FALL 2011
"Wisconsin AHEC: On Location" presents highlights of programs and people who bring teaching and learning to life in communities across the state. Suggestions for future articles are welcome; send your ideas to Keri Robbins, Wisconsin AHEC Communications Coordinator.
Please let us know you "like" Wisconsin AHEC on Facebook.
In this issue:
- Teaching: Profile: David Deci, MD - Belleville
- Learning: Creating A Winnebago County Food Map - by Josue Flores, 2011 CHIP intern
- Memorial: South Central AHEC Celebrates the Accomplishments of Judi Quirt
- Featured Programs:
1)
WiCPHET Weeklong Immersion Experience - Cashton, Scenic Rivers AHEC
2) Hmong Leadership
Dance Group - North Central AHEC
3) NEW video: "Is a Career in Public Health Right for Me?" - La Crosse, Scenic Rivers AHEC
- AHEC announcements
1) Welcome to new staff - South Central AHEC
2) Mary Bumann retires from Wisconsin AHEC statewide program office
3) Call for host sites: host a community health (CHIP) intern, summer 2012 - apply now
 BELLEVILLE - "I'm a product of AHEC," begins Dr. David Deci, MD, who works as a Family Medicine physician in rural Belleville and also directs the Primary Care Clerkship curriculum for third-year medical students at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. "From the very start, I have had an appreciation of AHEC. My professional values were established there."
Following his residency at North Carolina's Mountain AHEC, Dr. Deci embarked on a career in rural medicine that has included 15 years in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia; 9 years in West Virginia; and the past 2.5 years in Wisconsin. All along, his work has been related to rural and small communities; a focus, he says, that has reinforced the value that community brings to education: "the essential need for our learners to be in the community, beyond the four walls of the classroom."
Dr. Deci explains that his passion for rural settings was typically not shared by incoming students assigned to month-long rural rotations during his tenure at West Virginia University: "Students would go kicking and screaming into the rural areas, then come back and tell us it was the best thing they did in medical school."
He hopes for a similarly enthusiastic outcome here in Wisconsin. To help medical students develop interdisciplinary vision and understanding of public health concepts, Dr. Deci encourages students to..... Full story 
OSHKOSH - Working as an AHEC intern in the Winnebago County Health Department proved to be a great experience from which I have learned so much.
The project I worked on this summer was conceived within Re:Th!nk, a large coalition of community members whose mission it is to promote healthy living in Winnebago County.
Under the supervision of my mentor Matthew Madsen who is an AmeriCorps Member, I worked on a project that addressed the issue of food accessibility, or the degree to which food is accessible in Winnebago County. Specifically, the purpose of my project was to identify areas where the residents of the county have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
This kind of work is relevant to public health because studies suggest that food accessibility is correlated with health outcomes. For example, people who have limited accessibility to nutritious food.... Full story
MEMORIAL: Judi Quirt,
South Central Wisconsin AHEC:
Program Manager and Education Coordinator (May 2001 – July 2011)
MADISON -
For 10 years, Judi Quirt was the South Central (formerly Southwest) Wisconsin AHEC Program Manager and Education Coordinator. During this time, she was the cheery face and skillful, dedicated coordinator of the Summer Health Careers Camps in the region.
Judi's courageous 15-month battle with pancreatic cancer led to her resignation from AHEC following her 10th year of running the summer camp. Sadly, she passed away on August 23, 2011.
Her work inspired the careers of more than 200 hundred high school students interested in health professions, who in turn will care for countless future patients and clients. Judi's accomplishments include numerous events and activities focused on improving education and health. She launched the Youth Health Service Corps program in East High School and McFarland High School, working with the local Health Occupations teachers to plan and implement the YHSC curriculum and community service projects. She conducted health careers presentations to high schools throughout the 13-county region, and developed and implemented.... Judi's memorial (PDF)
FEATURED PROGRAM:
WiCPHET Weeklong Immersion Experience (Scenic Rivers AHEC)
 CASHTON - Students from across Wisconsin traveled to the Cashton and Hillsboro area August 21-26, 2011 for an immersion experience to explore the differences and opportunities found in rural health. The experience was coordinated by Scenic Rivers Area Health Education Center (AHEC) based in Cashton at Scenic Bluffs Community Health Center.
In conjunction with putting a critical eye on rural health systems, the students were introduced to some of the populations in the region that experience barriers to health care access, including Amish, rural farm families and Hispanic communities. These students are participating in a semester long course that includes the immersion week, future technology consultations, as well as four more visits to the area. The purpose this experience is to facilitate a needs assessment of the rural population and in turn develop collaborative projects with the participating organizations.
The six visiting students, currently working toward a Masters in Public Health degree...
Read more
FEATURED PROGRAM:
Hmong Leadership Dance Group (North Central AHEC)
 WAUSAU - The purpose of the Hmong Leadership Dance Group is to encourage Hmong youth to be more independent, safe, and healthy at a young age.
Participants learn to start planning for the future, whether it is going to college, getting a job, or just staying active and healthy for later life.
The youth learn many skills, including:
- Courage to speak up for self
- Leadership to take part in community and understand culture differences
- Education about careers, goals, colleges, jobs, etc.
- Accomplish a goal
- Respect for self, others, and relationships
- Coping mechanisms for emotions, stress and anxiety
- Healthy living
The Leadership Dance Group started back in 2009 when 7 girls wanted to do something other than sit around at home. We came up with activities and ended up making a traditional dance routine. We saw that it started making us healthy, so we decided to...
Read more
NEW Video Resource:
"Is a Career in Public Health Right for Me?"
LA CROSSE - Students considering health careers can find inspiration and possibly discover a match in the field of public health, in a snappy new video aimed at providing an overview of health professions careers and related job responsibilities. The fast-paced video is about 11 minutes, with multiple brief interviews of real people who are working in the La Crose area in the fields of epidemiology, nursing, health promotion, employee wellness programs, medical outreach to underserved communities, biostatistic research, special events, tobacco control, and other fields.
The Department of Health Education and Health Promotion - University of Wisconsin La Crosse, produced the video with funding from the Scenic Rivers AHEC center in southwestern Wisconsin.
Watch the video now
Wisconsin AHEC Announcements
- Welcome to new staff! Two talented individuals joined South Central AHEC in November:
-- Karen
Ball, Program Manager. Karen was previously employed at Operation Fresh Start, and also worked closely with the South Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board.
-- Wendy Hinz, Health Careers Education Consultant. Wendy brings 29 years of teaching experience promoting
health science occupations, and retired from Middleton High School.
- Congratulations to Mary Bumann, who retired this fall from the Wisconsin AHEC program office in Madison. Mary is now available as an independent consultant for workshops about Self Efficacy, Interprofessional Education, and Teamwork, and can be reached at mbumann@wisc.edu Upon her retirement, she was awarded the distinction of emerita status from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in recognition of her academic contributions related to interprofessional teamwork.
- Informed Caring Remember that this web portal is continually updated with current health information, vetted for use by all health care professionals. Visit: informedcaring.org
- CALL FOR HOST SITES: sponsor a community health (CHIP) intern during summer 2012 - apply now online. Applications preferred by December 3 to ensure full consideration.
- Read more about the regional AHEC centers:
Milwaukee AHEC
Northeastern
North Central
Northwest
Northern Highland
Scenic Rivers
South Central
|
