Small Street Journal: June 1, 2018

The Community Connections Team (CCT) program, a partnership between Marshfield Clinic Health System and UW-Eau Claire, has received a $1 million grant from the Wisconsin Partnership Program administered by UW-Madison. Trevor Begin of Marshfield Clinic is manager of the CCT program, which helps area residents overcome challenges in accessing health care and related services and improves their health outcomes. The grant will make it possible for CCT to help more people in the Chippewa Valley and beyond. UW-Eau Claire students volunteer as CCT community health workers, and the CCT program itself stemmed from a UW-Eau Claire University Honors Program civic engagement course taught by Dr. Ruth Cronje, professor of English. 

Dr. Tali Lee, a UW-Eau Claire professor of biology, is among the researchers in a 20-year study featured recently in the prestigious journal Science. Lee has been a part of the research project, which also includes faculty from the University of Minnesota, since it began in 1998. The study found that grassland plants are responding in unexpected ways to increased carbon dioxide in the air, a finding that could influence whether land ecosystems will continue to absorb as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they do currently. Fifteen UW-Eau Claire students have worked as interns on the project. The Science article can be read online.

UW-Eau Claire business students Shauna Parish and Brittany Haubner are among a select pool of students worldwide accepted to participate in the Global X-Culture Conference and Symposium July 29-Aug. 4 in Macerata, Italy. They are the first UW-Eau Claire students ever accepted to the symposium, an invite based on scores from a semesterlong project for a cross-cultural leadership course taught by Dr. Longzhu Dong, a UW-Eau Claire assistant professor of management and marketing. More than 5,000 students worldwide participated in the X-Culture project, and just 150 from that group were selected to participate in the international conference. The X-Culture project combines the efforts of international business students, instructors from 140 universities in 40 countries, and global businesses interested in harnessing the budding expertise of students in solving their real-life business concerns.

Winona National Bank will change its name to WNB Financial. The change will take effect Monday, June 25, 2018. Winona National Bank has served the Winona area since 1874, establishing a commitment of service and dedication to the community. In its long-term objective of continued growth, the Bank believes a new name will be beneficial in achieving recognition outside Winona. There has been no change in Bank leadership or ownership, and the Bank’s headquarters will remain in Winona.

The Eau Claire Express Employment Professionals territory recently named Nicole Kauphusman as territory general manager.  In this position, Kauphusman will partner with clients and business professionals to build relationships and help create and implement workforce solutions. Kauphusman previously managed the Winona, MN Express Employment Professionals Office. Before joining Express, Kauphusman worked as a human resource business oartner for Inland/In*Tech in La Crosse.  She received a bachelor's degree in marketing with an emphasis in human resource management from the College of Business Administration at UW - La Crosse and is currently pursuing her MBA at Western Governor's University.  She is SHRM-SCP Certified. 

Prevea Health now offers comprehensive ear, nose and throat (ENT) care for adults and children in the Chippewa Valley. Prevea ENT care is provided by Dr. Maynard Hansen, a board-certified otolaryngologist. He sees patients on the fifth floor of HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital and at Prevea Health Family Medicine in Eau Claire. Hansen also specializes in pediatric foreign body removal, minimally-invasive sinus surgery and works in coordination with Prevea Audiology.

Two registered nurses with HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals recently earned advanced certifications. Teresa Loftsgaarden, an HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital oncology nurse navigator at the Prevea cancer center, was honored with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire “Excellence in Clinical Practice Award.” According to the university, recipients of this award exhibit outstanding clinical practice through their standards of care, patient advocacy, holistic care, collaboration and coordination of care, leadership, inquiry and critical thinking, ethics and values. Hannah Schroeder, a nurse educator at HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals, earned her Nurse Educator Certification. She also recently completed her master of science in nursing degree with an emphasis in nursing education from Capella University.
 
Seven scholarship recipients were named at the recent HSHS Sacred Heart Foundation annual Caritas Guild dinner. The annual donor event pays tribute to individuals and organizations that provide extraordinary philanthropic support for the health care ministry of HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital. The scholarships are intended to promote the highest level of patient care by providing hospital colleagues with assistance to attend academic programs or conferences to advance their clinical education. 
 

• Kristy Terry, a registered nurse in critical care, received a scholarship from the Brain and Spine Educational Enhancement Endowment. A recipient must work with patients in neurology or neurosurgery, which includes stroke, critical care, rehabilitation and emergency services, nursing, surgery, or technical support.  
• Rosalie St. Pierre, a cardiac sonographer, received a scholarship from the Michael D. Markin & Patricia J. Markin Children's Fund. A recipient must work in an area that enhances pediatric care and pediatric counseling programs for children at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital. 
• Ondrea Bryans, a behavioral health activity specialist and adolescent tutor, also received a scholarship from the Michael D. Markin & Patricia J. Markin Children's Fund. 
• Carly Overgard, a registered nurse and nurse educator, also received a scholarship from the Michael D. Markin & Patricia J. Markin Children's Fund. 
• Hannah Schroeder, a registered nurse and nurse educator, received a scholarship from the Annabel Bauer Surgical Nurse Education Endowment. The endowment helps to fund academic programs, seminars and continuing education for surgical nurses. 
• Travis Christman, director of cardiology, progressive and intensive care, received a scholarship from the Annabel Bauer Cardiac Nursing Award Endowment. The endowment benefits and supports further education and technical training for nurses who work with cardiac patients. 
• Sari Meska, a registered nurse in cardiology and progressive care, also received a scholarship from the Annabel Bauer Cardiac Nursing Award Endowment.