Five Milwaukee VA projects earn grant funding
Five health improvement projects connected to the Milwaukee VA Medical Center are among 40 in Wisconsin to receive Momentum Grant funding from the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment.
The grants, each up to $250,000, were awarded through a competitive application process aimed at addressing the state's most urgent health challenges.
"In our 20th year of grant-making, AHW continues to propel the most promising work and ideas to advance the health of all Wisconsinites," said AHW Director Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld. "These 40 projects totaling nearly $10 million reflect our commitment to investing the funds entrusted to us to improve lives throughout the state."
Community-based organizations received 22 grants while 18 went to research projects.
Projects with ties to the Milwaukee VA:
- Effects of Peripheral Injury and Surgery on Traumatic Brain Injury Outcomes: This project, led by Dr. Christopher Roberts, an anesthesiologist at the Milwaukee VA, seeks to understand why patients with traumatic brain injuries tend to display worse functional and cognitive outcomes following surgery unrelated to their brain injury. The grant award is $250,000. Also on the team is Dr. Gwendolyn Hoben of the Milwaukee VA.
- Community-Based and Genomics-Influenced Precision Medicine Pilot Project: This project looks at how genetic information influences health, particularly how unique genetic variations impact drug metabolism. The grant award is $249,447, and the team includes Milwaukee VA’s Drs. Jeffery Whittle and Zeno Franco.
- Creating an Addiction Medicine Fellowship in Milwaukee’s Highest-Risk Community: Led by Milwaukee VA’s Dr. John Hayes, this project aims to stem the rising number of drug overdoses in and around Milwaukee. Specifically, the project would establish an academic addiction medicine fellowship, based at the Forest Home Health Center, in order to better deliver care to people who use drugs. The grant is for $250,000.
- Development of a Sustainable Public Awareness Campaign to Prevent Veteran Suicides: Led by Milwaukee VA’s Dr. Bertrand Berger and the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, this project seeks to implement a sustained public education campaign on secure firearms storage and suicide prevention, in an effort to decrease suicide rates among Veterans and the general population. The award is for $249,768.
- Strengthening Fox Cities: A Data-Driven Approach to Sustainable and Equitable Suicide Prevention: Led by Milwaukee VA’s Dr. Sara Kohlbeck, this project aims to enhance suicide prevention efforts in Calumet, Outagamie and Winnebago counties in Wisconsin. The award is for $249,455.
Learn more about all projects awarded by clicking here.
The Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment was established by the Medical College of Wisconsin to steward a generous financial gift from Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin. AHW made its first funding awards in 2004.
Today, AHW is Wisconsin’s largest health improvement philanthropy, and the only health philanthropy in the nation stewarding public funds from within a private medical school.