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We strive every day to provide inclusive and affirming care for our LGBTQ+ patients and families. UW Health is honored to once again receive the designation of “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” in the 2022 Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI).
In an effort to support UW Health’s dedicated and talented staff, we will be increasing our minimum rate of pay for Wisconsin operations to $17 per hour, effective May 2022. This change will ensure we can bring in the new, highly skilled and driven staff we need to support our health system and care for our community. This change will affect more than 200 job titles and over 20% of the workforce at UW Health.
University Hospital was recently named among the nation’s top performing cardiovascular hospitals by Fortune/IBM Watson Health. This is the 12th consecutive year that University Hospital has been recognized for providing some of the best cardiac care in the country. The IBM Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study is an annual, objective, quantitative study that identifies the nation's best providers of cardiovascular care, based on publicly available data and a balanced look at clinical, operational, and financial performance metrics. This year's winners were selected from more than 950 U.S. hospitals with cardiovascular service lines and were recognized for superior clinical outcomes in key performance areas.
Mitchell Weinberg-Kinsey hopes to become a physical therapist one day. He says the UW Health Nursing Assistant Apprenticeship Program was a great way for him to get the patient care experience he needed. He finds it rewarding to help people do things that we otherwise take for granted.
When Emelle Holmes-Drammeh was in fifth grade, she would read encyclopedias from cover to cover -- fascinated with the human body and how it worked. Now as a physician assistant (PA) in obstetrics and gynecology, she enjoys advocating for all patients through the complexities of the healthcare system. Emelle says her patients have taught her that we all have a lot in common in terms of anatomy and the disease processes that we may experience. But we differ in the communities we come from and the life experiences we have had. All these things make us who we are. “I’ve learned that when I see a patient who presents with pelvic pain, and all work-up has been negative, I must look at her as more than another young woman with pelvic pain. There is so much more to them than their chief complaint. By tapping into who they are as people, understanding their experiences and treating them holistically, we can actually heal their spirits as well as their ailments.”
Before Christian Shepler applies to medical school, he wanted to gain firsthand experience working in a hospital with patients. The UW Health Nursing Assistant Training Program has prepared him well for a rewarding career in healthcare.
A UW Health mother-daughter duo are not only graduating together, but also starting their careers in patient care together. Ariadna Torres Castro was inspired to get into healthcare by her mother. They both have a passion for helping people and that’s what interested them in the UW Health Nursing Assistant Apprenticeship Program.
The national statistics paint a clear picture: There is a very serious nursing shortage in this country. UW Health has weathered this national nursing shortage better than most systems. -UW Health has hired approximately 300 nurses in the last two years. -The current nurse turnover rate at UW Health is around 10%, which ranks well below the national average of 17%. -Staff to patient ratios at UW Health are among the best in the nation. Despite those positive statistics, UW Health still has significant staffing needs. As of October 2021, UW Health has more than 3,400 nurses on staff and around 300 nursing openings. UW Health offers a generous compensation and benefits package, and the health system’s continuing education program has provided approximately $600,000 in tuition reimbursements for employees in nursing positions in the past year (September 2020-September 2021).
Like many nurse practitioners, Loyda Braithwaite had a desire to work in healthcare since childhood. She began her nursing career in Panama before meeting her husband, who was an American Peace Corps volunteer. They fell in love and moved to the United States. Combined, she has more than 15 years of experience in cancer care in her native country and the United States. Loyda enjoys and celebrates the happy moments with her patients and families, but other times are more difficult, particularly when patients are nearing end of life.
When Emelle Holmes-Drammeh was in fifth grade, she would read encyclopedias from cover to cover, fascinated with the human body and how it worked. Now as a physician assistant (PA) in obstetrics and gynecology, she enjoys advocating for all patients through the complexities of the healthcare system. She’s also a PA preceptor, leading OB skills labs and she serves on 2 diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) committees, one for PAs and the other for OB-GYN. Emelle is proud of the work UW Health is doing with DEI in dismantling healthcare disparities and racism. “We are doing important work but we need to do more. We all need to take a step back and really check ourselves for those biases that we do not even recognize we have. We have to check them at the door of every patient’s room and give them the same level of care that we would want our own family members to receive.”
