Wisconsin, known as "America's Dairyland," is a leader in the production of milk, cheese, and other dairy products. The state also has a strong manufacturing sector. Wisconsin is in the Great Lakes region, bordered on the north by Lake Superior and on the east by Lake Michigan. Wisconsin covers 54,310 square miles, with a 2008 estimated population of 5,627,967 people – 1,525,340 living in rural Wisconsin (USDA-ERS). Madison, the capital, is located in the southern region of the state. The state’s largest cities are Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 89.9% of the state’s population is white, 6.0% is African American/Black, 2.0% is Asian, 0.9% is American Indian & Alaska Native, and 4.9% is of Hispanic/Latino origin (2007).
There are 124 hospitals in Wisconsin, 60 of which are located in rural areas (North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Dec. 2008). The state has 59 hospitals currently identified by the Flex Monitoring Team as Critical Access Hospitals (April, 2009). There are 47 Rural Health Clinics in Wisconsin (CMS, 2009), and 16 Federally Qualified Health Centers provide services at 81 sites in the state (Kaiser, 2008). Most Wisconsinites have some form of health insurance coverage, although 8.5% of the state's residents lack any health insurance (Kaiser, 2006-2007.)
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per-capita income for all Wisconsinites in 2006 was $34,405, although rural per-capita income lagged at $29,022. 2008 estimates indicate a poverty rate of 10.7% exists in rural Wisconsin, compared to a 10.4% level in urban areas of the state. Data from 2000 finds 17% of the rural population has not completed high school, while only 14.1% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma. The unemployment rate in rural Wisconsin is at 5.2%, while in urban Wisconsin it is at 4.6% (USDA-ERS, 2008).
See the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health’s Rural Reporter or their Twitter feed for daily updates on rural news and rural health funding.
For a national comparison, please see an overview of the United States.
Data Sources:
U.S. Census Bureau: State & County QuickFacts
USDA Economic Research Service: State Fact Sheets
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts
Flex Monitoring Team: Critical Access Hospital List
Organizations
HUD Community Development Block Grants: Wisconsin (CDBG)
Federal government
Contact information for the State CDBG program. Provides funding for community development projects.
National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region (NN/LM-GMR)
State/regional organization
Works to improve access to health information for health professionals, librarians and members of the public in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC)
State/regional organization
Works to support and enhance rural health and quality of care through a variety of products and services with an emphasis on developing integrated networks among freestanding entities.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Wisconsin (HUD)
Federal government
Works to increase homeownership, support community development and increase access to affordable housing. The HUD state office provides information about HUD housing programs and local contacts for the state.
University of Wisconsin Center for Agricultural Safety and Health
State/regional organization
Works to respond to the agricultural safety and health needs of Wisconsin farming communities.
USDA Rural Development Wisconsin State Office
Federal government
Committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in all of rural America. The Rural Development State Office provides information about Rural Development programs and applications for financial assistance.
Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine (WARM)
Academic/Research
Serves as a comprehensive rural medical education program dedicated to improving the supply of physicians in rural Wisconsin and improving the health of rural Wisconsin communities. A program within the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health MD Program.
Wisconsin Area Health Education Center System (AHEC)
State/regional organization
Works to improve the supply, distribution and quality of health care professionals in Wisconsin, thereby improving access to health care in the state's rural and urban underserved areas.
Wisconsin Child Support Program
State government
Contributes to the well-being of children through the establishment of paternity and the establishment and enforcement of court-ordered child support and medical support obligations.
Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (WISCAP)
State/regional organization
Serves Wisconsin's low-income people and promotes the development of resources which demonstrate progress toward the elimination of poverty. Includes the Wisconsin Rural Community Assistance Program (RCAP), which helps support rural community infrastructure.
Wisconsin Dental Association Foundation (WDA)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Works to support projects which enhance dental health and the art and science of dentistry in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Department of Commerce
State government
Provides development assistance in Wisconsin in the areas of marketing, business and community finance, exporting, small business advocacy, and manufacturing assessments.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS)
State government
Responsible for a variety of areas, including child welfare, long term care, disability programs, substance abuse, mental health and public health programs, regulation and licensing of facilities, operation of care and treatment facilities, the food stamp program, medical assistance and health care for low income families, elderly and disabled persons.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services: Bureau of Long-Term Support
State government
Administers programs that promote children living with their families, prevent individuals from moving to institutions, and move individuals who have lived in institutions to the community.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services: Mental Health Programs
State government
Addresses mental and physical health, substance use and addictive disorders within a public health approach in Wisconsin. Works to improve life expectancy and health outcomes for individuals with these conditions.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services: Minority Health Program
State government
Serves as the primary point of contact on minority health for the Department of Health Services and develops initiatives to advance the health of racial and ethnic minority communities in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services: Substance Abuse Services
State government
Provides services relating to substance use and abuse, gambling awareness, reducing tobacco sales to minors, and recovery.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction: Special Education Team
State government
Provide statewide leadership, advocacy, technical assistance, and promotes collaboration among parents, educators, students, communities and other agencies to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education.
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
State government
State agency charged with building and strengthening Wisconsin's workforce.
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development: Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
State government
Designed to obtain, maintain, and improve employment for people with disabilities by working with vocational rehabilitation consumers, employers, and other partners.
Wisconsin Geriatric Education Center (WGEC)
State/regional organization
Serves as a formal consortium of academic and health care organizations, formed in 1986 for the purpose of creating educational resources and training opportunities in geriatrics for health professionals, faculty, practitioners, and students in Wisconsin. Website available soon.
Wisconsin Head Start Association
State/regional organization
Membership organization representing the children, staff and Head Start programs of Wisconsin. Head Start provides a comprehensive child development program for children and their families.
Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA)
State/regional organization
Advocates for the ability of its members to provide high quality health care services to Wisconsin communities.
Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA)
State government
Works to link Wisconsin residents and communities with affordable housing and economic development opportunities.
Wisconsin Office of Rural Health
State/regional organization
Dedicated to improving the quality of health for rural and underserved communities in Wisconsin by collaborating with health care organizations and systems, community based providers and individuals, and educational organizations to develop programs and provide resources designed to enhance life in rural communities.
Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association (WPHCA)
State/regional organization
Works to advance geographic, financial and cultural access to comprehensive, community-oriented primary health care services for all people in Wisconsin. Represents a statewide network of Community and Migrant Health Centers, Healthcare for the Homeless Programs and other organizations that share in the Association's mission.
Wisconsin Rural Partners
State/regional organization
Serves as a network of Wisconsin public and private sector partners who promote collaboration, innovation, diversity, and community-based priorities.
Tools
AgrAbility of Wisconsin
Web site
Promotes success in agriculture for farmers with disabilities and their families. AgrAbility of Wisconsin is a partnership between the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension and Easter Seals Wisconsin.
Building a Medical Home Partnership: A Wisconsin Toolkit
Web site
Offers stories and insights by Wisconsin physicians and families on creating a Medical Home Partnership. They provide key steps of quality improvement and the small steps that can make big differences for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs.
EMS Resource Guide for Critical Access Hospitals
Web site
Provides information and resources to Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to help them strengthen and improve rural emergency medical services (EMS) capacity in local communities. Covers infrastructure, human resources, funding sources, legislation and regulation, and more.
ERS State Fact Sheet: Wisconsin
Web site
Lists statistics on population, educational attainment, employment, income, farm characteristics, and farm financial indicators for the state.
Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin
Web site
Explores Wisconsin's potential for economic and sustainable growth through agriculture.
National Healthcare Quality Report State Snapshot: Wisconsin
Web site
Health care quality report for the state, based on the National Healthcare Quality Report.
NN/LM Greater Midwest Region: Wisconsin Resources
Web site
Overview of the state, with links to resources for Wisconsin.
Physician Perspectives on Rural Medicine
Web site
Web page offers access to video and audio recordings of a presentation given at the 2009 Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine (WARM) Symposium.
Rural Health Careers in Wisconsin
Web site
Serves as a one-stop connection to career opportunities in rural Wisconsin hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics. Includes clinical and non-clinical positions for physical therapists, pharmacists, nurses, lab technicians, radiology technicians.
Sowing the Seeds of Hope
Web site
Provides behavioral health services to uninsured, underinsured and other at-risk farm and ranch families and agricultural workers in seven states: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin
State of Wisconsin: ACCESS
Web site
Allows Wisconsin residents to apply for benefits online. Programs covered include Medicaid, BadgerCare, the Family Planning Waiver Program, and FoodShare.
State Profiles- Wisconsin: Health Information Technology (HIT)
Web site
Profiles the state’s health information technology (HIT) issues. Contains sections on demographics, HIT legislation, telemedicine, Health Information Exchanges (HIE) & Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIO), grant funded HIT projects, and HIT survey information.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services: Well Woman Program
Web site
Provides preventive health screening services to women with little or no health insurance coverage. Well Woman pays for mammograms, Pap tests, certain other health screenings, and multiple sclerosis testing for women with high risk signs of multiple sclerosis.
Wisconsin Health Centers Data
Web site
Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information.
Wisconsin Health Workforce: Highlights from the Health Workforce Profile
Web site
Highlights compiled 2000 data on levels of employment, projected growth and key environmental factors that affect demand for health care. Details for medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, mental health and aides.
Wisconsin KIDS COUNT Data Center (KCDC)
Web site
Provides data on child well-being for the state.
Wisconsin Office of Rural Health: Dentist Recruitment
Web site
Provides information on general dentist positions in towns and cities of all sizes located throughout Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Office of Rural Health: Physician Recruitment
Web site
Helps place physicians in rural Wisconsin communities. Available employment opportunities are listed by specialty and by region.
Wisconsin Public Health Profiles
Web site
Annual publications of health and demographic information about the state of Wisconsin and its counties. Separate PDF files are available on this webpage for state-wide, regional, and county-level profiles.
Wisconsin QuickFacts
Web site
Basic demographic and economic statistics for the state, with links to county-level data.
Wisconsin State Health Facts
Database
Provides the latest state-level data on demographics, health, and health policy, including health coverage, access, financing, and state legislation. Individual state profiles and 50-state comparisons.
Wisconsin Women's Health Guide
Other
Summarizes programs and services that can help Wisconsin women. Includes a county-by-county list of health services.
See also: Resources for All States: Tools Funding
Annual Monato Rural Essay Prize
Annual award for the University of Wisconsin's best rural health paper.
Assistance to Needy Veterans and Family Members
Grant program for veterans that provides limited financial assistance to those in need and who have exhausted all other sources of aid.
Gannett Foundation Community Action Grants
Provides grants in communities where the Gannett Company has a presence.
IFF
IFF is a nonprofit community development lender providing affordable, flexible and accessible loans to nonprofits serving low-income or special-needs populations.
Wisconsin Dental Association Foundation Grant
The grant program's main objective is to provide financial support to efforts aimed at providing dental care to the underserved and other philanthropic endeavors related to dentistry throughout Wisconsin.
Inactive Funding
Inactive Funding Opportunities -
Lists additional funding programs for this state that are not currently accepting applications. Programs that are inactive may be offered again in the future.
Documents, Reports and Other Publications
2008 Wisconsin County Health Rankings
Compiles mortality, health status, health care, health behavior, socioeconomic, and environmental data on the state of Wisconsin and displays it by county name.
Date: 2008
Access For All Wisconsin: Strategies For Increasing Access to Primary Health Care
Sponsoring organization: Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association
Summarizes strategies that may work to assure all Wisconsin’s residents have access to primary health care services. Addresses the role of workforce development and of Community Health Centers’ (CHCs) in closing gaps in the current health care delivery system.
Date: 01 / 2009
Aiming Higher for Health System Performance: A Profile of Seven States That Perform Well on the Commonwealth Fund’s 2009 State Scorecard
Author(s): Greg Moody, Sharon Silow-Carroll
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
Demonstrates that high levels of health system performance are achievable and sustainable, and provides useful examples of policies and practices in Vermont, Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Delaware that may be associated with health system improvement.
Date: 10 / 2009
Alcohol-Related Motor Vehicle Accident Fatality: Wisconsin Rural-Urban Trends and Observations
Author(s): Zachary J. Baeseman
Sponsoring organization: Wisconsin Medical Society
Study that compares alcohol-related motor vehicle accident fatalities in rural versus urban Wisconsin. Also addresses such accidents where alcohol was not a factor. Displays county-level data.
Journal citation: Wisconsin Medical Journal Volume 108 Issue 7 Pages: 359-364
Date: 10 / 2009
Burden of Injury in Wisconsin
State and county-level statistics on the burden of injuries to Wisconsin residents from 2002-2004.
Date: 2006
Demographic and Economic Profile: Wisconsin
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
Discusses demographic and economic data including population, race, education, age, poverty, health care services, and employment. Includes maps and graphics.
Date: 12 / 2008
Disappearing Docs
Author(s): Brennan Nardi
Describes how a projected shortage of primary care providers is changing health care and how this affects rural Wisconsin.
Date: 10 / 2009
Effect of the Physician J-1 Visa Waiver on Rural Wisconsin
Author(s): Byron J. Crouse, Randy L. Munson
Sponsoring organization: Wisconsin Medical Society
Reports the results of a study evaluating the retention and acceptance of J-1 Visa Waiver physicians in rural Wisconsin.
Journal citation: Wisconsin Medical Journal Volume 105 Issue 7 Pages: 16-20
Date: 2006
Health Care in Wisconsin: An AARP Survey of Residents Age 18 to 64
Author(s): Erica L. Dinger
Sponsoring organization: AARP
Reports findings of a phone survey that explores the opinions and experiences of Wisconsin residents age 18 to 64 on healthcare issues in their State.
Date: 04 / 2007
Marshfield Clinic: Health Information Technology Paves the Way for Population Health Management
Author(s): Douglas McCarthy, Kimberly Mueller, Sarah Klein
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
Illustrates how Marshfield Clinic serving rural Wisconsin can improve patient outcomes and
reduce costs by undertaking a population-based approach to ambulatory care management
supported by information technology.
Date: 08 / 2009
Reaching Out to Rural Regions: New MD Program Aims to Address Shortages
Author(s): Dian Land
Sponsoring organization: Wisconsin Office of Rural Health
Highlights the University of Wisconsin School
of Medicine and Public Health WARM Program, which is a new medical degree created and aimed at addressing the serious shortage of physicians in rural areas of Wisconsin. WARM stands for The Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine.
Date: 11 / 2006
Review & Commentary on Health Policy Issues for a Rural Perspective-February, 2009
Sponsoring organization: Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
Discusses healthcare workforce shortage issues affecting primary care in rural Wisconsin. Features interviews from rural health care advocates and presents strategies to address and reverse the shortage problem.
Date: 02 / 2009
Small Business Profile: Wisconsin
Sponsoring organization: Small Business Administration
Profile of the state's economy, covering the number of firms, industry composition, small business income, banking, women and minority business ownership, and employment.
Date: 2008
State Profiles - Wisconsin: Reforming the Health Care System
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
Detailed profile of the state's health care system. Covers demographics, expenditures and financing, health status, utilization and quality of services, health care providers, Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance coverage, and key trends.
Date: 12 / 2005
WisKids Count 2005
Provides links to a collection of indicators of child well-being in the State of Wisconsin. Information available by county and state totals.
Date: 2005
See also: Resources for All States: Documents Success Stories
Partners in Agricultural Health Program
PAH was designed to strengthen existing occupational
health services within three county health departments and
five participating hospitals by providing educational programs
and preventive screenings for farmers and their family
members, creating an educational program for health
professionals to enhance their understanding of the unique healthcare needs of farmers, and developing an interactive Web site to market the
project and disseminate educational information.
ProACTIVE Wellness Initiative: Helping Wisconsin Workers Get Fit
Employees at D&S Manufacturing in Black River Falls, Wis., are healthier these days, since participating in a worksite wellness initiative.
Healthiest Manitowoc County 2010 Project
This project will enhance the efforts of Healthiest Manitowoc County 2010 (HMC2010) through the implementation of four initiatives: Know Your Numbers, High School Peer Health Education, Manitowoc County Network for Child Passenger Safety, and Healthy Teeth Healthy Kids.
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