WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The office of Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., issued the following news release:
U.S. Senator Herb Kohl today included $3.2 million in the FY10 Omnibus Appropriations Bill for job training, education, and health care initiatives in the Milwaukee area. Kohl is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and identified the projects as priorities for funding. The federal funding includes $900,000 to the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee in an effort to address public health issues in Wisconsin. Additionally, it provides $850,000 for Marquette University's dental outreach program.
'This funding will allow the greater Milwaukee area to advance on job training, education and health care initiatives,' Kohl said. 'Ranging from dental programs for children to job retraining, this funding will provide programs that will help everyone from children to adults gain better access to these necessary services.'
$500,000 for Gateway Technical College -- Gateway Technical College plans to renovate and equip its Health Occupations Laboratory. The proposed renovation is needed to provide students with an expanded laboratory that will accommodate additional students and equipment that is utilized in modern medical facilities. Health occupations (dental assisting, surgical technology and nursing) are high growth/high demand occupations within southeast Wisconsin, and these programs are vital to meeting the healthcare workforce needs of the state.
$850,000 for Marquette University -- Marquette's dental outreach program provides clinical treatment and educational experiences to support oral health care in Wisconsin, including Appleton, Eau Claire, and Stevens Point. This effort would be enhanced through a new Urban Oral Health Fellowship Program, which would provide training to student dentists while serving low-income populations at three existing urban clinics. A particular focus of this program will be care for children, one of the most vulnerable populations affected by lack of access to dental care.
$200,000 for The City of Racine - Racine's EXCEL Program is designed to specifically address student risk factors and student/parent needs. This program includes age-appropriate activities in a variety of curriculum areas that address the physical, intellectual, and emotional needs of the students. EXCEL additionally supports the parents of the students by providing identified needed program/services at the neighborhood community center at no cost to participants.
$350,000 for Milwaukee Health Services - The goal of this project is to increase patient access to primary care services at the clinic's MLK site by erecting an adjoining structure just north of the present building and reconfiguring space within the existing one. The project will enable the clinic to add new medical, dental, and behavioral health providers, support staff, and medical services for medically under-served families and individuals in Milwaukee.
$200,000 for Milwaukee Public Schools -- Using portable equipment at schools, this program brings dental care to many children who are uninsured or lack access to dental care for other reasons. Smart Smiles has a waiting list of 38 low-income MPS schools that would like to participate in the program, and this funding would help expand capacity to an additional 23 schools and ensure that approximately 2000 uninsured children would receive dental care.
$900,000 for University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee - The University of Milwaukee plans to create a Public Health Impact Institute within the School of Public Health that will bring together the University, the City of Milwaukee Health Department, and the community to address public health issues in Wisconsin. Practitioners, researchers, and students will develop, implement, and evaluate strategies to improve the public health of the people of Milwaukee, with an initial focus on healthy birth outcomes in Milwaukee.
$200,000 for Waukesha County Technical College - This project will provide tuition and books to train unemployed workers in welding, metal fabrication and laser cutting careers in the Milwaukee region. This project will collaborate with advanced manufacturing businesses, Southeastern Wisconsin engineering colleges, technical colleges, and workforce development related entities to develop new, integrated learning that will center on advanced technological manufacturing skills and articulated career pathways leading to work and higher education.
The funding measure was passed by the Senate, and now goes to the President for final approval. For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com.
