LGBT Youth Team Selected for Public Health Training
By: Peggy Ore - Posted on: 3/15/2006

MADISON/MILWAUKEE – Five community groups focusing on specific health issues have been chosen to participate in the Community Teams Program, a year-long education and training program to develop leadership and public health skills. The groups selected deal with health issues ranging from addressing methamphetamine addiction to accessing affordable dental care to reducing physical inactivity and obesity. (See list below.)

The Community Teams Program is a component of the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute, a joint initiative of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) and the Medical College of Wisconsin. Funded through the Wisconsin Partnership Fund for a Healthy Future (affiliated with SMPH) and the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program (affiliated with the Medical College), the institute was created to contribute to the development of a “sufficient and competent workforce,” one of the priorities of the state health plan, called Healthiest Wisconsin 2010.

The Community Teams Program will provide members of each group face-to-face workshops and distance-based training on collaborative leadership and public health skills. The sessions will be led by national and state faculty. Throughout the year, team members will take what they learn back to the coalitions they represent to work on their community health improvement goals.

The five teams were selected in a competitive process from among 26 applications.

"It was difficult to choose just five teams,” says Kelli Jones, RN, MSN, Wisconsin Minority Health Officer and a member of the selection committee. “The applications were comprehensive and diverse and showed the commitment of community partners from around Wisconsin to combat the complex public health issues we face in our state."

In supporting the institute and the unique Community Teams Program, Michael Dunn, MD, dean of the Medical College, says, “The partnership between the Medical College of Wisconsin and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health is not only addressing the ongoing need to develop strong leaders who are equipped to tackle complex community health issues, but is also strengthening the relationship between the two Wisconsin medical schools.”

The institute and the program build philosophically on the partnerships that are the cornerstone of the Wisconsin Partnership Program, adds Philip M. Farrell, MD, PhD, dean of the SMPH.

“The Wisconsin Partnership Program is all about creating community-academic partnerships to improve health across the state,” Farrell says. “Groups involved in the Community Teams Program will further develop the partnership model. They will have the opportunity to learn from and call upon some of the most skilled people in the state and nation for advice, as well as learn from each other.”

Each year a new group of teams will be selected for the program.

“I hope to follow the progress of the first five teams and look forward to future opportunities to provide more community teams with the chance to build upon their knowledge and infrastructure,” says Jones.

The five teams chosen in 2006 represent the following coalitions and health priorities:
• The Barron County Safe and Stable Families Coalition, focusing on methamphetamine and other substance abuse and addiction;
• Healthy People Portage County, addressing the problem of obesity and lack of physical activity;
• The La Crosse Area Dental Care Advocacy Coalition, creating access to affordable dental care;
• The Milwaukee Partnership for Reducing Adolescent Risky Sexual Behavior;
• The Wisconsin LGBT Youth Initiative, the only statewide team, working to decrease tobacco, alcohol and drug use as well as injury and mental health problems among lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender youth in Wisconsin.