives and cost our state the most in terms of health care dollars spent and lost productivity. They also offer the greatest opportunity for improvement if we can harness our knowledge, focus our educational Jeffrey Grossman, MD President and CEO, University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation; Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, UW School of Medicine and Public Health efforts and bring appropriate, cost-effective treatment to those who need it. Finally, it’s significant that this is the first time UW Health has published a single annual report on the combined activities of our three organizations. The choice is appropriate since our efforts to address the health care needs of the state are inextricably intertwined. The report reflects our deepening commitment to work closely together, share resources and seek synergies. Already we are engaged in the next round of conversations, as we pursue our shared mission to provide the finest possible programs of health education, research, patient care Donna Sollenberger President and CEO, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and community service to Wisconsin residents. ■ Talk about a vibrant academic health center From left to right: The UW Health Sciences Learning Center; The UW Clinical Science Center which houses UW Hospital and Clinics, UW Children’s Hospital and the UW Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center; and one of the UW Medical Foundation’s 30 community-based clinics throughout South Central Wisconsin. B y definition, an academic health center is a vibrant and collaborative environment, composed of multiple entities, each with its own strong identity, united by a shared mission of patient care, education, research and community service. When it comes to vibrancy and collaboration, UW Health stands out. Situated on the western edge of the UW-Madison campus, the health sciences complex is a rapidly growing, continually evolving hub of activity. With a timeless view of scenic Lake Mendota, it radiates determination to give its historic legacy new meaning in the 21st century. Each organization within the enterprise brings valuable strengths to the table—the UW School of Medicine and Public Health with its core missions of education and basic, translational clinical and population research; UW Medical Foundation with nearly 1,000 dedicated physicians in 98 specialties; and UW Hospital and Clinics, the health care setting where unique skill, knowledge and compassion meet patients seeking care. Together, they focus their combined efforts on heart disease, cancer, stroke, unintentional injury and a host of other urgent health issues facing our state. This report describes a year of that concerted effort to improve the health of Wisconsin and beyond. UW School of Medicine and Public Health A colorful mural clearly marks the location of the Walker’s Point Clinic on the Milwaukee Clinical Campus of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. When the UW School of Medicine and Public Health celebrates its centennial in 2007—it was founded in 1907 as a two-year preclinical program—it will, within the preceding five years, have almost completely rebuilt itself. Already enjoying the state-of-the-art library and classrooms of the Health Sciences Learning Center, which opened in 2004, the school this year made significant headway on construction of the equally impressive Interdisciplinary Research Complex located immediately adjacent. Those projects alone have brought the SMPH roaring into the 21st century with facilities to rival any other health sciences campus in the country. In addition, the school this year not only changed its name but expanded its fundamental purpose to reflect a new emphasis on the health of populations and the prevention of disease. With affiliated campuses in Milwaukee, Marshfield and La Crosse and with family medicine residency programs in seven communities, the school reflects the diversity of the state and offers students the best of both urban and rural medicine experiences. UW Hospital and Clinics Safe, high-quality, patient-centered care is the hallmark of UW Hospital and Clinics. UW Health again this year garnered national recognition for quality, safety and service. For the second consecutive year, UW Hospital and Clinics—staffed by the faculty physicians of UW Health—ranked among the top ten hospitals in the country in the University HealthSystem Consortium’s national benchmarking study of quality and safety. UWHC also was cited among the Leapfrog Group’s 50 Top Hospitals and among US News and World Report’s list of “America’s Best Hospitals.” Thanks to its heart and vascular care program, UWHC was also named among Solucient’s 100 Top Hospitals—Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success. And, with high-level performance for quality and safety, and inpatient satisfaction scores that continue to reach above the 90th percentile, it’s no surprise that UWHC again received the region’s Consumer Choice award from the National Research Corporation. All of this has been achieved while continuing on time and on budget with the opening of the hospital’s spacious new emergency department and construction of the new American Family Children’s Hospital, scheduled to open in August 2007. Celebrating 10 Years UW Medical Foundation The year 2006 marked the 10th anniversary of the formation of UW Medical Foundation. In that critical first decade, UW physicians transformed themselves from an informal federation of 14 departmental partnerships into the largest multispecialty medical group in Wisconsin and one of the largest in the nation. Today UWMF’s nearly 1,000 physicians treat patients at more than 30 locations throughout South Central Wisconsin. As the physician faculty at UW Hospital and Clinics, they bring world-class knowledge and excellence in specialty care to residents of the region. Foundation physicians also provide care at Madison’s strong community hospitals—125 of them in multiple specialties at Meriter Hospital and nearly 40 family medicine specialists at St. Mary’s Hospital. With physicians at all Madison hospitals and in dozens of communities, UWMF has been at the center of health care collaborations such as Wisconsin Dialysis and the Madison Surgery Center. Through these partnerships among UW Hospital and Clinics, UW Medical Foundation and Meriter Hospital, UW Health has been able to reduce duplication of services, increase efficiency and improve access to care for the community as a whole. UW Health’s new Odana Atrium is redesigning the full spectrum of primary care practice from wellness efforts to chronic disease management. Interior wood, stone and soothing colors of nature create a healing environment. Gary Cockerman (front row, third from left) is surrounded by emergency department staff who helped speed him to UW Hospital and Clinics for heart attack care last July. Front row, left to right: Ann Kovnesky, Shawn Biwer, Cockerman, Wade Woeltle. Back row left to right: Carol Christianson, Jeff Steinke and Charles Happel. From lab to bedside Our work at the UW Cardiovascular Research Center takes results from discoveries at the molecular level and brings them to the patient’s bedside in the form of more effective treatments. Take, for example, the cell line developed collaboratively by a UW Richard L. Moss, PhD, director, UW Cardiovascular Research Center; professor and chair, department of physiology cardiologist and a physiologist. They discovered that when certain medications are applied to the cell line, they can produce a deadly arrhythmia. As a result, some drugs have been removed from the market nationwide, and we have provided a standard for the industry in screening drugs for arrhythmogenic activity. Usually we think of knowledge moving from the laboratory to patient care, but learning flows both ways. At our center, basic research is more effective because of our close collaboration with clinical colleagues. Talk about heart care Faster heart care for rural patients L ast July, after waterskiing near his weekend home in Lake Mills, Wis., 64-year-old Gary Cockerman began sweating and experiencing chest pain. An ambulance rushed him to Fort Memorial Hospital in Fort Atkinson, Wis., where emergency room staff recognized a heart attack. Following a new protocol, they called a 24-hour hotline at UW Hospital and Clinics to activate both Med Flight helicopter transport and the cardiac catheterization lab. Staff at Fort had Cockerman ready when Med Flight arrived, and when it touched down back in Madison, UWHC staff were waiting to open his blocked artery. Amy Schoenoff, RN, cardiothoracic surgery, UW Hospital and Clinics Patient-centered design This clockwork rapid response is part of the Level One Heart Attack This past year, I was asked to help Program UW Hospital and Clinics began in 2004 and officially develop the new cardiothoracic launched in March 2006. A team effort by Med Flight, regional hospital inpatient unit at UW Hospital and Clinics. emergency departments and UW Hospital’s heart and vascular team, Our goal in the design was to bring all the Level One program focuses on reducing transport time for patients the aspects of care that a patient needs to who need coronary angioplasty to open blocked arteries and restore blood flow to the heart. the patient, instead of having the patient travel to different parts of the hospital. As nurses, physicians and other “As soon as a patient is identified as having a blockage, emergency clinicians, we attended many meetings departments call the hotline in UW Hospital’s Access Center to get and experimented with mock-ups to things rolling,” explains Darren Bean, MD, a UW Health emergency test our ideas for the new space. I know department and Med Flight physician who co-directs the program. that patients do better with their families The activation is similar to Med Flight’s response to a trauma scene. their life, and I recognize how much they “We don’t know all the specifics about the patient when we leave for need family close to them. As a nurse I flight,” says Bean. “But we do know the patient’s outcome is absolutely believe I offered a unique perspective on dependent on how quickly blood flow is restored to the starving heart muscle.” Critical time is saved by work done before and during the flight. While Med Flight is en route to their location, the regional emergency department prepares the patient for transport and gathers information around them. I see myself as a visitor in patient and family needs. The end result is a unit that patients and families really appreciate. I think the space helps staff work better together, too. Now the time we would have spent moving a patient can be devoted to helping them recover. that will be needed once they arrive at UW Hospital. During the flight back, this information is faxed to the UW cath lab. To save additional time, Med Flight crews give some medications by mouth rather than IV, making it faster to remove patients from the helicopter upon arrival. Recommended guidelines call for treatment to open blocked arteries within two hours, preferably within 90 minutes. Prior to the new Level One protocols, it took, on average, two hours and forty-seven minutes for a patient to arrive at UW Hospital from a regional hospital. Today, the average trip has been reduced to one hour and forty-nine minutes. Make that one hour, forty-nine minutes, and counting. ■ Milwaukee businessman Todd Lappin (left) underwent treatment from George Wilding, MD and oncology research nurse Jane Straus, RN, BSN in a clinical trial of a new drug to treat kidney cancer. Two years later, happy with their decision, Lappin and his wife (right) credit the experimental treatment with extending his life. Bridging research and treatment Each year since I became a researcher the percentage of people surviving cancer has slowly increased. Much of that progress has come through clinical trials. At the UW Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, we identify possible new treatments. Phase I clinical trials test these Dan Mulkerin, MD, medical oncologist, and assistant professor of medicine substances to determine proper doses and possible side effects. Phase II trials test how well the drugs treat a specific kind of cancer. Phase III trials are large, often worldwide studies that compare breakthrough treatments to standard ones. The reasons for joining a clinical trial are very personal, but outcomes for patients are often as good as—if not better than —outcomes of conventional therapy. Patients also like the chance to help create new knowledge that may benefit others. Talk about cancer care Tomorrow’s treatments available today T odd Lappin, a retired Milwaukee businessman, has proof that he’s number one in the world. On August 14, 2004, he was forever recorded as clinical trial patient # 0001 in a worldwide test of a promising new kidney cancer drug. This is Lappin’s second experience with kidney cancer. In 1991 his doctor found tumors in one kidney while treating him for another condition. The kidney was removed and he was cancer-free until 2004, when the disease returned. Faced with the new diagnosis, Lappin did his research. He talked Patrick Remington, MD, MPH, director, UW Population Health Institute; and professor of population health sciences with his doctor and visited high-profile cancer centers such as M.D. Waging war on cancer Anderson and the Dana-Farber Institute. In the end, he chose the UW One of the core functions of public Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center. health is assessment—knowing where we are now and where we want to be in the “I learned that kidney cancer is one of the most deadly forms of future. In 1972, the nation declared cancer,” he says. “I also learned there were really just two treatments, “a war on cancer,” and if we hope to interferon and interleukin-2. Both were likely to make me very sick, and win, we must continue to invest in efforts weren’t necessarily effective on my cancer. not only to wage the fight but to measure “I had heard about Dr. Wilding from my doctor,” says Lappin. “When I requires prevention, early detection, met him and his staff, I knew that UW was about to start a clinical trial effective treatment and evaluation—and for kidney cancer. Even the folks at M.D. Anderson asked why I would evaluation is where the UW Population come to Texas with Dr. Wilding right in my backyard.” The clinical trial, explains Dr. George Wilding, director of the Carbone progress. Having a balanced portfolio Health Institute plays a critical role. Our primary way of judging our success against cancer is reduction in the age- Cancer Center and Lappin’s oncologist, is a Phase III trial of a drug adjusted death rate from the disease that targets the blood supply feeding growing tumors. Many similar among Wisconsin residents. It’s not drugs are under study, and clinical trials will determine which are most progress to be improving treatment when effective. people are still getting cancer at the same The treatment Lappin is receiving has improved his long-term that means fewer people are getting prognosis. “From the beginning,” he says, “there was dramatic cancer, and those who do are living reduction in the size of the tumors. I know the drug I’m taking is not longer, healthier lives. rate. When we see the death rate decline, ‘curing’ my cancer. It’s an ongoing process, like treating diabetes; I’ll be doing this the rest of my life.” Lappin still likes the odds. “We heard Dr. Wilding at an event last spring. He spoke of two kidney cancer patients—a 22-year-old young woman he treated several years ago and me. The young woman lived eight months with her cancer. I’ve been here more than two years. I can’t help but think how sad it is that she never had the opportunity I’ve had. To me, the clinical trial has made all the difference.” ■ Jamie Dixon visits with neurointerventional radiologist Beverly Aagaard Kienitz, MD, whose expert intervention interrupted a stroke in progress and spared Dixon potentially devastating brain damage. From research to prevention Smoking is the leading preventable cause of heart disease, responsible for more than 100,000 U.S. deaths each year. That’s why so much of our current federally funded research at the UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention focuses on understanding the cardiovascular effects of smoking and Michael Fiore, MD, MPH, director, UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention; and professor of medicine finding the best treatments for smokers with various physical and psychological profiles. Our center is unique because we apply our research in the real world through our statewide outreach program, cessation clinics and special programs like “You Can Quit.” This effort, which provides quit-smoking medications and counseling to all employees of UW Hospital and Clinics and UW Medical Foundation, has been enormously successful, reaching hundreds of employees in just its first year. Talk about stroke care Deep in the brain, damage control S troke kills more than 3,000 Wisconsin residents every year and severely disables thousands more. Amazingly, Jamie Dixon isn’t one of them. At home with her children on a spring afternoon, 27-year-old Jamie suddenly found herself unable to button her baby boy’s outfit. Soon, her right side went numb and she couldn’t move. Found by a visiting neighbor, she was rushed to a community hospital, then transferred to University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. On arrival, her situation looked bleak: Her upper arm was paralyzed, and she had a facial droop, weakness in her right leg and trouble forming and understanding words. Even worse, she was beyond the “therapeutic window” of three hours, when it’s considered safe to give intravenous clot-dissolving drugs to restore blood flow to the brain. Fortunately, Douglas Dulli, MD, the stroke specialist on call, knew that UW Hospital offered another option—sophisticated magneticresonance imaging to see how much of Jamie’s brain was damaged and how much might be saved if medication were given through the Kelly Traeger, fourth-year student, UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Hands-on learning Last spring as a third-year medical student, I was on the front lines of care for patients with stroke, head injury, chronic pain and many other neurological disorders. Standing beside me were the UW Health physicians who lead the neuroscience clerkship required of all UW School of Medicine and Public Health students. In that arteries instead of the veins. Dulli paged interventional neuroradiologist comprehensive course, I learned from Beverly Aagaard Kienitz, MD. Following stroke-team protocol, they met expert neurologists, neurosurgeons and at “the magnet”—the MRI machine, where scans revealed a small area rehabilitation medicine specialists who of permanent damage and a larger area at risk but still salvageable. are also dedicated educators. As students, “This is why MR imaging is so important,” Aagaard Kienitz says. “It told inpatient rounds and in outpatient clinics. us that if we didn’t open the vessels, Jamie could lose the entire left We learned how to obtain thorough side of her brain. This was a young mother. We decided to go all-out.” patient histories, conduct neurological Using X-ray guidance, Aagaard Kienitz inserted a catheter to deliver initiate surgical management plans and clot-dissolving medications deep in the arteries of Jamie’s brain. Next, construct multi-faceted rehabilitation she deployed a tiny device to break up any remnants of the blockage. plans. For me, the highlight of the course Suspicion that the clot had formed elsewhere was confirmed when cardiologists found and closed an opening in her heart. After a week of rehabilitation, Jamie went home to continue recovery. Today, her speech is fluent, her gait steady and sure. She is raising two children and active in her husband’s business. Occasional clumsiness we actively participated with them on examinations, create treatment strategies, was the time we spent “on call.” For these cases, we assessed patients prior to the establishment of a diagnosis, which required us to apply all the skills we had learned in the course’s daily scheduled activities. on her right side is the only sign of a potentially devastating stroke. “This is why we’re in medicine,” says Aagaard Kienitz. “To give these children back their mother and this husband his wife. I am so thrilled at Jamie’s recovery.” ■ Charlie Thole holds the basketball he was playing with the day Med Flight transported him to UW Hospital and Clinics for life-saving emergency surgery. At left is his Brodhead physician, Kevin Bluemel, MD, and MedFlight crew members (left to right): Bruce Lindsay, MD; Ken Heller, RN and Jason Quisling, Pilot. A place to rely on I felt such relief when the doors opened to University of Wisconsin Hospital’s new emergency room. My partner and I were bringing in a one-year-old baby with a serious heart problem. I Dan Williams, emergency medical technician 10 The new ED is impressive—state-of-theart, yet warm and calming. It’s part of the area’s only Level One trauma center with dozens of specialists always available on-site. Patients know they’re in a worldclass facility. remember thinking about the incredible On days like today with this tiny child, responsibility we had and what this little you see first-hand the level of expertise girl must mean to somebody. and comprehensiveness of care UW Hospital is able to provide, and you realize there’s nothing they can’t handle. Talk about critical care Angels and a first-rate emergency team on his side W hen 11-year-old Charlie Thole went to school on May 12, the only thing on his mind was finishing fifth grade. He couldn’t know that before the day was over, his life would hang in the balance as medical professionals made decisions crucial to his survival. That morning, Charlie was playing basketball at Orfordville Elementary School in Rock County, Wis. Trying to get open for a pass, he was accidentally elbowed by a schoolmate just above his left ear. From that moment, the clock was ticking. “He went to the school office very lethargic,” says Charlie’s dad, Aaron Thole. “He had trouble walking. Thankfully I was home when the school called and we got Charlie to our family doctor in Brodhead right away.” Nan Peterson, RN, MS, Madison Area Safe Kids Coalition coordinator; and clinical nurse specialist, UW Children’s Hospital Giving safety a boost Nothing is more heartbreaking to Kevin Bluemel, MD, the Tholes’ family physician at Mercy Brodhead me than seeing a child harmed or Medical Center, knew right away that Charlie’s condition was serious. killed in an unintentional—and preventable—injury. As the former “He was confused,” Bluemel recalls. “His pulse was in the 30s, his nurse manager of the pediatric intensive blood pressure was low, and it was hard to keep him awake. I called care unit at UW Children’s Hospital, UW Hospital for emergency help, and at one point, I pulled his dad the number of tragedies I saw first- aside and said, ‘He isn’t looking good; get your wife here right away.’” hand inspired me to help save kids and families from such devastation. Braving windy conditions, UW Med Flight flew to Brodhead, landing in Through education on proper car seat an open field across the road from the clinic. As the helicopter made installation, use of bicycle helmets, tips to the 25-minute return flight, caregivers at UW Children’s Hospital prevent furniture from falling on toddlers prepared for Charlie’s arrival. His mom and dad drove, arriving just and many other initiatives, the Madison seconds before their son was rushed into the operating room. Area Safe Kids Coalition* has made a About halfway into the two-hour surgery, pediatric neurosurgeon coordinator, I’m proud of the work we’ve Bermans Iskandar, MD, emerged with the six words Charlie’s parents done to advocate on behalf of children desperately wanted to hear. and build awareness among parents “Charlie is going to be alright,” he assured them, then explained that fulfilling was the role we played in seeing the injury had caused life-threatening bleeding between the head and a new Wisconsin booster seat law take skull. To stop the bleeding, he removed a small portion of Charlie’s effect in 2006, requiring youngsters up to skull—nothing that should prevent a complete recovery. difference since its creation in 1996. As its about injury prevention. Especially age 8 (instead of 4) to use a booster seat when riding in a motor vehicle. “This condition is often fatal,” says Iskandar. “The injury does not have to be extensive. All that is required is a small skull fracture that injures an underlying blood vessel.” If operated on promptly, however, complete recovery with no neurological deficits is usually possible. * UW Children’s Hospital is the lead agency for the Madison Area Safe Kids Coalition, which also includes representatives from public health, law enforcement, fire departments, state consumer protection agencies and others. Back in Brodhead, everyone at the family medicine clinic is elated with Charlie’s recovery. “He’s a great kid,” Bluemel says. “He really had angels watching over him.” ■ 11 Talk about community benefit Bringing health care and education to the communities we serve UW Health’s community service commitment encompasses charity care, direct charitable giving to address the health needs of the communities we serve, and employee giving and volunteerism to benefit a wide variety of charitable organizations. Much of our effort is directed to local programs for underserved residents, such as Access Community Health Center and the MEDIC program that hosts six Madison clinics where faculty-supervised medical students treat underserved and uninsured patients on a walk-in basis. With the statewide reach of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, UW Health community programs also reach into the heart of Milwaukee and into rural areas throughout the state. Significant additional support goes to local, state and national organizations dedicated to health education and research. Caption here Access Community Health Centers Working at Access Community Health Centers is perfect for Ken Loving, MD. “It’s the reason I went to medical school,” he says. “I love the way the job allows me to combine the science of being a physician with interaction on a daily basis with people in the community who have trouble accessing the health system.” As a federally qualified health center, ACHC is mandated to provide care for people who cannot overcome economic, cultural, educational and numerous other barriers. Located in the heart of Madison’s most underserved communities, the center’s two locations bring care to the groups who need it most. This year ACHC served 8,000 men, women and children from Dane County. One third were under 18, and more than half were uninsured. UW Health continues to be an important source of support, enabling the organization in 2005 to open its second location, the William T. Evjue Clinic on Madison’s east side. Already, in July 2006, ACHC broke ground to add medical and dental exam rooms at that location to serve more of the city’s underserved and uninsured residents. UW Health support helps Access Community Health Centers make a difference in the lives of thousands of Madison residents each year. UW Health teams hoof it to fight heart disease For the last five years UW Health has been a corporate sponsor for the annual Heart Walk, sponsored each October by the American Heart Association. Rain or shine, enthusiastic teams of walkers don bright red team T-shirts and get moving to support heart health. This year’s brigade put nearly $24,000 in the coffers that will support heart research in the coming year. Teams from UW Health raised nearly $24,000 at this year’s Heart Walk. 12 MEDIC volunteers make a difference Joel Thomas Adler, president of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s MEDIC outreach program, speaks fondly of the time he helped a man with an injured shoulder. “He understood very little English and couldn’t afford time away from his three manual labor jobs,” Adler says, “but we taught him some exercises and provided medication.” Adler and dozens of other first- and second-year UW SMPH students volunteer at six free clinics throughout Madison as part of the MEDIC program. Three are weekly clinics that treat mainly acute health problems, while three others focus more on prevention, education and mental health assistance. Together, they treat approximately 1,200 patients each year, nearly all of whom lack health insurance. MEDIC clinics are staffed entirely by volunteers, including not only students, but physicians, residents and an array of health professionals. Not content to simply provide health care, MEDIC also engages the community through literacy activities, participation in health fairs and other community-based activities. The program offers students a unique opportunity to gain valuable clinical experience while serving those who would not otherwise have access to health care. Brian Hotujec (left), a first-year medical student, listens while Dr. Quinn Pack (right), a UW internal medicine resident, talks to a patient. Teen fitness program targets childhood obesity epidemic Carlos, a Madison teenager, accomplished more in a year as part of the UW Pediatric Fitness Program than many people do in a lifetime. Through an innovative approach aimed at reducing childhood obesity, he was able to begin working out, cut down on sports drinks, increase his milk and calcium intake, and, most important, eat breakfast. Through the unique teen fitness regimen that combines education and fun to help kids from 5-18, he has grown stronger and added muscle in his chest, upper body and legs. “He made the choice,” says his mom Kathryn Bush. “He set the goal, and he’s been able to do it. This program works so much better because it’s something he really wants to do.” Wisconsin health is global health Madison’s Latino population is among the fasting growing in the country, and Hmong and Native American communities contribute richly to the state’s makeup. Each group approaches health and healthcare in slightly different ways. “Wisconsin health is global health,” says Cynthia Haq, MD, director of UW Madison’s new Center for Global Health. To be most effective, today’s health professionals increasingly need a better understanding of the cultures and peoples of the world, she says. Through her own experiences in Uganda, Haq learned about the profound impact of social and cultural factors in health and health care. On one of several trips to Uganda, Cynthia Haq, MD, director of the UW Global Health Program met with a local healer. Furthermore, thanks to the way people—and diseases—now travel from continent to continent in mere hours, Wisconsin is hardly immune to dangerous new health threats. “We now have a single world in terms of health,” Haq says. The new center sponsors global health courses on campus and educational programs abroad, facilitates global health research by encouraging networking among UW-Madison faculty and staff, and promotes worldwide partnerships and exchanges resulting in lasting impacts both here and abroad. 13 Look what’s parked on Main Street For many Wisconsin children, limited transportation and lack of access make it difficult to get to the dentist. UW Health’s solution? Bring the dentists to the kids! To reach youngsters in 12 counties in southern and southwestern Wisconsin, UW Children’s Hospital dentists and hygienists staff the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile for eight months during the year. The 40-foot, 26,000-pound traveling dental office holds a laboratory, reception area, medical records and two patient exam rooms. Inside the enormous vehicle, staff provide x-rays, dental cleanings and fluoride applications. Through the combined sponsorship of UW Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald Charities, the Care Mobile enables many children without insurance to receive treatment at no cost. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile takes dental care access on the road. In another move to expand access to dental care, UW Health played an instrumental role in enabling dental hygienists to bill Medicaid for preventive services. According to a recent survey, almost half of Wisconsin children attending schools with a higher percentage of low-income students have untreated decay, which leads to difficulty in eating, sleeping, learning and proper nutrition. Recognizing the serious implications of the problem, UW Health leaders strongly supported a Medicaid rule change, which has allowed dental professionals to provide more preventive care to these children. Ronald McDonald Care Mobile Statistics Number of clinic days provided: 449 Number of children treated: 2,569 Number of clinic visits provided: 6,184 Value of services: $1,265,055 Number of exams, x-rays: 6,158 Number of cleanings: 5,609 Number of fillings, stainless steel crowns: 7,378 Number of extractions: 1,073 (NOTE: The totals above are derived from the programs inception, which began in January, 2003.) Grant supports outreach to Allied Drive July 2006 saw the kickoff of Reaching Out for Health and Wellness on Allied Drive, a student-led initiative to expand outreach programming by the Community Service Programs Office of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. UW SMPH was one of eight recipients nationwide in the Caring for Community grant program of the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC). Supported by the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative, the grant will provide the school with $30,000 over four years. Susan Skochelak, MD, MPH, associate dean for academic affairs, is the principle investigator for the grant, and is supplying matching funds to support program activities over the next four years. The grant provides funding for service projects initiated, developed and administered by medical students in collaboration with existing community agencies. Medical students and other volunteers will use door-to-door interviews, neighborhood programs, community dinners, health fairs and festivals to conduct health-related needs assessments and provide targeted health education to residents. The Allied Wellness Center, Inc., established in July 2004 to address the holistic health needs of the Allied/Belmar/Dunn’s Marsh neighborhood, will serve as the community partner for the initiatives. 14 Community Organizations Receiving Financial Support from UW Health in FY06 100 Black Men of Madison Access Community Health Center ABC for Health African Association of Madison AIDS Network All City Swim Meet Alzheimer’s Association American Cancer Society American Diabetes Association American Heart Association American Lung Association of Wisconsin American Red Cross American Red Cross – Badger Chapter American Society of Health Economists AMIGOS-Madison Chapter Arthritis Foundation American Society of Preventive Oncology Association of Fundraising Professionals Attic Angels Bayview Foundation Inc. Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of American – Wisconsin Chapter Centro Hispano of Dane County Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin City of Columbus Playground Equipment Colonial Club Columbus Crop Walk Combat Blindness Foundation Community Shares of Wisconsin Cross Plains Stingray Swim Team Cross Plains World Fair Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Dane County Coalition Dane County Department of Human Services Dane County Immunization Coalition DeForest Annual Celebration DeForest Area EMS Domestic Abuse Intervention Services Downtown Madison Inc. Beaver Dam Lake Days East Madison/Monona Coalition of the Aging Beaver Dam Music Review Easter Seals Wisconsin (Camp Waubek) Big Brothers Big Sisters ElderCare of Wisconsin Black Belt America Elm Lawn PTO Brain Injury Association of Wisconsin Exchange Center for Prevention of Child Abuse Breast Cancer Recovery Foundation Building Wisconsin Inc. Camp Shalom Capital Candlelighters Family Support & Resource Center Fishing Has No Boundaries Fitchburg Days Fitchburg Farmers Market Kids Days Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network Fort Memorial Hospital Foundation Forward Wisconsin Friends of McFarland Library Friends of the Waisman Center Friends of UWHC Girls on the Run Glaciers Edge Council of the Boy Scouts Greater Madison Convention and Visitor Bureau Habitat for Humanity Health Professional Mentoring Program HospiceCare Interfaith Hospitality Network Judith Chester Scholarship Fund Junction Ridge Neighborhood Association Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation LaFollette High School Latino Health Council LeRoy Butler Breast Cancer Awareness Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Lighten Up Family Centers, Inc. Lincoln Elementary School Family Connections of Wisconsin Literacy Leadership, Inc. Family Service Lupus Foundation (continued on page 16) 15 Madison Area Down Syndrome Association Madison Area Literacy Council Madison Children’s Museum Madison Community Foundation Madison Metropolitan School District Madison Opera Madison Parks Foundation Madison West High School March of Dimes Mark Maida Memorial Run MATC Foundation McFarland Family Festival McFarland Fire Department McFarland Firecracker 500 United Cerebral Palsy Palmyra Eagle Project Graduation United Way of Dane County Pediatric Research Foundation Urban League of Greater Madison Prevent Blindness Wisconsin UW Health Innovations Program Rape Crisis Center UW School of Nursing Redline Club UW Spirit Squad Respite Center Verona Hometown Days Richland Hospital Foundation Verona Little League Ronald McDonald House Waunafest RSVP of Dane County WHA Foundation Safe Community Coalition Wisconsin Alliance for Fire Safety Safe Harbor Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence Salvation Army Scholarships Second Harvest Foodbank Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Shelley Grover Foundation Wisconsin Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Shillelagh Foundation Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation Shrine Circus Wisconsin Sports Development Corp. Smoke Free Wisconsin Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra St. Joseph’s Memorial Foundation Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians Stoughton HS Senior Class Bash Wisconsin Literacy Stoughton Kiwanis Club Wisconsin Parkinson’s Association Stoughton Syttende Mai Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation Student Nurses Association Women in Focus National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin Sun Prairie Piranhas Women’s Transit Authority National Multiple Sclerosis Society Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation YMCA McFarland Senior Outreach Meriter Foundation Monona Grove Football Booster Monona Swim and Dive Club Mt. Horeb Junior Prom Muscular Dystrophy Association National Association for the Advancement of Colored People National Alliance on Mental Illness – Madison Branch National Runaway Switchboard Nurses Alumni Organization Oregon Youth Center Outreach 16 Overseas medical care Tellurian Tomorrow’s Hope Trinity Booster Club Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin YWCA of Madison Pediatric health care and prevention are a major reason for UW Health’s steadfast support of Access Community Health Center. During the winter holidays’ Drive to Share, UW Health employees and patients contribute truckloads of food, toys and other gifts for families in need. Serving community needs (FY 2006) UW Health’s overall commitment to the health of the community, including care provided to those without ability to pay and donations by employees through workplace giving programs, is reflected in the following summary: Charity care..................................................................................................................................................................... $41,052,300 Contributions to charitable organizations................................................................................................................................ $614,100 Organizations contributed to........................................................................................................................................................... 167 Total initiatives/events sponsored............................................................................................................................................ Over 200 Employee charitable contributions.......................................................................................................................................... $501,500 Number of employees contributing............................................................................................................................................... 1,611 UW Health blood drives and pints contributed.................................................................................................................................. 893 Holiday Drive to Share (first three drives include public participation) Toys collected through Toys for Tots............................................................................................................................................. 2,400 Families supported through Adopt-a-Family..................................................................................................................................... 166 Meals for Second Harvest Food Bank....................................................................................................................................... 150,000 Friends of UWHC Love Lights People honored or memorialized.....................................................................................................................................................1,800 Dollars raised.............................................................................................................................................................................$18,000 17 Talk about transforming care through science Patients who have their prostate glands removed in a traditional open surgery typically remain in the hospital an average of two days. Patients who have the procedure done using the surgical robot typically go home the next day and return to normal activity in as little as one week. A surgical robot offers extra hands in the operating room. Surgical robotics adds precision, subtracts recovery time One of the newest members of the UW Hospital and Clinics surgery team stands six feet tall, has four arms and is named after a famous Italian painter and inventor. He’s also a robot. This spring, Steve Bentin, the 62-yearold basketball coach at Madison Area Technical College, became one of a growing number of patients to have his prostate removed with the Da Vinci® surgical robot, a technological advancement that allows surgeons to execute complex surgeries using minimally-invasive techniques. Currently, UW Hospital and Clinics is the only hospital in the Madison area using robotics in the operating room, and one of five medical centers in Wisconsin. While doctors enjoy the robot’s increased precision, patients appreciate the reduced recovery time. “I’m a major fan of the robot,” says Bentin, 62. “I actually feel bad telling some of my friends how good my surgery was. Instead of spending weeks sitting around in the backyard reading books, I was up and walking around.” 18 Da Vinci® has been in the operating room at UW Hospital and Clinics since January 2006, putting the hospital at the forefront of a growing national trend. In addition to prostate removal, UW Health surgeons are using it to perform complex heart surgeries, gland removals, hysterectomies and cancer staging. Now the UW Health Transplant Program offers a desensitization program in which patients receive immunosuppressant drugs and a plasma treatment to remove rejection-causing antibodies from the bloodstream. Desensitization cleanses the blood of harmful antibodies much the same way as hemodialysis removes toxins. Immunosuppressant medications—the same ones patients take after transplantation—help prevent the harmful antibodies from returning. Undergoing the process prior to transplant allows many who would otherwise reject their transplanted kidney, to receive the new organ successfully. “This has been a very exciting development for us,” says Dr. David Jarrard, a physician with the UW Paul P. Carbone Cancer Center, and one of three UW Health urological surgeons trained to use the robot. “The cancer outcomes with the robot are similar to those with open prostatectomy,” he says. “The big benefit for patients is the shorter hospital stay and faster recovery.” Desensitization helps expand transplant donor pool The wait for a new kidney can be long and arduous for patients on a lengthy list with other needy candidates. The picture can be even more bleak for the 30 percent of patients considered “sensitized,” that is, having antibodies against foreign tissues (such as a new kidney) that make it harder to find a compatible living or deceased donor. These antibodies pose such a risk that sensitized patients may wait three to four times longer than other patients for a compatible kidney. Travis, whose kidney transplant succeeded thanks to a new pre-transplant desensitization process, and his donor, Sue. Because the timing of desensitization is crucial, it’s preferred that candidates have an identified live donor. Thus far, the new program has helped nearly twenty patients overcome what was once a significant barrier to transplant. Islet cell transplant continues to hold promise Morning, noon and night, clusters of special pancreatic cells known as “islets” regulate the release of insulin in our bodies, maintaining normal and innovation blood sugar levels. Most healthy people take the process completely for granted. Those with Type 1 diabetes know what happens when the process goes off track, destroying islet cells and robbing the body of that natural regulation. Until recently, solid organ pancreatic transplantation offered Type 1 diabetics their only hope of life without daily insulin injections—and avoidance of the serious long-term complications associated with diabetes. two to three days. Most require more than one infusion treatment, and like all transplant patients, they must continue to take anti-rejection medications indefinitely. In the home stretch of the current round of clinical trials, UW Hospital has transplanted eight patients. Three are already completely insulin free; others are awaiting a first or additional procedure. Says transplant team leader, Dr. Jon Odorico, “This is truly a major step forward in diabetes care.” Artificial rib lets toddler’s lungs breathe and grow Julie (left), a Type 1 diabetic and islet cell transplant recipient, with her transplant coordinator Nancy. Now there’s a second alternative. Though still experimental, islet cell transplantation continues to offer promise and, for the right individuals, several potential advantages over conventional pancreas transplant. Islet cells are extracted from the donor pancreas and infused intravenously into the portal vein of the recipient’s liver. Unlike pancreas transplantation, a major surgical procedure requiring two to three months of recovery time, the surgical process for islet cell infusion takes only about two hours. Patients can go home in 24 to 72 hours and back to work in Traditional spinal fusion surgery is an effective treatment for adults with spinal curvatures, but usually a poor solution for younger patients. “The non-expanding metal rods and screws stop the spine from getting worse, but they also essentially stop it from growing,” says UW Health pediatric surgeon Kenneth Noonan. “That’s not a huge problem when you’re older and done growing, but it is when you’re two.” Noonan and a UW Children’s hospital colleague, Aimen Shaaban, have become the first pediatric surgical team in Wisconsin to use an implantable, expandable metal device that offers spinal treatment that can grow with a child. Known as a Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib (VEPTR), the device helps straighten the spine and separate the ribs so the lungs can grow and fill with enough air to breathe. The artificial rib is lengthened every 4 to 6 months to accommodate the growth of the child. Noonan Two-year-old Kate, just two days after UW Health surgeons implanted an expandable titanium rib to correct a severe spinal curvature and Shaaban’s first patient was a two-year-old girl from Stevens Point, Wis., with severe scoliosis secondary to a rare congenital syndrome. She received the implant under an FDA Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE), created solely to benefit patients with rare conditions. Without the corrective surgery, she would likely have developed serious and potentially fatal breathing problems due to inhibited lung growth. “Thanks to VEPTR, she’ll be able to maintain her lung function so she can have a normal lifespan,” says Dr. Shaaban. Prior to development of the UW VEPTR team, only seven centers in the United States were performing the procedure. 19 Talk about redefining a school Change and continuity into existing courses. The end result will be physicians who are better able to focus on prevention; understand social, cultural and behavioral influences on health; relate to diverse groups of patients; and function more effectively within the current health care system. The past year has been a time of major change at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The school’s new name, now more comprehensive than simply the University of Wisconsin Medical School, is the clearest indication that something is different. A long time coming, the name change reflects a fundamental transformation for the school, an innovative move representing the most promising approach to dealing with an array of challenging health problems in Wisconsin—from childhood obesity that devolves into diabetes to tobacco addiction that predisposes smokers to cancer to hip-shattering falls among the elderly. The change integrates traditional medicine, which generally focuses on individual patients from molecular, cellular and organ-system perspectives, with public health, which concentrates on disease prevention and health promotion in groups of people ranging from neighborhoods to the “global village.” The school is steadily incorporating public health into all of its major missions. 20 Wisconsin Partnership funds rural health initiative New degree program signals importance The Master in Public Health (MPH) degree program was created to respond to a critical nationwide need for public health workers trained to deal with issues such as bioterrorism, e-coli infections, West Nile Virus and other immerging infectious diseases. Now in its second year, the year-long MPH provides multidisciplinary public health education and training to current and future health professionals. The popular new program is enhancing and expanding the state’s public health workforce, preparing people to serve in government agencies, academic settings and the private health sector. Curriculum infused with new emphasis To ensure that public health training evolves across all four years of the standard MD degree curriculum, school leaders have created Innovations in Medical Education. The four new faculty curriculum developers who have been hired for this major program are carefully weaving extensive new material on public health, cultural competence and professionalism The Wisconsin Partnership Program has played a crucial role in the creation and growth of both of these new programs. Stemming from Blue Cross/Blue Shield’s conversion from a non-profit to a for-profit corporation, the WPP allocates and disburses proceeds from investments on the approximately $300 million that has been transferred to the school. The WPP’s broad goal is to improve the health of all people in the Badger State by distributing funds to community organizations, training public health practitioners and supporting creative education and research programs. Funding from the WPP has also been essential to the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Health, a new MD program that will train physicians to work in small towns in rural areas of the state where the health care needs of farm families, Native American and Hmong communities and others are badly under-met. The WARM program will run parallel to the standard MD program, and use the school’s two rural clinical campuses—Marshfield Clinic in central Wisconsin and Gundersen Clinic in western La Crosse—plus one in Green Bay as regional hubs. From there it will extend to a network of smaller outlying hospitals and clinics, where the bulk of students’ training in the third and fourth years will take place. By 2015, a total of 25 new MDs will be prepared to live and practice in rural Wisconsin. The program, to begin in Fall 2007, will complement the intensive urban clinical experience the school has offered third- and fourth-year medical students at its Milwaukee Clinical Campus for decades. Here students train alongside physicians in busy inner-city clinics that draw ethnically diverse patients from nearby neighborhoods. The WARM program will rely heavily on the volunteer physicians who serve in the school’s longrunning Preceptorship Program. Created in 1926, the program has served for years as a national model of clinical training that supplements classroom instruction. Volunteer physicians have generously opened their offices and practices scattered throughout Wisconsin to fourth-year medical students for the six- to eight-week preceptorship clinical experiences. sciences, and biostatistics and medical informatics. At the same time the school is encouraging and supporting researchers in all departments to use epidemiology, informatics and the social and behavioral sciences to examine, whenever possible, public health issues of concern in Wisconsin. One exciting new public health research project that began recently at the school is the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin. This program, funded by the WPP, is creating a mechanism to collect data on the many factors—biological, behavioral and environmental— that influence the health of Wisconsinites. Extensive data from approximately 1,000 residents who are representative of the state’s entire population will influence statewide health services research, community-based prevention and treatment trials and, ultimately, future health priorities. Translational research, to be featured in the Interdisciplinary Research Complex that is under construction, will be a focus for years to come, and clinical investigations will remain a hallmark of the institution. Similarly, the school will always be committed to training students to be physicians who are firmly grounded in the basic sciences and comfortably competent in the clinic. But physicians and researchers of the immediate future must learn to examine and understand all the factors—biological, behavioral, genetic, environmental and social—affecting human health. School leaders are convinced that this novel combination of new perspectives, knowledge and tools—one that uniquely integrates medicine and public health—has the best chance of making the biggest impact on health in Wisconsin. SMPH researchers, widely recognized for their strength in the basic sciences, will consistently strive for discoveries relating to cardiovascular disease, cancer and neuroscience, and they will eagerly seek to make advances in new areas relating to stem cells, imaging science and molecular medicine. Public health research complements strong basic and clinical programs In the realm of research, the school is fortifying two departments that are most closely aligned with public health: population health 21 Talk about primary care The department of family medicine turnaround in childhood immunization C hildhood immunizations are one of the few components of well-child care with clear evidence of effectiveness in reducing illness and death among children. Imagine, then, the alarm bells that sounded for the UW Department of Family Medicine (DFM) Residency clinics, when a 2002 UW Health study of immunization patterns found DFM clinics to have the lowest rate of immunization among two-year olds. The report’s findings brought statewide faculty, residents and clinic staff together in an effort to improve the level of care. A statewide quality improvement team was commissioned to address barriers and oversee the development and implementation of effective interventions. Clinical roles, educational content and delivery methods and all other aspects of care were considered fair game. Eventual changes included implementation of a statewide computerized immunization registry (RECIN) and significant modification of the entire process for childhood immunization care and resident education. The result has been a new model of care with greater standardization and consensus about goals. Most important, clinics have seen immunization rates improve dramatically with each measurement cycle. Along with participation in RECIN, successful interventions have included an increased role for nurses in caregiver education, and identification of vaccines needed at all childhood visits, regardless of the reason for the visit. Improved communication between clinics and local hospitals has also helped performance. Physicians involved with hospital-based prenatal care and delivery include standing orders for newborn Hepatitis B. Records are forwarded to Nursing staff now provide the resident or faculty provider clinics prior to a child’s first visit and entered into RECIN. with a copy of the immunization history of each child at At their child’s very first visit, parents receive an up-to-date every visit. They are assisted by RECIN registry prompts immunization history and listing of upcoming immunizations that indicate clearly which doses are due currently, which and recommended due dates. Parents also receive a new are overdue and which need to be repeated to ensure history from the RECIN registry whenever their child’s proper timing. Using a “no missed opportunity” strategy, the immunizations are updated, allowing them to stay informed physician or other provider reviews the history, determines and partner with their family medicine physician. the immunization needs for each visit and schedules any follow-up visits. The registry also produces a monthly report for providers, which identifies children with delinquent immunizations. Clinics then send reminder letters and make nursing follow-up calls. 22 Department of family medicine clinics are now star performers in childhood immunization. Careful analysis and attention to detail have paid off! UW Family Medicine Residency clinics are now the leaders in immunization practices, with all of the clinics now performing at or above the 90th percentile, based on national benchmarks. ■ Talk about building for the future American Family Children’s Hospital Currently under construction alongside University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, the $78 million American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH) will soon be the crown jewel of children’s health care in Wisconsin. Scheduled to open in the summer of 2007, this world-class health care facility will be dedicated solely to the care and treatment of children and their families. As a separate building on the northwest side of UW Hospital and Clinics, AFCH will offer a fully integrated array of clinical care, academic programs and research initiatives in a state-of-the-art facility unmatched in the state. Rooms will be twice the size of those in the current hospital, affording families greater comfort as they participate in their children’s care. Patients and families cared for at American Family Children’s Hospital will know they’re in a special place. “American Family Children’s Hospital will offer young patients and their families a facility on par with the stellar quality of our pediatric physicians, nursing staff and other caregivers,” says Donna Sollenberger, President and CEO of UW Hospital and Clinics. “The new space will offer a better healing environment for youngsters and a less stressful, more comforting experience for families.” New research complex takes shape on west campus Designed to encourage unique gatherings of scientists from different disciplines, the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s new Interdisciplinary Research Complex is rapidly rising from the ground, adjacent to UW Hospital and Clinics. With groundbreaking that began in August 2005, the $134 million facility will be constructed in several phases. The first phase, to be completed in 2008, will consist of two five-story towers atop three-story bases. Cancer research laboratories will be the anchor tower. Neuroscience and cardiovascular research also will be featured in phase one, as will work on stem cells and regenerative medicine. In addition, molecular medicine will be a major thrust of research housed in the new building. The IRC’s close proximity to the hospital will facilitate translational research in which new scientific discoveries move as rapidly as possible from research laboratories to clinical care settings. Taking emergency care to a new level For 27 years, the UW Hospital and Clinics emergency department (ED) has provided the highest level of emergency care in the region. On June 6, 2006, it began a new era as the doors opened on a greatly expanded and completely remodeled emergency care area. Visitors quickly notice that the design of the new environment pays close attention to the needs of patients, including their privacy and confidentiality. Adult and pediatric patients wait comfortably in separate waiting rooms and multiple triage rooms offer enhanced privacy as patients are evaluated for care. All 29 treatment rooms are private and fully equipped to deliver the caliber of care associated with a Level One trauma center. UW Hospital’s new emergency room opened in June 2006. “We want patients and families to feel welcome from the time they enter our hospital to the time they leave,” says Adrianne Cisler, director of emergency services. “The new ED allows for quicker patient diagnosis and the highest level of care in a safe, comfortable setting.” 23 Talk about a statewide resource 57(EALTH0ROGRAMS 57(EALTH#LINICS 57###2EGIONAL0ARTNERS 0RINCIPAL#AMPUS,OCATIONS &AMILY-EDICINE2ESIDENCY3ITES 'ENERALIST0ARTNERS0ROGRAM3ITES 0RIMARY#ARE#LERKSHIP3ITES 0RECEPTORSHIP3ITES ,ONGITUDINAL2URAL2OTATION3ITES U W Health programs reach to the far corners of the state with quality care, diverse educational programs and research findings that make a difference in the lives of countless residents: ● UW Health Clinics are located throughout south central Wisconsin. ★ Regional Cancer Centers, affiliated with the UW Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, bring world-class cancer care to residents in seven communities in Wisconsin and northern Illinois. ✪ The principal statewide campus locations of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health include Madison, La Crosse, Marshfield and Milwaukee. ● The UW Family Medicine Residency Program has a rich 40year history of training resident physicians in seven Wisconsin communities. 24 ✚ The Generalist Partners Program was among the first in the nation to involve community-based primary care physicians in teaching introductory clinical skills to first- and second-year medical students. ■ The Primary Care Clerkship requirement is fulfilled by medical students during their third year of medical school. ▲ The Preceptorship program continues hands-on learning for thirdand fourth-year medical students while affording them opportunities to explore career options and experience in multiple specialties. ★ Longitudinal Rural Rotation Sites are a valuable training ground for students in the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine program to address the shortage of physicians in rural areas of the state. Your contribution can make a difference Philanthropy is an important source of support for UW Health. Your gift can support innovative research programs, new facilities and services that directly touch the lives of patients and families. To learn more about how to contribute, please visit our web site at uwhealth.org or contact us at 608-263-4545 or toll-free at 800-443-6162. For more information Information on all UW Health providers and clinical programs is available on the UW Health web site at uwhealth.org. To learn more about academic and research programs of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, please visit online at med.wisc.edu. ©2007 UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority Board HA11131-0806P