Latest news with #UWHealth
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Green Bay Metro Fire Department holding its first-ever ‘Rescue Rally'
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Officials with the Green Bay Metro Fire Department announced on Wednesday that they will soon be holding the department's first-ever 'Rescue Rally' event. According to a release, the 'Rescue Rally' is a special occasion that will celebrate the department's addition of two new ladder trucks to its fleet. UW Health aids FDA approval of Alzheimer's blood test The event is said to feature engaging activities, food from local food trucks, and valuable safety resources. Those who attend the event will also get to participate in a 'Touch-A-Truck' experience where they can get up close with the newly added fire trucks. This event not only highlights our commitment to protecting the community but also honors the proud tradition of officially placing new fire trucks into service. The Green Bay Metro Fire Department All community members are invited to attend the 'Rescue Rally,' which will take place on Monday, June 9, at 6:00 p.m. in Green Bay's Leicht Memorial Park. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
UW Health aids FDA approval of Alzheimer's blood test
MADISON, Wis. (WFRV) – Officials with the US Food and Drug Administration say they have cleared the first-ever blood test that will help in diagnosing cases of Alzheimer's disease. Those at UW Health state that this could not have happened without their help, as the work being done at the UW schools of Medicine and Public Health in Madison has been at the forefront of biomarker research. Brown County courts request aid to address felony case backlog This kind of research allows those already with cognitive impairment to get a blood test as a way to test for Alzheimer's instead of needing a PET scan of the brain or a spinal tap. We have been at the forefront of biosomething research, those are tasks looking at the protein of Alzheimer's disease, and we've been doing this for years. And that's because our research participants have been willing to do lumbar punctures for the past two decades. And we've had the technology to really look for these proteins Nate Chin, UW Health Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Medical Director Chin adds that UW Health is looking to make these blood tests available for cognitively healthy people as well, before eventually pairing it with future preventive Alzheimer's treatments. No other information is available at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wisconsin plays part in FDA-approved Alzheimer's blood testing
The Brief The FDA recently approved the first-ever blood test to help confirm Alzheimer's disease. Plasma samples that the FDA analyzed came from a pair of UW Health studies. The FDA only cleared this test for people ages 55 and older who are already showing signs of cognitive decline. MILWAUKEE - Doctors describe current tests for Alzheimer's disease as invasive and expensive. Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared a new one: a blood test that looks to change that. What we know Before last week, those living with cognitive decline had two options: a spinal tap or a PET scan on the brain. There's a cheaper, low-barrier third option, thanks in a large part to willing Wisconsinites. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android It was the talk of the night at a Wednesday event for the Wisconsin Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. This group walks every year to end the disease. Dionne Ojeda joined a few years ago after her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Her dad's mother also died from it. It's why she signed up for a UW Health study, the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP), to get tested. "We don't know yet if it's hereditary — so I wanted to know," Ojeda said. "Oh, I just wanted to jump up and down. It's amazing." On Wednesday, the health provider shared that roughly 40% of the plasma samples that the FDA analyzed to clear this new blood test for Alzheimer's came from a pair of UW Health studies. What they're saying Dr. Nathaniel Chin is the medical director for both studies. He notes the blood test was 92% accurate when compared to the spinal tap. For samples with the Alzheimer's-related proteins, the accuracy jumped to 97% for negative samples. Chin said this will allow earlier testing, which leads to other benefits. "It's really because of the great Wisconsin participants that we now have something, that's pretty revolutionary," Chin said. "So, just earlier care, so people can make lifestyle interventions — that would be exercising, sleep, diet, social engagement." Though it's unclear if her data was used, Ojeda said she's excited for the results this test could bring down the road. "I am so elated, because I don't like doing things where I feel like it's not making a difference," she said. "We actually made a difference." SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News The FDA only cleared this test for people ages 55 and older who are already showing signs of cognitive decline. What you can do We talked about accuracy numbers, but the cost is impressive too. A PET scan can run up to $6,000 without insurance; it's around $1,000 with insurance and co-pay. The spinal tap is around $1,000, too. Chin estimates this blood test will be in the $100-200 range. The Source The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News with information from UW Health.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UW Health revives ‘Caring Canines' program, seeks volunteers
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — UW Health has revived its 'Caring Canines' program and is searching for new volunteers. The program was first started in 2010, allowing local residents to volunteer their dogs to visit patients at the hospital, with organizers saying dogs bring a special comfort to patients and staff. It was put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'It's been proven that dog visits are more beneficial than human visits. Just petting the dog, being with the dog, talking to the dog, is just so beneficial to patients as well as our staff,' said guest services manager Shelley Anderson-Beatty. 'Gizmo' is the first dog of the new class of volunteers. UW Health said it is looking for . Dogs must be well-trained and obedient, friendly with other dogs, and cannot bark or whine. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UW Health accused of not meeting federal standards in report
ABC for Health, a public interest law firm, argues that a Dane County health assessment should have addressed the problem of medical debt. (Getty Images) ABC for Health, the public interest law firm, has filed a complaint with the IRS, charging a team of hospitals led by UW Health of falling short of federal standards when they filed a Community Health Needs Assessment required of health nonprofits under federal law. Late last year, the hospitals released their report on the health needs of Dane County. Federal law requires nonprofit health care providers to file such a document every three years. The December report covered reproductive care, chronic illness, mental health and substance abuse, along with special sections about health concerns for children and youth as well as the elderly. But in 63 pages, the report included no discussion of how the cost of care and medical debt have burdened people without money and hampered their access to the health care system. For Bobby Peterson, that was a glaring omission — and on Thursday, Peterson and ABC for Health, the firm he founded and directs, filed a complaint with the IRS, charging the report doesn't live up to the federal law's requirement for a Community Health Heeds Assessment (CHNA). ABC for Health focuses on health care access along with helping people overcome or avoid medical debt. The organization's complaint argues that failing to address that issue in the Dane County health needs document violates the collective responsibility of UW Health and the other three nonprofit hospital systems that produced it. 'Their insistence to exclude medical debt from consideration during the CHNA betrays many principles and requirements of non-profit hospitals,' the complaint states. 'We maintain that UW Health's intentional indifference towards the medical debt epidemic stems from a value for their own revenue at the expense of their community. That value is at odds with UW Health's duty towards its community.' Sara Benzel, media relations manager for UW Health, defended the report Thursday as well as the hospital system's handling of medical debt. 'UW Health stands behind the priorities identified in the community health needs assessment process,' Benzel told the Wisconsin Examiner in an email message. 'Regarding the UW Health Financial Assistance Policy, we are proud of the work we do every day to make this support accessible, and the work we have done to simplify the process and lower barriers to accessing financial support.' She said the hospital system's financial assistance program is posted online in English and Spanish. 'The application has been simplified over the years using an equity lens, requires minimal supporting documents, and goes up to 600% of the federal poverty level, well above others in the state,' Benzel said. ABC for Health has been a longstanding critic of hospitals' handling of medical debt and has published several reports finding fault with how hospital systems address the problem of patients unable to pay their health care bills. While hospitals have programs for financial help when a patient has no insurance and can't afford to pay out of pocket, ABC has argued those programs are too often needlessly complex. The organization also contends that hospitals' financial counselors don't take actions that could circumvent a problem — such as helping patients enroll in Medicaid if they qualify. The requirement for a Community Health Heeds Assessment is a little-noticed provision in the 2010 Affordable Care Act — the legislation nicknamed Obamacare that has helped drive down the numbers of uninsured Americans since its passage 15 years ago. Nonprofit health care systems must produce a CHNA report for their communities every three years. 'The IRS is regulating this because they are looking at their tax-exempt status,' Peterson said Thursday. 'And to be a tax-exempt organization, to be able to step away from all the property tax requirements that many of us face, they have a responsibility then to give back.' He sees a hospital's approach to medical debt as a direct measure of how they give back. 'They have a community benefit that they need to provide, and part of that benefit is making sure that they're providing enough charity care and services to the vulnerable in a community,' Peterson said. The 2025-2027 CHNA report, like several previous editions, was the work of Healthy Dane Collaborative, a coalition of the county's four hospital systems: Unity Point-Meriter, SSM Health-St. Mary's Hospital, Stoughton Health and UW Health. The report's drafters conducted a survey, collected and analyzed data, met with a variety of community organizations and held focus groups The final report included discussions of health care disparities by race, income and gender. It called attention to the health care needs of the LGBTQ and immigrant communities, including undocumented migrants. Early on, the text of the report emphasized concern for health equity — 'ensuring fair distribution of health resources, outcomes, and opportunities across different communities.' At an ABC for Health symposium Thursday on Medicaid and health care access, Peterson said the report's priorities were 'good things' and were all important. 'But what we wanted to see was access to health care coverage,' Peterson said, along with a discussion about improving financial assistance policies and better coordination among providers. 'It wasn't there. That's not part of what they wanted to give out to the community.' Peterson said ABC started reaching out more than a year and a half ago to offer input for the CHNA report. 'We wanted to make sure that the people that are in the planning process understand what the access to health care coverage needs are, what the barriers in the financial assistance process are, and how can we make it better. What can we do to improve that process?' Peterson said. 'We thought this is a real opportunity for us to make sure that all these issues that we see every day can be put up in this Community Health Needs Assessment process,' he added. 'We wanted our voice and the voice of our clients to be heard.' The IRS complaint includes email messages ABC Health sent various people about the assessment process starting in mid-2023. In a message Aug. 13, 2024, Peterson told Adrian Jones, UW Health Director of Community Health Improvement, 'ABC remains eager to engage in Dane County's 2024 CHNA process.' The message asked for updates on the CHNA 'process and timeline' and mentioned that ABC for Health was 'preparing a report with recommendations to provide input, from the perspective of our clients, to inform Dane County's CHNA process.' In her Aug. 14 reply, Jones invited Peterson to 'share your report with us.' She wrote that 'we have also held our own community input sessions and survey and have analyzed a lot of quantitative and qualitative data.' Peterson followed up with an email Aug. 16 that included a half-dozen questions about the data being collected, when and where community meetings had been conducted, whether more community meetings were planned and the timeline for completing the assessment document. 'ABC for Health is eager to continue engagement with the Dane County CHNA process,' Peterson wrote. 'Please keep us posted about future community input sessions and meetings.' There was no further response, and 'the Dane County hospitals quietly released the CHNA report in late 2024, without ABC's input that we maintain failed to take into account the perspective of the many communities we represent,' the complaint to the IRS states. 'Unsurprisingly, this report ignored access to health care coverage issues. The report lacks any recommendations to improve financial assistance policies, practices, and processes to equitably serve populations negatively affected by health disparities. It fails to address the impact of medical debt on Dane County patients,' the complaint states. 'It lacks broad community input and instead reflects a hospital-driven marketing piece that ignores and sidesteps Affordable Care Act requirements. ABC was largely shunned despite our multiple efforts over the past 2 years to provide client-based input.' ABC for Health released its report shortly after Peterson learned that the CNHA report was published. Its critique was unsparing. 'Dane County hospitals must do more to justify extensive tax breaks and better serve patients impacted by health disparities,' the report states. 'In 2023, Dane County hospitals spent an average of only 0.7% of their gross patient revenues on charity care. The national average is 2.3%.' ABC for Health bases its calculations for Dane County charity care on Wisconsin Hospital Association data, and the national average on a 2022 Wall Street Journal report. Peterson sent a letter reiterating ABC for Health's concerns and the organization's complaint about its lack of input in the CNHA report to UW Health's CEO, Alan Kaplan, in January. He said there was no response. ABC for Health also invited Kaplan and other hospital leaders to the ABC for Health event Thursday. The invitations were ignored or declined, Peterson said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
