Contact:
Marion Ceraso
(608) 265-6405
mceraso@wisc.edu
Maureen Mack
(414) 955-4744
mmack@mcw.edu
MADISON/MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Five teams from across Wisconsin will participate in a year-long leadership training program that helps prepare local residents to address their communities’ most pressing health concerns.
Participants in the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute’s 2014-2015 Community Teams Program will develop initiatives to improve mental health, reduce unhealthy alcohol and drug use, promote physical activity and improved diet, incorporate health into regional planning efforts and improve health among the transgender and gender non-conforming community. Teams receive training and technical assistance in building stronger community partnerships, implementing sustainable change strategies and measuring their own success.
This is the ninth class to participate in the program, which offers workshops, distance learning and on-site technical assistance to participating communities.
The 2014-2015 Community Teams, and their priorities, are:
East Central Wisconsin
East Central Health in Planning Team: Incorporation of health into regional planning processes.
South Central Wisconsin
South Central Wisconsin Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Team: Improving health among the transgender and gender non-conforming community.
Statewide: Brown, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Marathon, Winnebago, and Wood Counties
Transforming Wisconsin Food Systems Leadership Team: Preventing obesity by increasing access to, and consumption of healthy, local food.
Statewide
Wisconsin Minority Health Leadership Team: Improving mental health and alcohol and other drug abuse outcomes for minority populations in Wisconsin.
Waukesha County
Community Wellness Coalition: Promoting community wellness through partnerships.
“The Wisconsin Partnership Program is proud to sponsor the important and innovative work of the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute, as it builds capacity across Wisconsin for significant, long lasting change through community engagement,” Dr. Robert N. Golden, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health said. “Communities that have participated in the Leadership Institute have reported that the program has helped accelerate the advancement of their health improvement initiatives.”
The UW School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) is partnering with the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in its support of the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute.
“Community engagement is critical in addressing the most impactful health issues facing Wisconsin residents,” said Dr. Joseph E. Kerschner, executive vice president of MCW and dean of the medical school. “Engaged and embedded community members show real potential through this program to create impactful and lasting change.”
The Community Teams Program is one component of the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute, a joint program of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin. The program is funded through the Wisconsin Partnership Program and Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin. The Institute is co-led by Dr. Peter Layde of MCW and Karen Timberlake of the SMPH.
