MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin already has a nursing shortage, at a time when more nurses than ever will be needed to attend to an aging population. Another part of the problem is a shortage of nursing educators. Half to three-quarters of qualified students who apply to nursing schools at four University of Wisconsin (UW) System schools are denied admission because of insufficient qualified nursing faculty to teach them.
Gale Barber, assistant dean of the UW-Madison School of Nursing, said looming faculty retirements also contribute to the shortage.
"As a school of nursing, that's the statistic that is more worrisome," Barber said, "knowing that the average age of a faculty member is 58, and we need to bring younger clinicians into the nursing education role."
Led by the UW-Eau Claire School of Nursing, the Nurses for Wisconsin Initiative will administer a $3.2 million grant to rapidly develop more nursing educators at UW campuses in Milwaukee, Madison, Eau Claire and Oshkosh. The predicted shortage of nurses in Wisconsin is 20,000 by 2035, at a time when nurses are playing an increasingly important role in health care, Barber said.
"They're very invested in the health of the citizens of Wisconsin. The population is aging. With the Affordable Care Act and the increased role of nursing, we take it very seriously that we're looking after the health care of the citizens of the state of Wisconsin," she said.
The grant will allow the nursing schools to administer fellowships that will pay tuition, fees and stipends for students pursuing either a Ph.D or Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, in exchange for a commitment to teach at a UW System nursing school, she added.
According to Barber, the grant will greatly speed up the process of developing nursing educators, because most nurses' academic careers are interrupted. They get a bachelor's degree, then work several years, then go back for more education.
"What we're trying to do is encourage baccalaureate-prepared nurses to consider the nurse educator role, give them funding to go to school full-time because it will make the degree program much faster, and then get a guarantee from them that they will work at a UW System school for three years after they complete their doctoral degree," she explained.
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An Indiana licensing board has fined a local physician $3,000 and handed her a letter of reprimand after she went public about a 10-year-old Ohio patient forced to travel across state lines for an abortion.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita brought the case against obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Caitlin Bernard, for comments she made last July to the Indianapolis Star about a young rape victim who could not legally receive an abortion in Ohio because she was just over six weeks pregnant.
Bernard testified she did not feel she would have ever been brought before the board - where she risked losing her license - if Rokita had not chosen to make the case a political stunt.
"I feel an obligation as a physician to share information that is relevant to public health," said Bernard, "as well as potentially in light of certain legislation, ensuring that it is clear that those are contrary to the best interest of my patients."
The AG's office had argued Bernard made the decision to speak about her patient to the largest newspaper in Indiana, which resulted in national publicity for the case.
Indiana University Health, where Bernard works, issued a statement after the decision maintaining its findings that Bernard did properly follow privacy laws.
After the story broke, Rokita appeared on Fox News to discuss it. Other Republican leaders, including Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan - R-Urbana - suggested Bernard fabricated the story.
Bernard acknowledged that politics made the case more challenging.
"Certainly, there was a lot of media frenzy," said Bernard. "I was receiving significant harassment, particularly after Fox News picked up on the story and began featuring the story in their news segments. I was quite surprised by all of the attention."
Bernard told the licensing board she was surprised that people think young girls are not, unfortunately, frequently raped and become pregnant.
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As Lyme disease Awareness Month draws to a close, levels of some tick-borne illnesses in Missouri are on the rise.
While Lyme infections in Missouri are not as dramatic as they are in northeastern states, officials said there is still cause for concern. Ticks cause a higher number of human diseases than any other insect in the U.S.
The most common tick related diseases in Missouri are Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, tularemia, and Lyme, along with newer viruses such as Heartland and Bourbon. Studies show the frequency of infections are increasing.
Dr. Ram Raghavan, associate professor of veterinary pathobiology at the University of Missouri Veterinary Medical School, said there are several reasons why.
"Some of these suburban areas are built around wooded backyards, and people are interacting with the wild more than they used to be in the past," Raghavan explained. "We are also getting very clever and very accurate in the way we detect diseases, there is increased awareness, not only among practitioners, but also patients."
He pointed out climate change is also making winters warmer and extending tick season. When outdoors experts recommend hikers stay in the center of trails and avoid tall grass and brush. Recommendations also include wearing clothing treated with permethrin or insect repellent containing at least 20% DEET, to check clothing for ticks, showering after being outdoors, then conducting a thorough tick check.
Raghavan noted in addition to the many bacterial pathogens transmitted by ticks, there are also threats from emerging viruses.
"Recently, in the past 10 years or so, a couple of new tick-borne viruses emerged in our area here in the central Midwest," Raghavan outlined. "One of them is called Heartland virus, and another one is Bourbon virus. Heartland and Bourbon viruses can actually kill somebody and there have been a few fatalities that have occurred over the years."
The Missouri Department of Health reports the majority of Heartland virus patients required hospitalization to recover. Bourbon virus is named after Bourbon County, Kansas, where the first U.S. incidence of the disease occurred.
A relatively new condition associated with tick-borne illness is Alpha-Gal Syndrome, when people become allergic to red meat. Raghavan said it is transmitted by the most common tick in the state.
"Meat allergy is a significant problem, and it is transmitted by the tick called the Lone Star tick, which is actually the most abundant tick in our region," Raghavan stressed. "Chances are, if someone is ever going to see a tick on them, it's most likely going to be a Lone Star tick. So we need to be watching out for that."
Ticks cannot fly or jump, nor do they drop from trees. They stay relatively close to the ground where they can access soil moisture which they need to stay alive. After rain, the wet conditions and higher humidity will bring ticks out in greater numbers.
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Extreme heat kills about 700 people in the United States each year, but a new toolkit and weather alerts can protect folks in Texas and beyond.
According to an analysis by Climate Central, the annual number of risky heat days has increased in 232 U.S. locations since 1970.
Saqi Maleque Cho, president of the health and development nonprofit Americares, said the new Heat.gov pilot project will help frontline clinics and the patients they serve better prepare for and respond to climate shocks.
"For example, our hurricane resources remind patients to refill their medications before a major storm," she said. "For diabetic patients who depend on insulin, we remind them to keep icepacks and a cooler in the event of a power outage."
From 1970 to 2022, Reno, Nevada, reported the highest number of what Climate Central called "minimum-mortality temperature" days. However, three Texas cities - Austin, Houston and McAllen - were in the top ten for hottest temps.
The toolkit is available at Americares.org.
Kimberlyn Clarkson, chief advancement officer at Texas' San Jose Clinic, said doctors already are seeing health impacts to patients from high heat, including life-threatening dehydration. Those are often people, she said, who work in the agribusiness industry or construction.
"They don't have the option of not going in when it's a 99-degree day, or not reporting for work if there's some sort of inclement weather," she said. "They need the work. They don't have PTO; if they don't go to work, they don't earn income."
To create the Climate Resilience for Frontline Clinics Toolkit, said Caleb Dresser, a physician and director of Harvard University's climate program, a needs assessment was conducted of 450 physicians and clinicians to learn what would help them better respond to their patients affected by heatwaves, hurricanes, floods or wildfires.
"As we look both short-term, medium-term and long-term at what climate change is," he said, "it means greater exposure to climate-responsive hazards for a whole lot of people, all over the country."
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