MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee now has one of the nation’s first institutes focused on the neurological needs of patients from birth to old age.

Leaders with several health care organizations announced the Wisconsin Institute of NeuroScience (WINS) on Wednesday. It’s a collaboration among Children’s Wisconsin, the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network, the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the Clement J. Zablocki Veterans’ Administration Medical Center.

Joseph E. Kerschner, provost and executive vice president of MCW and dean of the school of medicine, said this new effort will bring national exposure to the services available in southeastern Wisconsin.

“WINS combines the strengths of all our partners to deliver complete, life span care for disorders of the brain, spine, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system,” said Shekar Kurpad, founding director of WINS and Sanford J. Larson professor. “Importantly, WINS also will further the groundbreaking research already underway here and increase educational opportunities so we can produce the next generation of neuroscientists.”

According to the press release, the institute has already begun to deliver care enhancements in the state.

One such program to come out of WINS is Building Resilience through Action in Veterans and First Responders (BRAVE). It opened its doors in late 2023 and serves as the Midwest’s first program for treating mild traumatic brain injuries among military veterans and first responders.

Another program that was recently founded by WINS was the Center for Cervical Myelopathy. It was created at the Medical College of Wisconsin and now serves as one of the world’s first sites focused on research and treatment of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM), a common cause of spinal cord injury. The center aims to build more public awareness on the topic.