MCW's Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program Awards $2.3 Million for Nine Projects

The Medical College of Wisconsin’s (MCW) Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program (HWPP) will fund nine new community health projects totaling $2.3 million.

One Impact award will receive approximately $750,000 over five years and eight Development awards will receive approximately $200,000 each over two years. Projects are selected for funding through a rigorous process led by the MCW Consortium on Public and Community Health, comprised of MCW and public members.

The following projects were selected:

Growing Healthy Soil for Healthy Communities………………...……………………$749,999
To reduce lead exposure in two Milwaukee neighborhoods (Lindsay Heights and Kinnickinnic River) who use urban agriculture programming as a transformational and empowerment tool.

Community Partners: Sixteenth Street Community Health Center; Walnut Way Conservation Corp.; University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Soil Science; Milwaukee Health Department
Academic Partners: Sheri Johnson, Ph.D.; Ray Hoffman, Ph.D.; Chelsea Hamilton, M.S. – Department of Pediatrics



A Collaborative Response to Reduce Binge Drinking in Rural
Wisconsin Communities………………………………………………………………..$200,000
To design, implement, and evaluate an innovative program to reduce the prevalence of binge drinking in rural Wisconsin.

Community Partners: Rural Wisconsin Health Collaborative; Southwest Health Center; Boscobel Area Health Care; Monroe Clinic; Moundview Memorial Hospital
Academic Partners: Leslie Patterson, M.S.; Jeff A. Morzinski, PhD – Department of Family and Community Medicine



Community Information System: Linking Data to Improve Health…………….…..$199,921
Build a multidisciplinary data-sharing system to fill service gaps and identify effective practices.

Community Partners: Brown County United Way; Aurora BayCare; Bellin Health; Hospital Sisters Health System; Prevea Health; St. Norbert College; Green Bay Area Public School District; LIVES54218; University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; Community Partnership for Children; Healthy Families; Howe Neighborhood Resource Center; Family and Childcare Resources of Northeast Wisconsin; Nicolet National Bank; Encompass Early Education & Care
Academic Partners: John Meurer, M.D., M.B.A.; Kwang Woo Ahn, Ph.D.; Shi Zhao - Institute for Health and Society



Healthier Obstetrical Outcomes through Enrichment Activities and
Community Engagement …………………………………………………..……….…..$200,000
To improve birth outcomes in a high-risk population through group prenatal care activities.

Community Partners: Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – St. Joseph Foundation; Zeta Phi Beta Local Chapter; Wheaton Franciscan-St. Joseph Family Care Center; Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare
Academic Partners: Beth Damitz, M.D.; Nadia Ahmad; Christina Eldredge, M.D., M.S.; Jeff A. Morzinski; Sandra Olsen, M.S., Michele Leininger – Department of Family and Community Medicine



Improving home visitor response to postpartum depression……………….…….…..$147,951
To improve postpartum depression screening and treatment rates by developing and testing tools that support home visitors who serve and support mothers across Wisconsin.

Community Partners: Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Child Abuse Prevention Fund; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Nursing; Early Years Home Visitation Outcomes Project; National Outcomes Center
Academic Partners: Christina Wichman, D.O. – Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine



Networked for Action: Eau Claire County Health Data Web-Portal
for Community Change ……………….…….………………………………………….$200,000
To test an innovative method of moving from community health assessment to effective interventions in order to better understand how technology can support action.

Community Partners: United Way of Greater Chippewa Valley; Eau Claire City-Community Health Department; Mayo Clinic Health System; Sacred Heart Hospital; Marshfield Clinic-Eau Claire Center
Academic Partners: Terry Brandenburg, M.B.A., M.P.H. – Institute for Health and Society; David Nelson, Ph.D.; Elaine Drew, Ph.D.; Amy Kistner, M.S., L.P.C. - Department of Family and Community Medicine



Proactive Outreach for the Health of Sexually Exploited Youth ………….…….…..$158,276
To improve the identification and treatment of youth involved in human trafficking by developing policies and procedures to improve and provide comprehensive health and mental health care throughout Milwaukee.

Community Partners: Children's Mental Health Services-Wraparound Milwaukee; Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office
Academic Partners: Wendi Ehrman, M.D.; Tia Medley – Department of Pediatrics



Scaling up Milwaukee Urban Agriculture and Nutrition Through a
Community/Science Institute ……………….…………………………………….........$199,993
To impact the health of Milwaukee urban families through a comprehensive food-to-hub and hub-to fork approach that increases the production and processing of, and desire for healthier, culturally appropriate food.

Community Partners: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Growing Power; Sixteenth Street Community Health Center/CORE El Centro; Victory Gardens Initiative
Academic Partners: Zeno Franco, Ph.D.; Michelle Leininger – Department of Family and Community Medicine



Teleophthalmology to Improve Eye Health among Latinos:
UCC-MCW-Marquette Collaboration ……………………………………..……...…..$200,000
To increase screening and improve eye care in a high-risk population by implementing distance-based ophthalmology and training the work force to support the new technology.

Community Partners: Centro de la Comunidad Unida; Marquette University; Milwaukee School of Engineering; Columbia School of Nursing
Academic Partners: Judy E. Kim, M.D.; Eileen Early, R.N., B.S.N. – Department of Ophthalmology; John Fangman, M.D. – Department of Medicine (Infectious Disease); Christina Eldredge, M.D., M.S.; Zeno Franco, Ph.D.; Melissa DeNomie, MS – Department of Family and Community Medicine



“The MCW Consortium on Public and Community Health endorses the new projects funded by the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program as part of MCW’s commitment to improve the quality of health throughout Wisconsin,” said Cheryl A. Maurana, Ph.D., director of Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin and MCW Consortium member.

HWPP is a program of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin endowment created by funds generated from Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin’s conversion to a for-profit corporation. HWPP awards funding to partnerships between academics and community health and non-profit organizations for urban, rural and statewide health improvement projects in Wisconsin.

Since 2004, HWPP has invested $46.2 million in more than 145 community-academic health improvement projects. For more information on individual projects, please visit HWPP’s website: http://www.mcw.edu/healthierwipartnerships.htm.