- Annual training keeps pharmacists up to date on latest advances in caring for patients
Annual conferences by Extension Services in Pharmacy bring together clinical pharmacists from throughout the Midwest to discuss state-of-the-art drug treatments with academic and clinical experts. A 2004 program addressed respiratory pharmacotherapy in order to help the 32 million - and growing - Americans with asthma and other similar chronic respiratory diseases. Pharmacists say the programs build their knowledge and skills and benefit the patients and patients' families they serve.
- Extension Response to June 2008 Floods
In June 2008, record rains on saturated soils caused widespread flooding, costing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Thirty southern Wisconsin counties were declared disaster areas. Backed by campus specialists, county extension faculty helped their neighbors assess damage and document losses even as floodwaters were rising. They contributed to positive impacts for farmers, families, homeowners, businesses, agencies and communities, from reduced losses, risks, stress and anxiety, to improved local and state agency performance.
- Family caregivers in La Crosse County’s Hmong community come together to discuss challenges and solve problems
In the La Crosse area, local partners are listening and responding to the concerns of Hmong residents who care for sick or aging family members. With sponsorship from the UW-Extension School for Workers and other agencies, Hmong caregivers in the area have established an advocacy and support group to communicate their challenges to each other and to the community. Meanwhile, a program at the local Hmong Community Center offers monthly health and wellness information sessions specific to their needs. These measures occurred in direct response to a health needs assessment and a caregiver summit, both conducted in 2006 and made possible by a grant from the UW-Extension.
- Food security education helps lessen hunger among families and children at risk
About 1 in 11 Wisconsin households is at risk of not having enough food, making them food insecure. Severe food insecurity includes hunger. The Wisconsin Nutrition Education Program helps lessen hunger among families at risk, helping adults get the most nutrition for their limited food dollars, and helping develop more free or reduced price School Meal Programs for children.
- Gerontology Certificate Program fulfills a growing need for specialists in the field of aging
A heightened compassion and understanding towards the elderly are some of the benefits students received from UW-La Crosse's Gerontology Certificate Program. These courses meet the continuing education requirements of adults in southwestern Wisconsin who have either a personal or professional interest in the field of aging¿from health care and social workers to educators to primary care givers and others. Along with UW-La Crosse faculty and area professionals, students examine physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual issues confronting the elderly. And as the demand for qualified geriatric workers rises, participants complete professional development requirements and become members of a supportive network of gerontology experts, most of whom report sharing their new knowledge with co-workers.
- Long-term care initiative leads to improved job satisfaction among direct care workers
In La Crosse and Monroe Counties, supervisors in the long-term care industry are taking part in a sweeping effort to improve their workplace cultures and retain employees. UW-La Crosse’s Continuing Education and Extension logged 105 enrollments in 2006-07 in a new leadership development series designed to improve the management skills of long-term care supervisors. Participants’ employees report that positive changes in their supervisors’ workplace behaviors have led to higher levels of trust, worker satisfaction, and teamwork. A recently formed regional coalition is advancing the effort, too. While continuing to promote supportive supervision of direct care workers, Coulee Region Long Term Care Workforce Coalition advocates for better pay, workplace conditions, and training.
- Program teaches healthcare professionals to make better business decisions
Forty-five healthcare specialists in western Wisconsin received healthcare management certification through the UW-La Crosse’s Office of Continuing Studies in 2005. The new program focused on the business management aspects of healthcare, to meet the training needs of regional hospital administrators and employees. Many of the participants claim they are managing their departments more efficiently after completing the certificate program. For the convenience of the students, classes originated from UW-La Crosse’s Health Science Center and were transmitted via the TeleHealth video network to several sites in western Wisconsin.
- RNs earn their baccalaureate degree @ home
Ten years after launching its first online class, the BSN@HOME program has awarded baccalaureate degrees to 445 registered nurses. Participants choose the program—offered specifically for Wisconsin nurses through the combined resources of five University of Wisconsin nursing schools—because they like the flexibility it affords them. Learning online allows them to get their degrees without disrupting their work or family lives. Furthermore, graduates of BSN@HOME say the program prepares them to advance in their careers. Many alumnae have either completed, begun or plan to enroll in a graduate nursing program.
- “On Your Health” radio show brings sound medical advice to listeners’ homes
Physician, medical school professor, and author Zorba Paster makes more than 130,000 house calls each week—via his nationally syndicated call-in radio program “On Your Health.” Relying on up-to-the-minute medical research, Dr. Paster teaches his listeners how to better prevent and manage their health conditions, with an emphasis on maintaining health. A growing listening audience regularly tunes in to the program, broadcast on more than 80 public radio stations across the nation. “On Your Health” is a production of Wisconsin Public Radio, as a service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
