Wisconsin partnership program awards community improvement grants

MADISON – The Wisconsin Partnership Program at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health has awarded nine grants totaling more than $400,000 to organizations throughout Wisconsin.

The projects, funded through the Community Opportunity Grants program, provide up to $50,000 for two years and focus on a broad range of health issues facing Wisconsin residents including medication safety, nutrition, mental health, transgender health care, alcohol use, student absenteeism and postpartum care.

View details about each of the following projects:

— United Way of Dane County, Smart Meds Program

This project will implement the Smart Meds program in clinic-based pharmacies to provide low-income, at-risk older adults with an evidence-based screening tool, to help improve medication management and chronic disease management.

—  Door County Public Health Department, Door County Partnership for Children and Families

In this project, the Door County Partnership for Children and Families will collaborate to provide an evidence-based educational program for Door County parents and children, aged 4-7 years old, to strengthen the children’s social, emotional, problem-solving and self-regulation skills.

—  Fond du Lac School District, Fond du Lac County YScreen Expansion Project

This project aims to prevent suicide and connect students with mental health problems to critical, timely services. The Fond du Lac Area YScreen Program will expand and normalize a universal, voluntary, research-based emotional health screening system among all high school students in the county.

— City of Cudahy Health Department, “EatPlayGrow,” Improving the Health of Cudahy’s Youth

This project aims to improve knowledge of healthy foods and establish healthy behaviors among children 2 to 5 years of age and their parents through the implementation of EatPlayGrow, an evidence-based strategy to reduce childhood obesity, for child care facilities.

— Fair Wisconsin Education Fund, Transgender Health, “A New Horizon in Equity and Health Care”

This project aims to improve the environment of health care for transgender and gender non-conforming youth in Wisconsin. The project will build an online database of experienced physical and mental health care providers, connect provider-advocates in a knowledge-sharing network, and conduct provider trainings around the state of Wisconsin.

 —  West Allis Health Department, “Every Student, Every Day” Program

This project seeks to address the harmful effects of chronic absenteeism by eliminating barriers to regular school attendance by promoting presenteeism through policy development and outreach. Efforts will primarily focus on elementary level students (K4 through 3rd grade) enrolled in the West Allis West Milwaukee School District and over subsequent years expand in scope to include all grades.

 — REAP Food Group, Increasing Access to Nutritious Food through Summer Food Programming

This project aims to evaluate the expansion of a meal program at new sites during summer months when many of Madison’s children experience increased food insecurity. The meal program offers free meals for adult companions, promotes increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and increases awareness about healthy food choices.

 — Centro Hispano of Dane County, Community Health Worker Led Postpartum Support Group for Latino Mothers and Infants

Centro Hispano of Dane County (Centro), in partnership with Access Community Health Center and the University of Wisconsin, Department of Pediatrics, will implement and evaluate a community-based health intervention integrating culturally-tailored peer groups through a community health worker-led postpartum support group program for Latino mothers and infants. The project will assess the extent to which the intervention influences key health indicators such as maternal and infant weight, breastfeeding rates, and maternal depression.

— Bayfield County Health Department, Alcohol Reduction Strategies for Northwestern Wisconsin

In this project Bayfield and Ashland counties will work in partnership to address the harmful effects of alcohol abuse and misuse.  The project will increase awareness on alcohol use and potential solutions among decision-makers as well as facilitate policy and environmental changes to limit alcohol availability by focusing on outlet density, licensing and sales.

The Wisconsin Partnership program represents a far-reaching commitment by the UW School of Medicine and Public Health to improve health and well-being of Wisconsin residents through investments in research, education and community partnerships. Established in 2004, the Wisconsin Partnership Program has awarded more than 420 research, education and community partnership grants totaling more than $184 million, aimed at improving the health of the people of Wisconsin.