State Relations
UW–Madison and the State

Wausau: School of Nursing highlights the efforts to address Wisconsin’s future nursing needs

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Last week Dean Linda Scott of UW-Madison’s School of Nursing travelled to Wausau to discuss the school’s efforts to prepare for Wisconsin’s future nursing needs. Rotary Club of Wausau invited Dean Scott to their lunch meeting to discuss workforce trends in nursing and factors affecting health care needs around the state. Crystal Potts from UW-Madison State Relations was a part of the group and shared how interested this audience was in the efforts of UW to address the health care shortage, especially in their part of the state. The attendees received a handout outlining the details of the shortage, and policy solutions that assist in adressing the issue.

Crowd viewing statistics on a powerpoint presentation
Dean Linda Scott shows members of the Rotary Club of Wausau how many Badger Nurses reinvest in Wisconsin. 57% of Badger Nurses practice in communities across our state with 5,705 UW Nursing alumni living in Wisconsin.
Crowd viewing powerpoing presentation
Wisconsin’s aging population presents unique health care challenges and Dean Scott detailed how UW-Nursing can help local communities address these challenges. Rural areas of Wisconsin are aging more rapidly so UW-Madison Nursing developed the CARE program to help Wisconsin communities work with elderly patients by training health care professionals and direct care staff to work with older adults.
Dean Scott outlines the growing nursing shortage facing Wisconsin before discussing proposals that can help alleviate the shortage. The nursing supply to demand gap is predicted to be 27,000 by 2040. Our state cannot meet these demands without an increase in nursing student enrollment. Currently, 50-80% of qualified students are denied admission to UW-Madison’s nursing school because of capacity issues.
Dean Linda Scott answers questions from a Rotary Club of Wausau member after her presentation on preparing for the future of care for nursing in Wisconsin. Many questions focused on how rural Wisconsin will meet nursing demands in rural areas with fewer resources to address challenges. Dean Scott told Rotary members about the dementia friendly toolkit from the CARE program to help train healthcare staff around the state to address the growing demand for assistance with dementia patients.

 

Dean Linda Scott and DNP Program Director Pay McGranahan discuss future legislative initiatives to help address the nursing shortage facing Wisconsin with Rep. Pay Snyder of Schofield.
Dean Linda Scott and DNP Program Director Pay McGranahan discuss future legislative initiatives to help address the nursing shortage facing Wisconsin with Rep. Pay Snyder of Schofield.