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As part of the MCHS commitment to community health, Center for Community Outreach (CCO) supports the many forms of volunteerism highlighted in this e-Bulletin. Following a year-long infrastructure building process that resulted in standardized job descriptions, orientation processes, policies, procedures, tracking systems, and other resources, CCO was well-prepared to launch its first volunteer program in 2005 for the Marshfield Clinic Youth Net program.
More than a decade later, volunteerism continues to thrive at Youth Net and has been expanded to
15 other afterschool providers across the MCHS service area through the efforts of AmeriCorps members placed in afterschool programs. Our other AmeriCorps programs also prioritize volunteer recruitment and management to support nonprofit organizations and coalitions across the state.
In Merrill, our physicians refer patients to Marshfield Clinic volunteers who are on stand-by to work with the elderly and promote home-based falls prevention. In the Chippewa Valley, UW-Eau Claire students become Marshfield Clinic Volunteers for our Community Connections Team program and refer patients to community resources for food, shelter, transportation, afterschool care, and other social needs.
In 2014, MCHS took a big step forward in its commitment to volunteerism by agreeing to provide leadership for Volunteer Wisconsin, an association that provides education, training, consultation, and other resources to promote the use of volunteers to meet needs and improve health across the state.
As we close out 2016, it is exciting to see volunteerism flourish across the system of care. It is equally exciting to acknowledge that each volunteer initiative is possible due to collaboration with coalitions and nonprofit organizations in local communities. During the last year, CCO-supported programs worked with more than
4,000
individual volunteers who provided over 40,000 hours of service valued at nearly
$1 million. This selfless service
is particularly important during hard economic times as more individuals seek assistance for basic human needs. Please join us in thanking all of these wonderful volunteers who serve as a priceless resource to extend our reach within communities, act as powerful agents of change, and promote positive health outcomes.
As always, please
the CCO e-Bulletin with others that you believe may be interested. Previous editions of the e-Bulletin are archived on the
CCO website.
If you would like hard copies of our annual report or if you have suggestions for future editions, questions, or concerns, please contact
Becky Wagner
and she will put you in touch with the person best able to respond - your feedback is always welcome!
Thank you for your interest in MCHS community engagement and community health improvement efforts.
Ronda Kopelke, Director
Marshfield Clinic Center for Community Outreach
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 Volunteer Opportunities Across the System of Care
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CCO supports numerous opportunities for volunteerism across the system of care, ranging from youth engagement to falls prevention in the elderly and everything in between. Programs include:
- Independent and Upright
- Healthy Lifestyles-Marshfield Area Coalition
- Community Connections Team
- Marshfield Area Coalition for Youth
- Marshfield Clinic Youth Net
- Marshfield Clinic AmeriCorps
- Volunteer Wisconsin
A brief overview of each program is provided below and we encourage you to reach out to us to ask questions about anything that piques your interest.
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Independent and Upright
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
more than one in four older people fall each year and 20% of such falls result in an injury that can make it difficult for a person to get around, do every day activities, or live on their own. Fortunately, falls in the elderly are preventable and the Independent and Upright falls prevention program in Merrill works with community volunteers to reduce risks and maintain independence for the elderly. Volunteers meet with seniors to identify and work to address risk factors for falling in the home through activities such as removing throw rugs, improving lighting, or installing grab bars in the bathroom.
Referrals to Independent and Upright come from Marshfield Clinic Merrill Center providers, family members, and friends. Since 2015, Marshfield Clinic volunteers have conducted 72
home visits and reduced fall risks in seniors' homes by
70%
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Healthy Lifestyles-Marshfield Area Coalition
The goal of the Healthy Lifestyles-Marshfield Area Coalition is to enhance community efforts
related to healthy eating and active living. The coalition would not exist without its volunteer members. In 2016, over 181 volunteers contributed
670
hours to member activities, including:
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Community Connections Team
A person's health is impacted by a number of factors that are not traditionally addressed in the medical setting. Community Connections Team (CCT) works to address these needs by referring patients to community resources for food, housing, clothing, utilities, and other basic needs. Through a collaboration with UW-Eau Claire, CCT began at the Marshfield Clinic Eau Claire Center in 2015 and recently expanded to the Chippewa Falls Dental Center, relying on volunteers to provide services. Patients that screen positive for social needs during a medical or dental visit are referred to volunteers located within the clinic to discuss patient-specific needs and relevant local resources.
Since April 2015, CCT has identified over 1,500
patients with unmet social needs.
Fifty-five
Marshfield Clinic volunteers, the majority of whom are University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students, have contributed over 3,400 volunteer hours.
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The
Marshfield Area Coalition for Youth (MACY) supports youth substance abuse prevention efforts in a variety of ways. With support from CCO and coalition members representing more than
40 Marshfield area organizations. MACY has roughly
200 active coalition members and community partners who volunteer to support coalition efforts in a variety of ways, including:
- Prescription Drug Take Back Events
- Parents Who Host Lose the Most Human Billboard
- Post Prom Lock-In
- Marshfield Area Parent Network Presentations
- Drug Task Force Speakers Bureau Presentations
- Drug Task Force booth at the Central Wisconsin State Fair
No matter how individuals contribute to the coalition, their support is recognized and appreciated by MACY. During the past year, volunteers logged over 1,000 hours of service on behalf of MACY.
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Marshfield Clinic Youth Net
is a comprehensive afterschool program located in the former Sacred Heart School in Marshfield. Year-round programming is provided to over 300
students ages 8 to 18 with a focus on academic success, social/emotional development, and healthy active living. In 2016, approximately
30
volunteers contributed over
235
hours of time to Youth Net programs and participants.
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Marshfield Clinic AmeriCorps
The AmeriCorps national service program engages Americans in service to meet critical needs
in education, public safety, health, and the environment. Marshfield Clinic provides AmeriCorps members for community coalitions, afterschool programs, nonprofit organizations, and Tribal Nations across Wisconsin through four programs. During the 2015-2016 service year,
AmeriCorps members recruited a total of 4,121
volunteers from their local communities who provided over
52,000
hours of service across the state of Wisconsin.
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Volunteer Wisconsin
In addition to volunteer opportunities within the Marshfield Clinic service area, CCO staff also lead Volunteer Wisconsin, an association that promotes and supports effective volunteerism across the state. The overarching purpose of Volunteer Wisconsin is to increase the number of volunteers engaged in meaningful roles that address community needs. An interactive website serves as a repository for learning and sharing and helps individuals find volunteer opportunities at nonprofit organizations.
In 2016, Volunteer Wisconsin:
- Recognized 20 volunteers from 11 counties with a Volunteer Rock Star award.
- Sustained a 14-member steering committee of volunteers and representatives from a wide variety of local, regional, and state organizations.
- Documented 14,877 unique visitors on the Volunteer Wisconsin website.
- Posted 315 volunteer opportunities for nonprofit organizations located in communities that do not have the support of a local volunteer center.
- Provided 178 online referrals to individuals seeking volunteer opportunities.
- Maintained the Volunteer Wisconsin Facebook page, documenting over 350 posts and 389 "likes" during the year.
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I
mpact of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado &
Youth
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Over
550 representatives from communities across the MCHS service area attended presentations on the Impact of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado and Youth Engagement in Prevention. Jim Gerhardt, Vice President of Colorado's Drug Investigators Association, Sergeant of the Thornton Police Department, and member of the North Metro Drug Task Force, presented data and first hand experiences from Colorado since the state legalized marijuana in 2012.
"They said the roads were going to be safer, we'd have less people in prisons. We were going to have a lot of benefits from legalizing it supposedly, but that was theory and this is fact, and the fact is the problems didn't go away. In most respects it's gotten worse and we're dealing with significant problems because of it," explained Gerhardt.
Sergeant Gerhardt presented to students in grades 6-12 at Columbus Catholic School in Marshfield and again at a Marshfield Area Coalition for Youth (MACY) Parent Network event on Monday, October 17. He also spoke on Tuesday, October 18, at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau to individuals from over 28 counties with additional live-streaming of the event to locations in Medford and Duluth, MN.
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Walk to School Day
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Healthy Lifestyles-Marshfield Area Coalition (HL-MAC),
supported by Marshfield Clinic Center for Community Outreach,
partnered with the City of Marshfield,
Marshfield Noon Rotary, parents, students, National Guard, the School District of Marshfield, and Columbus Catholic Schools to celebrate Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 5.
A host of volunteers from partner organizations and Marshfield Clinic AmeriCorps members walked with elementary students, distributed stickers, and encouraged students on the way to school. Ocean Spray donated 2,400 pouches of Craisins®, enough for each student to receive a serving!
Walk to School Day is an annual event aimed at building awareness of the need for walkable and bikable communities and safe routes for children to get to and from school. The HL-MAC supports this program as a way for children to get more physical activity. For more information about Walk to School Day or other physical activity programs contact Laura Zelenak, Marshfield Clinic Center for Community Outreach
via
email or phone 715-221-8400.
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Healthy Lifestyles Network
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T
he regional
Healthy Lifestyles Network
was formed by CCO and encompasses 16 counties
in the MCHS service area. The Network provides coalitions with the opportunity to stay abreast of current local, state, and national trends; network with other coalitions; share best practices, tools, and resources; and analyze "what's working" in other communities.
At the September meeting, Steve Elliott, Dane County YMCA, provided an overview of health policy and health-related issues to watch in the upcoming legislative session. Representatives of healthTIDE, a statewide obesity prevention organization, discussed collective impact strategies to engage diverse champions and partners to realize better health outcomes. Network members shared successes and discussed challenges they are facing in their communities.
For more information about the Healthy Lifestyles Network,
email
Laura Zelenak or call 715-221-8400.
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A
meriCorps Opening Ceremony
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The Statewide AmeriCorps Opening Ceremony was held Friday, October 7 at the Devil's Head Resort in Merrimac, WI. Over
400 AmeriCorps members from across the state attended, including 60 from Marshfield Clinic. The opening ceremony included member development sessions, the member swearing ceremony, and an amazing motivational session led by actor Mark Lindquist of LOST, Hawaii 5-O, and the movie Battleship. Mark, a former AmeriCorps member, pumped up the members for their coming year of service and gave them some great advice!
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Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention Trainings
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Health Educator Jennifer Smith and Program Assistant Nikki Podevels completed
six Question, Persuade, Refer suicide prevention trainings for
222 students at Marshfield Middle School. Just as people trained in CPR save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help.
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Welcoming the Newest Members of Our Staff
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Trevor Begin was hired to manage the Community Connections Team
program that trains UW-Eau Claire students and other community members to serve as volunteer community health workers and connect our patients with community resources to help with basic needs, such as food, clothing, and utilities. Trevor has a Bachelor of Science degree with a Criminal Justice concentration and a Master of Social Work degree. Prior to this experience, he provided mental health case management services in Michigan. In his free time, he enjoys spending quality time with his fiancé and family, and enjoys all things outside, including hiking, hunting, camping, kayaking, and walking his dog. Maintaining friendships and getting involved in the community are also important to him.
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Rebecca Borre
was hired as our newest Administrative Secretary. She recently graduated from Mid-State Technical College in Wisconsin Rapids with degrees in Administrative Professional and Business Management. Returning to school as a non-traditional student had its challenges, but it is one of her biggest personal accomplishments. She was born and raised in Wisconsin Rapids and currently resides there with her boyfriend and two cats, Sebastian and Saphira. She is excited to begin her journey with CCO!
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Meagan Pichler was hired as a health educator to support substance abuse prevention with Northwoods Coalition.  Meagan was raised in Green Bay and recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse with a degree in Community Health Education and a minor in Ethnic and Racial Studies. At a young age under the guidance of her father, Meagan was immersed in diverse cultural settings by volunteering at the local emergency homeless shelter, coaching Special Olympics, and leading service trips all over the country. Through these experiences, Meagan recognized various community needs and later discovered a passion for substance abuse prevention through an internship with multiple coalitions that helped her see the effectiveness of collaboration among community members working towards common goals.
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Rita Young
was hired to help support the Marshfield Clinic Youth Net Program. She began as a Youth Net mentor in July 2013 and has served as an AmeriCorps member since 2014. Through her years with us, Rita has found a passion for working with children and families. In her new role, Rita will provide case management services to 4th and 5th graders at Youth Net. She is a native of Buffalo, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a degree in English.
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Community Health Improvement: Bridging Health Care and Communities
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