Latest news with #EmplifyHealth
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
What to know about Bellin and Marquette's new mental health counseling program
Bellin Health and Marquette University hope to reduce a shortage of mental health professionals in northeastern Wisconsin with a new pilot program. Emplify Health by Bellin — Bellin Health's new name following its merger with Gundersen Health — and Marquette are launching a seven-year pilot program known as the Resch Mental Health Initiative. Emplify Health and Marquette will recruit 25 students from northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula to become "Resch Scholars" in the master's degree program for clinical mental health counseling. The program is an online two-year program. Students will get scholarships to cover tuitions in full and stipend support. The first class in the program will start this fall, Emplify Health and Marquette leaders announced June 4 at Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon. The goal is to improve retention of mental health professionals in the region to address a growing need for treatment. According to data from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute in 2024, one mental health provider was available for every 380 people in Brown County. Rates of anxiety and depression are on the rise in kids and adults statewide. The program was created with a donation from the Richard J. Resch Foundation, a philanthropic foundation formed by Sharon and Dick Resch, previous CEO of KI. Emplify Health by Bellin declined to share how much the donation was worth. The graduates will work with around 26,000 clients a year, according to Emplify Health. Chris Woleske, Bellin regional president, said the demands of clinical training makes it difficult to retain counselors. To become a licensed counselor in the state, students must also get 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience. That's where many students face obstacles because supervisors are in short supply, said Kim Sandstrom, an Emplify Health by Bellin counselor and supervisor for the Resch Mental Health Initiative. "One of the biggest barriers is finding practicum and internship opportunities, which are not paid and have difficult hours," Sandstrom said. "Therapists in training often have to pay to get their supervision hours adding to the stress. They simply drop out." Students in the Resch program will complete all clinical training at Emplify Health by Bellin locations in the area. After graduation, the students will also be offered full-time jobs at Bellin with sign-on and retention bonuses. Interested students can contact Graduate Admission Counselor Jordan Mason at or 414-288-0327. More: Bellin, Gundersen to be called Emplify Health after merging in December 2022 Contact Benita Mathew at bmathew@ This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Marquette, Bellin offer pilot mental health counseling master's program
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Emplify Health by Gundersen provides job opportunities for high school students
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – Emplify Health by Gundersen is celebrating the graduation of six interns from the Project Search class of 2025. Project Search is a yearlong employment preparation program designed for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities. Project Search instructor, Laura Anderson, explains, 'Its intent is to teach work-based skills to help students prepare for the world of work. Also, to just be ready to get out there and land a job and have all of their skills in place to be a little more prepared than they would've been coming out of high school.' The program graduate Krystyn Lilla is a patient attendant in Emplify Health's rehab unit. She says being a part of the program helped prepare her for her role, 'I learned all through my different rotations the different job skills and how important those job skills are to work in the hospital. For the memories, making a bunch of new friends, all the great mentors that I had through the rotations, and getting this job.' Anderson says a big part of the program is job development and teaching students soft skills. 'We practice interviewing. We build resumes. We go out job seeking. We take them on the interviews. We support them in their interviews. We also do onboarding and job coaching once they graduate. We will support them for up to three months to make sure that they have a successful in the job also.' Many family members and Emplify staff are ready to see these students take their next steps on their life journey. 72 interns have completed the program since it began eight years ago. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Health officials are raising awareness during Survive Stroke Week
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – May 4th through the 10th is Survive Stroke Week. Health officials are raising awareness on how common strokes are and how they can affect loved ones. They say when blood stops reaching your brain during a stroke, millions of cells begin to die immediately. Which makes it all the more important to realize that there are 2 kinds of Stroke to be lookout for. Dr. Guilherme Dabus, Co-Director of Interventional Neurology at Baptist Health, explains, 'There is ischemic, which is the most common, about 85% of all the strokes are basically a blood flow gets blocked to your brain. The other, which is less common, so about 15%, is when you have a hemorrhage in your brain. So that's a dehemorrhagic type of stroke.' Recent studies show stroke ranked as the 4th leading cause of death for Hispanic men and the 3rd for Hispanic women. Bethany Girtler, Stroke Program Manager at Emplify Health, says, 'Stroke is a medical emergency. A lot of times, what I see, not specifically in our area but across the United States, is that there's less access to healthcare, there's less access to resources. And maybe some of the stroke information is not put out there in a way that they can read it, understand it.' Despite the urgent nature of stroke, a CDC report showed just 58% of Hispanic adults could identify symptoms of a stroke compared to other demographics. Dr. Dabus says, 'We don't have data to explain (exactly) why that happens, we just know that since 2013, the incidents of stroke, meaning the number of Hispanics that suffer stroke every year, is actually increasing.' Furthermore, while some say stroke is preventable, it can still happen to people at any age. Dr. Dabus explains, 'Taking care of blood pressure, making sure diabetes are under control, make sure cholesterol is under control. Not smoking, exercising, have a healthier lifestyle. Even if you do everything correctly, a stroke may still happen. So, it's important that people understand that if you're having a stroke or any sign that you may be having a stroke, you need to contact emergency services. Call 11 or have a loved one call 911.' Girtler adds, 'So, regardless if your symptoms are very small, sometimes people could just have a facial droop, other people can have symptoms that affect weakness on like an entire side of their body, their ability to talk.' The goal of Survive Stroke Week is to give an important reminder that stroke can be treated and everyone should seek medical help. No matter the severity. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘Lifted spirits with his signature wave': Fond du Lac community mourns loss of beloved crossing guard
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (WFRV) – The Fond du Lac Police Department and community members are in mourning after the death of a beloved local icon. Jerome 'Jerry' A. Boehlen Sr. stood at the corner of Park and Merrill for two decades, helping children cross the street safely while greeting every passerby with a smile and wave. Emplify Health celebrates life-saving efforts of donors during 'National Donate Life Month' Jerry passed away on Monday, the Fond du Lac Police Department said. 'Rain or shine, Jerry was there — a steady presence, a friendly face, and a local icon whose kindness touched generations,' the Fond du Lac Police Department said. ' Brown County officials provide updates on closures during repaving of Fox River State Trail While Jerry retired three years ago, many will continue to recognize Park and Merril as 'Jerry's Corner.' 'Thank you, Jerry, for the decades of dedication, laughter and love,' the Fond du Lac Police Department said. 'You will be dearly missed, but never forgotten.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
