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The financial security company awarded the grants through Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s Young Investigator program, which supports early-career scientists. Each $150,000 grant will last three years.

“We are proud to support this work and enable researchers to focus on their research, rather than how to fund it,” Eric Christophersen, president of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, said in a statement.

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Dr. Hraska will join cardiothoracic surgeons Michael Mitchell, M.D., and Ronald Woods, M.D., Ph.D., in leading Children’s Herma Heart Center, the fifth ranked pediatric heart program in the nation. Yearly, Children’s performs more than 300 open heart surgeries and 700 total heart procedures and has some of the best outcomes for pediatric heart surgeries in the country. Dr. Hraska will serve as Herma’s surgical director and hold the position of medical director of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

At the Medical College of Wisconsin, Dr. Harska will be the division chief of Congenital Heart Surgery and a professor of surgery. He will join 10 other surgeons in providing a six-year integrated cardiothoracic surgerytraining program. MCW is one of the first in the country to offer an integrated program that provides a more streamlined approach than tradition surgery curriculums.

An internationally recognized pediatric cardiovascular surgeon who brings vast clinical, teaching and research expertise to his new roles, Dr. Hraska was identified through an extensive worldwide search of top pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons. He is expected to start at the two organizations in August.

Dr. Hraska currently serves as surgeon-in-chief for the German Pediatric Heart Center in Sankt Augustin, Germany, which is the largest congenital heart disease surgery center with the best published surgical outcomes in Germany. He is also the congenital heart disease chair of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, an organization dedicated to raising standards for operative outcomes through research and training in Europe.

“The Herma Heart Center team has led groundbreaking work that has produced some of the best outcomes in the world for pediatric heart surgery,” said Peggy Troy, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. “With Dr. Hraska’s talents and leadership added to those of our entire Herma Heart Center team, Children’s will continue to provide cutting-edge and sought-after procedures that few hospitals in the country can.”

Hraska trained in Czechoslovakia, Slovakia and Germany and at Boston Children’s Hospital, completing residencies in anesthesia, cardiology, surgery and vascular surgery, and fellowships in cardiac surgery and pediatric cardiac surgery. He regularly lectures worldwide on pediatric cardiac surgery topics, and he has published books, book chapters and articles.

“We are extremely pleased that a world-renowned pediatric cardiovascular surgeon, researcher and educator such as Dr. Hraska is joining our outstanding team at MCW,” said Dr. Joseph E. Kerschner, MD, dean of the school of medicine and executive vice president of MCW. “His indisputable talents and expertise will accentuate the excellence that defines our top-tier national pediatric cardiovascular program.

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The first class of instructors includes educators, emergency responders, social workers and health care professionals. As part of their agreement with Security Health Plan, after they receive certification each instructor will teach at least three Mental Health First Aid courses in their home communities.

“We need only watch the evening news or read the morning headlines to know we need to do a better job identifying and helping someone who is facing a mental health crisis,” said Mark LePage, M.D., chief medical officer at Security Health Plan. “When it comes to a medical emergency, most people know what to do as a first response. But there is little knowledge in the general public about how to respond to the early signs of mental health crises.”

Mental Health First Aid is an eight-hour training course designed to give members of the public key skills to help adults who are developing a mental health condition or experiencing a mental health crisis. The instructor certification training is conducted by the National Council, which manages the program in the U.S. along with the states of Maryland and Missouri.

Communities represented in this instructor class include: Barron County, Chippewa Falls, Ladysmith, Marshfield, Mattoon, Merrill, Spencer, Stevens Point, Tony, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids. The new instructors will join more than 3,700 U.S. instructors already certified by MHFA-USA as instructors in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

“This training program is a step in the right direction. These 20 will return to their communities certified to teach the Mental Health First Aid course to others,” LePage added.

Mental Health First Aid is included on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices. Studies show that training in Mental Health First Aid builds confidence in helping an individual experiencing a mental health challenge, reduces negative or distancing attitudes toward individuals with mental illnesses, and increases mental health literacy – being able to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.

“When we meet with health officials they often identify behavioral health as one of their top community health priorities,” said Jay Shrader, director of disease management and wellness for Security Health Plan. “This instructor-class includes an impressive cross-section of professional backgrounds who serve rural and urban communities. They will make their communities better prepared to recognize and respond to mental health crises. ”

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About Security Health Plan

Security Health Plan is a member of the Marshfield Clinic Health System, serving more than 230,000 residents in Wisconsin. Accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), Security Health Plan insures employees of large and small businesses, individuals and families, and administers self-funded employer health plans.

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Mental Health First Aid USA™ is collaboration between the National Council for Behavioral Health, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

The National Council for Behavioral Health (National Council) is the unifying voice of America’s community mental health and addictions treatment organizations. Together with our 2,000 member organizations, we serve our nation’s most vulnerable citizens — the more than eight million adults and children living with mental illnesses and addiction disorders. We are committed to ensuring all Americans have access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery and full participation in community life. The National Council pioneered Mental Health First Aid in the U.S. and has trained nearly 100,000 individuals to connect youth and adults in need to mental health and addictions care in their communities.

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Award recipients are:

• Dianne Kiehl, Executive Director, The Business Health Care Group (BHCG), Milwaukee, Wis. Kiehl became the first executive director of the Business Health Care Group in Milwaukee in 2004. During her tenure, BHCG has grown from 14 companies to more than 1,100 companies. The Health Transformation Award honors her extraordinary leadership among employers related to health benefits. Kiehl has announced plans to retire.
• QualityPath Designated Hospitals, including St. Mary’s Hospital, Madison, Wis.; St. Clare Hospital, Baraboo, Wis.; Meriter Hospital, Madison, Wis.; Monroe Clinic, Monroe, Wis.; and Rockford Memorial Hospital, Rockford, Ill. Hospitals who achieved designation in the program’s first year made a commitment to high-value care with new approaches such as bundled payments and 90-day warranties. The award honors the hospitals’ work in exploring new methods to delivering and paying for care.

• QualityPath Designated Doctors, including Dr. Vijay Kantamneni, St. Mary’s Hospital; Dr. Christopher Dale, St. Clare Hospital; Dr. James Bowers, Meriter Hospital; Dr. Lance Sathoff, Monroe Clinic; and Dr. Mark Barba and Dr. Michael Chmell, Rockford Memorial Hospital. QualityPath is designed to recognize the pivotal role that doctors play in determining patient outcomes. For that reason, designated hospitals only qualify to provide QualityPath procedures when working with designated doctors. Doctors qualify for QualityPath based on their ability to meet evidence-based measures of the quality of care. And both doctors and hospitals, when working together, must agree to adopt processes that lead to better care for patients. The award honors these doctors’ commitment to exploring new methods to delivering and paying for care.

• Three Wisconsin doctors who helped develop the groundbreaking SMARTCare program to improve care for heart patients: Dr. Thomas Lewandowski, a cardiologist in Appleton, Wis; Dr. Anthony DeFranco, a cardiologist in Milwaukee, Wis.; and Dr. Tim Bartholow, a family medicine physician who is the chief medical officer for WEA Trust in Madison, Wis., and was formerly the chief medical officer for the Wisconsin Medical Society. The award recognizes the physicians for improving the quality of care using a systematic, process-oriented approach that can be adapted and implemented by other organizations. The Wisconsin doctors worked with Florida doctors to develop SMARTCare, including the Florida Chapter of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), led by Dr. A. Allen Seals, president of the Florida Chapter ACC, and Dr. Juan M. Aranda Jr., immediate past president.

SMARTCare stands for Smarter Management and Resource Use for Today’s Complex Cardiac Care. The program is designed to improve care for patients who have chest pain due to heart disease. SMARTCare relies on decision support tools to help doctors and patients determine which non-emergent patients should have stress tests, stents and other procedures – and which should not. SMARTCare is now being tested in Wisconsin and Florida in a three-year pilot. When scaled nationally, SMARTCare is expected to reduce unnecessary cardiology procedures for affected patients by 10 to 30 percent.

The Alliance’s Health Transformation Awards were introduced by the Board of Directors as part of the not-for-profit cooperative’s 25^th anniversary celebration.

Dr. Otis Webb Brawley, chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society and author of “How We Do Harm,” shared patient stories and statistics that illustrate the need for a “rational” approach to health care. In Dr. Brawley’s definition, a “rational” system would stress prevention and health education; reduce waste; rely on the scientific method; and keep everyone involved in health care focused on what’s best for the patient.

The Alliance Annual Seminar features high-profile, thought-provoking national leaders who share their expertise on pressing health care issues. The event annually attracts an audience of roughly 300 people, including employers and health care providers as well as brokers, agents and other professionals who support employers that self-fund their health benefits.

The Alliance moves health care forward by controlling costs, improving quality, and engaging individuals in their health. Members include more than 240 self-funded employers and insurance trusts covering more than 100,000 individuals in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. The Alliance uses the purchasing power of cooperative members to negotiate with and provide access to an extensive network of doctors and hospitals paid to improve quality by performing better not doing more.

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Professional photos of award winners and Dr. Brawley are available here:

http://www.the-alliance.org/press_room/press_releases/

Profiles of QualityPath doctors and hospitals are available online at:

http://www.the-alliance.org/Find_a_Doctor/QualityPath_Designated_Hospital-and-Doctor_Pairings/

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A team of dentists, dental hygienists and assistants have again volunteered to treat the Special Olympics athletes, many of whom have additional medical considerations.

The WDA is the only state dental association nationwide that provides care to Special Olympics athletes at its Mission of Mercy events. Since 2011, an estimated $64,619 in restorative and preventive dental care has been provided to 113 special athletes at no cost to them, their families or SOWI.

The athletes, who range in age from 12 – 60, were screened for urgent dental needs at recent Special Olympics competitions held across the Badger State through the organization’s Healthy Athletes® project. That program provides health care screenings and testing to athletes at no cost.

“Athletes receive dental health screenings, oral hygiene education and prevention services several times a year through Special Olympics Special Smiles®. However, obtaining follow-up dental treatment can be difficult for many individuals,“ Special Olympics Wisconsin Director of Athlete Wellness Initiatives Melissa Schoenbrodt said.

“Our athletes’ oral health is critical to their success both on and off the playing field, so we are grateful for the opportunity to again partner with the WDA and WDA Foundation at MOM,” Schoenbrodt added.

The 2015 WDA Mission of Mercy will be held at the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds Expo Center, 601 Martin Ave. Doors to this large-scale, charitable, dental clinic open at 5:30 a.m. both days. Individuals seeking dental care should line up outside of the tent marked “Patient Entrance” located at the front corner of the building.

There are no appointments for the general public. Care is provided on a first-come, first-served basis to about 1,000 patients daily. Early arrival is encouraged, because available patient slots typically fill by 10 a.m.

Individuals of all ages are welcome. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Spanish, Hmong and American Sign Language interpreters will be available to assist patients.

No photo identification, Social Security number or other personal ID/documentation is required. However, medically-compromising conditions, such as extremely high blood pressure or severe disabilities, may prohibit an individual from receiving care.

An estimated $1 million in cleanings, fillings, extractions, limited treatment partials and personal oral hygiene education will be provided through 2,000 or more patient encounters.

The free care will be delivered by more than 1,000 volunteers, including dentists, dental hygienists and assistants, Marquette University School of Dentistrystudents and community members.

Major financial and in-kind support is provided by Delta Dental of Wisconsin Charitable Fund, Henry Schein Dental and Walmart Foundation. Delta Dental, Dr. Tim and Sue Durtsche, Henry Schein, Kwik Trip and Valley Expo and Displays have supported all seven WDA MOM programs.

More than 40 organizations and individuals have made tax-deductible financial and in-kind donations to help cover $183,000 in costs for equipment and facility rental, supplies, pharmaceuticals and food for this major charitable dental care event which includes one day each for setup and cleanup.

WDA dentists and other MOM volunteers donate $6 – $8 in care for every dollar received. More than 13,000 children and adults have received in excess of $7.1 million in donated care at WDA Mission of Mercy events since 2009.

Visit the WDA Foundation donor page to help provide financial support to MOM and other charitable care and oral hygiene education outreach efforts.

“The WDA Mission of Mercy is a dentist-led, community-based approach that provides care now to people suffering from untreated dental disease, strengthens and expands the public-private safety net and brings disease prevention and education into communities,” 2015 WDA Mission of Mercy State Chair Dr. Tom Raimann, of Hales Corners, Wis., said.

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