PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — UW Oshkosh College of Nursing was awarded an innovation grant for its proposal to expand the use of telehealth for rural residents.
UW Oshkosh was one of three recipients for the 2023 UW Innovation Grants.
Through the grant, the Universities of Wisconsin will award each winning proposal seed funding totaling up to $175,000, split over two years.
UW Oshkosh says it will use the money to develop and integrate curriculum to educate current and future nurses on the use of telehealth to improve health in rural communities.
Telehealth lets a health care provider care for someone without an in-person office visit and is done primarily online with internet access on a computer, tablet or smartphone.
The model will be piloted this summer and implemented in fall at ThedaCare post-acute homecare services in Berlin, New London, Shawano, Waupaca and Wild Rose. The model will be replicated at other Wisconsin locations during 2025 and used to serve populations experiencing rural access barriers.
Seon Yoon Chung, dean of the UWO College of Nursing, says rural Wisconsinites have an increased risk for adverse health outcomes compared to their urban counterparts. More than one in four Wisconsin residents living in rural areas experience a shortage of primary care providers.
“We’re addressing a missed opportunity for this project, which will guide our current and future nursing workforce to play a greater role in supporting rurally located patients with chronic illness with the use of telehealth,” she said.
Other proposals receiving a UW Innovation Grant are:
- Brian Barringer, Shelby Ellison, Ann Impullitti, Joseph Mondloch, Shannon Riha and Bryant Scharenbroch, Phytoremediation of PFAS in Wisconsin Soils using Help and Alfalfa, UW-Stevens Point
- Tina Lee and Yuan Xing, A Human-Centered Collaborative Approach to Designing an Energy-Efficient Wireless Sensor Network for Precision Agriculture, UW-Stout
From this year’s three finalists, a review panel will select a “big idea” winner to receive additional funding totaling up to $400,000 distributed over three years.
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