by Bob Hague | Dec 9, 2022
State Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake is stepping down. Timberlake has headed DHS since January of 2021, when Governor Tony Evers appointed her to succeed Andrea Palm, who left to serve in the Biden administration. Like Palm,...
by Bob Hague | Feb 6, 2023
Governor Tony Evers has appointed Kirsten Johnson to lead the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Johnson’s appointment as DHS Secretary fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Karen Timberlake in December. Johnson, who served as Milwaukee Health...
by Bob Hague | Aug 25, 2022
Some Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature are calling for the release of some funding, from Wisconsin’s share of an opioid settlement. Last week, the Republican co-chairs of the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee rejected a plan submitted by the state Department...
by Bob Hague | Jan 13, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court has halted the Biden administration’s vaccination-or-testing requirement on large employers. Conservative Justices expressed doubt that there’s legal authority for such a broad mandate. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers wasn’t surprised by...
by Bob Hague | Dec 20, 2021
Wisconsinites are again being urged to take action to slow the spread of COVID-19. Health Services Secretary designee Karen Timberlake on Monday issued a statewide advisory in the face of rising new cases, hospitalizations and deaths. “We each have a role to play, and...
by Bob Hague | Dec 8, 2021
Federal support is being requested for Wisconsin hospitals inundated with COVID-19 patients. With barely over 56 percent of the state fully vaccinated for COVID-19, hospitals are critically short of beds, and are also contending with staffing shortages. Health...
by Bob Hague | Dec 2, 2021
COVID-19 patients – largely unvaccinated – are straining Wisconsin hospitals. Dr. Ashok Rai, president and CEO of Prevea Health. “The majority of what’s overwhelming us right now . . . of the intubated patients, the ICU patients are the unvaccinated,” Dr. Ashok...
by Bob Hague | Jan 18, 2021
President elect Joe Biden has named Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm to his administration. Governor Tony Evers’ office confirmed Monday that Palm will be nominated to be Deputy Secretary of the U.S Department of Health and Human...
by Bob Hague | May 19, 2016
There was more confirmation this week of Wisconsin’s dysfunctional drinking culture. The news that 12 of the nation’s 20 “drunkest” cities are in Wisconsin may draw predictable jokes about partying and “drinking Wisconsinbly,” but...
by Bob Hague | Mar 27, 2014
Wisconsin county health rankings are out. The rankings are a joint project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, where Karen Timberlake is director. “Health – how long we live, how well we live,...
by Bob Hague | Sep 26, 2013
Wisconsin residents are living longer but not feeling better. A new report by researchers at the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute says the state’s progress in achieving longer and healthier lives for residents is a very mixed bag. The...
by Andrew Beckett | Apr 4, 2012
A new report indicates St. Croix County has the healthiest residents in the state. The study is from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, which looked at factors such as access to health care, unemployment, and density of fast food restaurants in...
by Andrew Beckett | Jun 9, 2010
Sign-ups started June 1st for the BadgerCare Plus Basic program, which is designed to help provide a basic level of coverage to those on the waiting list for the BadgerCare Plus Core plan. So far, state Health Secretary Karen Timberlake says about 350 people have...
by Andrew Beckett | Jun 8, 2010
The Department of Health Services is launching a media blitz to raise awareness of the statewide smoking ban. The ban on smoking in most public spaces goes into effect on July 5th, and DHS Secretary Karen Timberlake says a series of radio, print, and internet-based...
by Brian Moon | Jun 4, 2010
Policymakers, health care leaders, advocates and cancer survivors gathered in Madison Thursday to help kick off a five year Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan. State Department of Health Services Secretary Karen Timberlake said the plan is designed to provide...
by Brian Moon | May 13, 2010
Future battles and past victories were highlighted at the first ever Wisconsin Women’s Health Policy Summit. Advocates, medical practitioners and political figures gathered in Madison for the event which tackled issues such as substance abuse, cancer, economic...
by Jackie Johnson | Feb 9, 2010
Up to 200 county officials are in the capital city discussing key legislative issues. Mark O’Connell is Executive Director of Wisconsin Counties Association. “Clearly the number one issue, I think, with probably every organization in the state is the...
by Andrew Beckett | Jan 14, 2010
With $5.9-billion-dollars spent this fiscal year, Wisconsin’s Medicaid programs are one of the largest expenditures in the current state budget. As a result, state Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) is among several lawmakers who want an audit done on that...
by Andrew Beckett | Dec 18, 2009
State health officials say they are working to cut costs, despite a growing demand for medical assistance in Wisconsin. With many Wisconsinites still out of work, families are turning to government-assisted programs for medical coverage. Department of Health Services...
by WRN Contributor | Dec 16, 2009
Wisconsin might have to cut over a billion-dollars from Badger-Care Plus and its other health programs for the poor-and-disabled. A shortage of tax revenues has created a huge deficit for Medicaid, at a time when more people are turning to government coverage as they...
