SENIOR — Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez stopped by Douglas County on Friday, May 3, to connect with students, the medical community and nature.
At Superior High School, Rodriguez spoke to students in civics and government classes about the importance of voting.
“What I talked to them about is the age group least likely to vote is the 18- to 25-year-olds sitting in that room,” Rodriguez said. “So if they want to have a say in what their future holds, they need to register to vote and they need to vote in every election.”
At Essentia Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Superior, the focus was on how to recruit and retain health care workers.
“As chair of the Health Care Workforce Task Force, I travel all over Wisconsin, talking to different health systems, trying to understand what the challenges are and what solutions they are working on. We’ve been trying to be able to attract (and) retain health care workers here,” said Rodriguez, who has a clinical background in public health. “And Essentia Health is working on great things. And if we can cross-influence some of those ideas across the state, I think it’s going to be very interesting for the task force to be able to move forward.”
According to the Wisconsin Hospital Association’s 2024 Wisconsin Healthcare Workforce Report, Wisconsin’s registered nurse workforce falls far short of the projected 4,000 annual growth needed to meet demand over the next decade.
Essentia Health Chief Nurse Rhonda Kazik told the lieutenant governor that Superior Hospital has one of the highest turnover rates in the nation, with a 3% turnover rate at Superior Hospital, compared to an average of 6% for all Essentia System facilities. he said.
“And today, we posted a position and within eight hours, 10 people applied. That didn’t happen a year ago,” Kazik said.
She attributes that to great leadership and initiatives such as hiring two full-time nurse retention employees in 2022 who will devote their time to caring for their caregiver colleagues. When you have happy staff, your patients will be happier, Kazik said. It also improves interpersonal relationships throughout the hospital.
“One of the things we’ve heard from different hospitals in the region is that if we can admit students, we have a great culture here and students often stay,” Rodriguez said.
An ongoing program brings University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire nursing students to senior hospitals to practice leadership.
“So they’re discovering other aspects of health care and new opportunities as RNs,” said Adrian Radovich, director of nursing at Essentia Health St. Paul Hospital. Mary’s Hospital in Superior.
Rodriguez said Wisconsin has made significant investments in health care workers, but the state can always do better.
“I wanted to mention the other thing I mentioned, Medicaid expansion, because it’s important, especially for rural health,” Rodriguez said. “Wisconsin is currently one of only 10 states that has not expanded Medicaid nationwide, and we would get nearly $2 billion or more over two years to invest in health care in Wisconsin. ”
Hospital Director Kim Pearson also mentioned the need for a next of kin law in Wisconsin, which is being promoted by the Wisconsin Hospital Association. Currently, a signed power of attorney is required to make care decisions in Wisconsin, even for next of kin. If a guardian is not available, a court hearing is required to appoint a guardian, and the person must remain in the hospital until that hearing is completed. That could take up beds needed by other patients, Pearson said.
“Every time I go to a different hospital system or a different clinic, I learn something new. And I really like being able to sit around a table and talk to people,” Rodriguez said.
Different health systems, including rural, urban, and tribal lands, have unique needs.
“And being able to bring that back to the medical task force is going to be very important to me,” the lieutenant governor said.
One of the programs she discussed was the nursing apprenticeship program that UW Health launched in 2023 in partnership with UW-Madison. Rodriguez said there were 200 applicants for the first group of 16 spots.
Essentia staff appreciated the Lieutenant Governor’s visit and her expertise.
“She’s been in the field and understands the work, especially in health care, the complexities and the changing challenges. So she’s very intuitive,” Kazik said.
“I like that she encourages innovation, which I think is huge,” Radovich said.
Preparing for a hike and then fishing
Mr. Rodriguez continued the medical conversation at Northwood Technical College, where tours and discussions about needs were planned. Her itinerary concluded with a hike at Pattison State Park in preparation for Saturday’s Governor’s Fishing Opener at Yellow Lake in Burnett County.
“A big bet with the governor that I’ll catch a bigger fish than him. Let’s see. I lost last year, but I hope this is my year,” Rodriguez said.
Last year and again this year, the bet with Gov. Tony Evers was on ice cream. According to the lieutenant governor, his favorite is McDonald’s vanilla soft serve ice cream.
“He loves ice cream cones,” Rodriguez said.