Bluff path in autumn

A team of students from Concordia University of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin – Madison earned $3,000 for winning first place at a statewide health care case competition organized by Wisconsin Area Health Education Centers earlier this month.


The first-place team members, representing Northeastern AHEC were: Adam Koopmann (CUW, PharmD), Elizabeth Bajczyk (CUW, PharmD), Katie Pellino (UW-Madison, MPH), and Alexandra Restaino (CUW, OT).

The Northeastern AHEC team competed in the Wisconsin Dells against nine finalist teams chosen from 18 that applied. The teams were made up of students from private and public universities across the state with each of the seven Wisconsin AHEC regions represented.

The students were assigned a case study of a complicated situation, and worked together for two months to conduct an analysis of the efforts and opportunities at the hospital and within the community. The team then traveled to the Wisconsin Dells to present their findings and recommendations for enhanced interprofessional collaboration. On the competition day, each team presented its findings and recommendations for collaboration to a panel of judges.

The panel of judges consisted of leaders from multiple disciplines within Wisconsin’s health care community: Tammy L. Filipiak, Vice President of Clinical Development for Midwest Dental; R. Shelly Lancaster, Assistant Dean/Director of Pre-Licensure Programs for the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh; Kathy Loppnow, Education Director for Health Sciences at the Wisconsin Technical College system; Kristin Stearns, Executive Director of LakeShore Community Health Centers; and Hailey Bussan, WI AHEC Alumni and UW- Madison Associate Research Specialist.

Further recognition goes to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison Area Technical College, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee team taking second-place and a $2,000 cash prize, and to the Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College team taking third place and a $1,000 cash prize.

— This story is written by Kali Thiel, director of university communications for Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor. She may be reached at kali.thiel@cuw.edu or 262-243-2149.

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