2021-22 Annual Report: Moving Health Forward

Robert N. Golden, Dean, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

It is my pleasure to present the Wisconsin Partnership Program’s annual report for fiscal year 2021–2022. The UW School of Medicine and Public Health is proud to serve as the home to the Wisconsin Partnership Program. Established through a gift resulting from Blue Cross Blue Shield United of Wisconsin’s conversion from a nonprofit organization to a for-profit corporation, the Wisconsin Partnership Program endowment has provided an unprecedented opportunity to improve health and advance health equity throughout our state.

This year, we welcomed Amy Kind, MD, PhD, associate dean for social health sciences and programs and professor of medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health as the Partnership Program’s executive director. She follows Eileen Smith, founding director, who retired after nearly 20 years of outstanding leadership and dedicated service to the Wisconsin Partnership Program. Dr. Kind has served on the Wisconsin Partnership Program’s governance committees since 2018. She is the director of the UW Center for Health Disparities Research and an international leader in the fields of social determinants, health equity, and brain health disparities research. Her rigorous research expertise and commitment to health equity will greatly inform and guide the work of the Wisconsin Partnership Program.

Since it began making grants in 2004, the Wisconsin Partnership Program has remained a steadfast partner to researchers, health care providers, educators, and community organizations who are working tirelessly to improve the health of Wisconsin’s people and communities. To date, this has resulted in 591 grants for a diverse array of initiatives whose impact extends to the corners of our state and beyond—a true embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea. Through these investments and partnerships, the Wisconsin Partnership Program is driving research and discovery, enhancing education, tackling health inequities, responding to a pandemic, and supporting solutions to complex health challenges. The advancements and interventions resulting from this work will benefit the people of Wisconsin now and for years to come.

This annual report highlights several partnerships that span a broad range of health issues, geographic areas, communities, and populations. Our state is stronger and our communities are healthier as a result of these powerful collaborations. The Wisconsin Partnership Program remains dedicated to advancing the Wisconsin Idea in a way that allows everyone in our state to live full and healthy lives.

Sincerely,

Robert N. Golden, MD
Robert Turell Professor in Medical Leadership
Dean, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Vice Chancellor of Medical Affairs
University of Wisconsin–Madison

Thank you for your ongoing support and interest in the critical work that the Wisconsin Partnership Program and its partners are undertaking to improve the health and well-being of the people of Wisconsin. As we continue to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and address the health disparities facing communities across the state, the Wisconsin Partnership Program’s work remains more important than ever.

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and Wisconsin Partnership Program share a vision of improving health and advancing health equity for all. We are working with partners within the university and in communities throughout the state to develop new opportunities for innovation and collaboration—through investments in basic science, clinical and translational research, education, and community partnerships—that will bring us closer to realizing this vision.

The Wisconsin Partnership Program also recognizes that fully achieving this vision will take the commitment and work of many collaborations across many sectors. As such, we look forward to future opportunities to convene a broad range of partners and stakeholders as we explore new ideas, interventions, and impactful solutions for addressing the persistent health challenges facing our state. This year I was honored to assume the role of Executive Director of the Wisconsin Partnership

Program and build upon its legacy of impact and success. As both a medical doctor specialized in the treatment of memory disorders and a clinical researcher with expertise in neighborhood disadvantage, social determinants, and brain health, I have dedicated my career to better understanding and eliminating health disparities. I look forward to partnering with the many collaborators and stakeholders who are striving to ensure that our shared vision of improved health and advanced health equity reaches every corner of Wisconsin. Together, we will create pathways that move health forward.