A continuing effort to help “medically underserved” communities in Wisconsin. It’s a mission to provide more physicians to rural and underserved areas, according to Karen McKeown, Administrator of the Division of Public Health, who says medically underserved areas are those where people have a hard time seeing providers.
“Sometimes it means that you have to wait longer to see a local physician or provider. Sometimes it means that you have to travel far away, ” said McKeown in explaining the impact of living in a medically underserved community.
This week, the state Department of Health Services awarded more than three $3 million in grants to six health organizations to establish new Graduate Medical Education programs. “The design of this is to set up training opportunities for physicians in rural areas, and hopefully they’ll want to stay and practice and serve those underserved populations,” said McKeown.
The new resident physicians will provide health care services at hospitals and clinics in rural and underserved areas in over 20 counties.