Project YES! gets $5 million mental health grant

The Department of Health Services has been awarded a five-year, $5 million federal grant to provide services and supports to young adults with, or who are at risk for, serious mental health conditions. DHS will use the funding to launch Project YES! (Youth Empowered Solutions) in Jefferson and Outagamie counties. The project is based off a similar program developed in 2009 by Wraparound Milwaukee.

Within three years, Jefferson plans to add Rock and Walworth counties to its project and Outagamie plans to add Brown, Manitowoc, Winnebago and Calumet counties. In the eight counties, 11,000 young adults have serious mental health needs, according to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. To learn more, CLICK HERE.

Hospitalizations due to the flu on the rise in Wisconsin

As of January 5, twenty-two states nationwide reporting very high cases of flu activity.

This year’s predominant flu strain, called H3N2, is partially to blame for the bad flu season, accounting for 95 percent of all cases reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This strain is associated with more severe illness and more deaths.

On top of that, this year’s flu vaccine is considered a “very bad match” for the H3N2 strain, Dr. Richard Besser, ABC News chief health and medical editor, said. To watch the newscast, CLICK HERE.

3-star rating available for Wisconsin hospitals

In December, the Wisconsin Hospital Association released its latest version of CheckPoint, a web-based resource that provides hospital-specific quality and safety data related to the care that patients receive while in the hospital.

What’s new to CheckPoint? Now offers a hospital-specific three-star quality rating system. The new rating system enables consumers to more quickly and easily interpret information related to hospital quality. The calculation that supports the system combines several individual, but related, quality measures into a single overall star rating to summarize the overall quality of care for a specific medical condition or service. Star ratings are displayed for conditions and procedures related to hip and knee surgery, heart conditions, pneumonia, surgery, patient satisfaction and 10 other dimensions of care. To read the report, CLICK HERE. 

US designates 35 hospitals as Ebola centers

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state health officials have identified and designated 35 hospitals with Ebola treatment centers, with more expected in the coming weeks. To read the newscast, CLICK HERE.  To read reports from the CDC, CLICK HERE. 

Save the date for WHA’s Advocacy Day April 28

The Wisconsin Hospital Association says planning is in high gear for WHA’s 2015 Advocacy Day. Advocacy Day draws nearly 1,000 hospital supporters to Madison for one of WHA’s largest and most anticipated annual events. Guest speakers motivate and educate health care employees, volunteers and trustees on health-related issues and grassroots advocacy opportunities. Attendees visit with their legislators and/or their staff in the afternoon.

WHA encourages and invites hospital CEOs, CFOs, managers, nurse executives, hospital volunteers, hospital trustees, WHA HEAT grassroots members, Partners of WHA members, WHA corporate members, and any other hospital staff interested in helping to shape the future of health care in Wisconsin communities, to attend.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015 • Monona Terrace, Madison

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This post was written and researched by Trish Reed (formerly Skram). If you have other news, resources or links to share, please comment below or email Trish Skram, blogger and research content specialist for WHPRMS, at trishskram@gmail.com