MADISON, Wis. — A new grant-making program to improve rural health outcomes in Wisconsin launched in Madison on Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • A new grant-making program to improve rural health outcomes in Wisconsin, the Orion Initiative, launched in Madison on Wednesday

  • It's being administered through the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

  • Its initial focus areas will include pediatric EMS training, primary care physician recruitment and subspecialty training

  • The Orion Initiative is also offering four full tuition scholarships of four years each to students going into the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine at UW

The Orion Initiative, administered through the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, aims to invest in partnerships between frontline rural providers and the academic medical community.

CEO Dr. Amy Kind is leading the grant program.

“People living in rural areas disproportionately experience poor health and difficulties with health care access. With cornerstones of workforce development and rural clinician support, the Orion Initiative is creating a new, academic-rural partnership-based blueprint for meeting the challenges facing rural healthcare providers in Wisconsin,” said Kind.  

There are 46 rural counties in the state. Data from the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health shows rural residents often have to drive further to receive medical care.

Rural areas’ ratio of population to primary care physicians also shows a wider gap compared to urban areas. A 2017 study of data shows rural areas of the state have a 1,480:1 ratio of population to primary care physician; in urban areas, that ratio is 1,170:1.

Those in rural areas also have slightly higher premature death rate, according to the 2017 study, with 6,188 years of potential life lost per 100,000 people. In urban areas, that rate decreases to 5,921.

The Orion Initiative aims to combat some of these outcomes.

Its initial focus areas will include pediatric EMS training, primary care physician recruitment and subspecialty training.

Partnerships have been developed between the following groups:

  • The Richland Hospital and Clinics
  • Gundersen Moundview Hospital​ and Clinics​ (​becoming Emplify Health by Gundersen-Friendship)
  • Both Southern Green Lake​ County​ ​Ambulance ​and Berlin ​Emergency Medical Services (​EMS​)​
  • The academic medical community at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health

“Through the Orion Initiative, our family medicine physicians were given the opportunity to collaborate with UW Rheumatology specialists to develop an innovative subspecialty training program aimed at reducing rheumatology patient referrals, decreasing patient travel to Madison and surrounding areas, and creating active, supportive partnerships between our family medicine physicians and UW specialists,” said Bruce Roesler, CEO of The Richland Hospital and Clinics, one of the groups in partnership with the initiative.

In Green Lake County, another area of initial support, people are also feeling the support.

“Rural EMS responders face unique challenges in caring for pediatric patients,” said Berlin EMS Chief Evan VandenLangenberg. “Our partnership with the Orion Initiative is​ providing a strong connection with the UW Emergency Medicine physicians and a​ccess to the cutting-edge, hands-on training we need to serve our youngest patients.” 

Officials said they have plans to reach additional communities in the coming years.

The Orion Initiative is also offering four full tuition scholarships of four years each to students going into the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine at UW. It plans to continue doing this in future years.

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