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Recent Events at Scenic Rivers AHEC
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| Six public health graduate students in the WiPHECT program presented their Community Report on Monday, December 5th, 2011 at the Cashton Community Hall. The students presented in pairs on topics such as Food Security, Domestic Violence, and Maternal Health in the Amish Community. They were able to share critical informaiton they found spending the last four months researching rural healthcare topics of Southwest Wisconsin. Many community members were present to benefit from this information and mutually agreed on the relevance of this immersion program. Scenic Rivers AHEC hopes to replicate a similar week in the summer of 2012.
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| Available here in PDF form is the Community Report created by one of the MPH Students, Timothy Connely. This document highlights the concepts of each group's work throughout the semester, as well as, future suggestions.
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Viroqua High School juniors and seniors in Mr. Symon’s Medical Terminology class had a visit from UW-L’s Master of Public Health student Aubrey Stetter and AmeriCorps member Samantha Kraft on October 26th, 2011. These speakers, sponsored by Scenic Rivers AHEC, are visiting local students to explain aspects of public health. Scenic Rivers AHEC provides many initiatives such as this to educate and prepare students interested in a variety of health careers.
The presentation contained a variety of methods including slides, videos, trivia and hands-on activities. The topics not only included what public health is but where it is, who holds these jobs, and how students can follow that career path. AmeriCorps member Samantha concisely stated, "It’s one thing to teach students about a topic but another to engage them in it." That is exactly what the presenters hope to do with bringing in a project that is happening all over the nation- the Red Sticker Campaign.
The Red Sticker Campaign is spearheaded by whatispublichealth.org and encourages students to recognize and acknowledge the notion that public health is part of their everyday lives. First students are given a red sticker that reads: "THIS IS PUBLIC HEALTH". The next task for students is to travel around their communities and take pictures of public health in action (with the sticker being in the picture). Some examples of this would be a refillable water bottle (recycling), or a no smoking sign and speed limit sign (encouraging safe environments). As public health careers grow in importance and presence, campaigns such as this are becoming popular to increase public knowledge.
Scenic Rivers AHEC realizes the value of approaching students at younger ages to help them plan their college entry more appropriately. The schools value the mission as well, Mr. Symons said "It was a great opportunity for the students to learn about public health and the careers associated with it. We really appreciate Aubrey and Sam coming to Viroqua." For more information about Scenic River AHEC’s student presentations contact Samantha Kraft at skraft@scenicriversahec.org, 608-487-3838.
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Area High School students have started the next semester of La Crosse School District's Health Careers Academy. This opportunity provides students who have self identified as interested in health careers a more specific semester. Their morning school schedule allows them to explore the multitude of fields in health and even have some first hand experience. These pictures are from a visit to Viterbo's nursing program that included a tour of the Mayo Health System/Fran Siscan Skemp.
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Twenty-five senior nursing students and two faculty members from Viterbo University's School of Nursing Public Health course traveled through rural western Wisconsin as part of an overview to Rural Public Health. They traveled to Couleecap, Inc. (Westby), Vernon County Health Department, Vernon Memorial Healthcare (Viroqua), Scenic Bluffs Community Health Center (Cashton) and Countryside Bakery (rural Cashton Amish bakery). Funding provided by Scenic Rivers AHEC for the 2011-2012 academic year based on pilot project done in 2009 with the students.
"Eye opening experience to what public health has to offer over a variety of communities." -Sara Weinhardt
"Favorite part of the day was visiting the Scenic Bluffs Community Health Centers [you are able to understand] it's there for the community and fits its needs."- Natasha Hauser
"The whole day was diverse- giving a broader look to the entire community."- Irene Lawson
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Scenic Rivers hosted an amazing immersion weeks for six public health students August 22-26, 2011. Find the photos and press release on our WICPHET Immersion page.
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| Scenic Rivers AHEC AmeriCorps Member |
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Scenic River AHEC's AmeriCorps member Laura Congdon hosted a table recently at Scenic Bluff Community Health Center's 5th Annual Health Fair. The Health Fair is an annual event that offers a multitude of free screenings to the public along with health education. This display particularly focuses on teaching healthy eating habits. Different household items are used as comparison tools for each type of food you should be ingesting daily. Patients were able to peruse the tables and ask Laura questions while they waited for their appointment.
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Viterbo University School of Nursing
Rural Public Health Overview
Field Days in 2010-2011
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| Viterbo Nursing at Couleecap |
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| Shelly Teadt, Couleecap, Inc., presents on poverty and healthcare |
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Eighty-four senior nursing students and two faculty members from Viterbo University's School of Nursing Public Health course traveled through rural western Wisconsin as part of an overview to Rural Public Health. They traveled to Couleecap, Inc. (Westby), Vernon County Health Department, Vernon Memorial Healthcare (Viroqua), Scenic Bluffs Community Health Center (Cashton) and Countryside Bakery (rural Cashton Amish bakery). Funding provided by Scenic Rivers AHEC for the 2010-2011 academic year based on pilot project done in 2009 with the students.
- "I learned so much. This field trip has to be repeated. Due to this day, I am now considering rural hospitals when it was not even an option in my head before. Thank you so much for this opportunity." - AM
- "This experience was rewarding and opened my eyes to rural nursing. I'm truly interested in rural health after this experience. Thanks." - LO
- "I LOVED the field trip day! Such a good learning experience and a great and fun way to hang out with our peers and teachers for the day. Definitely do this again! Probably one of, or the best, "off site" clinic days from all of my clinics in nursing school. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Thanks for the great experience. PS. Amish bakery was a great way to end the day. Such a neat place to go to." - WW
- "Very educational experience! Enjoyed many speakers to get overall view of public health. Very eye-opening statistics and information about homelessness, poverty, and lack of insurance. Amish info. very interesting as well. Good to spend time outside of classroom. Overall great enjoyable experience! Much recommended for next year! Also good time spent with peers/classmates." - SD
- "This was a very valuable trip to open my eyes to a rural community, and the health care aspect that goes along with that. Being from a large community (Twin Cities), I learned a great amount of information! Thank you for allowing us this opportunity!" - BP
- "I thought this was a great learning experience to be able to actually go out to the rural areas and learn about community health there. Many of the speakers also provided a lot of good information about available resources/help that we could refer our patients to utilize in the future!" - MX
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University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse Students Assist Cashton Elementary School
Eight UW-LaCrosse Health Education students conducted a oral health fair at Cashton Elementary School with 2nd graders as part of their "Developing Programs for Community Education" course. The students spent the morning educating the 2nd graders on various dental health topics including nutrition, proper teeth brushing, substance abuse and preparing them for dental sealants.
Tiffany Geisler, School Nurse, said "I want to thank you for the opportunity to work with the UW-L Health Education students. They did a GREAT job!! I heard many positive comments from staff and students. Thank you so much for the opportunity!".
This project was funded with Scenic Rivers AHEC monies.
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| Health Careers Academy students at Mayo Clinic |
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| Whitehall Health Career Academy
The Whitehall Health Careers Academy will assist Whitehall School District students in exploring, experiencing and attaining rigorous achievements for careers in the medical profession while forming mentoring relationships with medical professionals. The first group of Academy students was accepted for this academic year (2010-2011). Eight students have had experiences at the Tomah VA, Fort McCoy, St. Mary's Hospital and the Mayo Clinic as well as their job shadow experiences with local health professionals.
In addition to the field trip experience, the course curriculum was increased to included Biochemistry & Pathology in addition to Exploring Health Occupations, Introduction to Medical Terminology, CPR/First Aid and Safety, EMT Training, Certified Nursing Assistant as well as Youth Apprenticeship opportunities.
Scenic Rivers AHEC has provided initial funding for this initiative.
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| Orientation at Tri-County Hospital |
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