Chippewa Valley Times

The Mayo Clinic and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire are set to host the Innovation Health Challenge event on February 13. This initiative, funded by a Workforce Innovation Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, began last October when Mayo clinicians and staff presented healthcare challenges to UW-Eau Claire faculty and students.

Campus-based teams were invited to collaborate on solutions for various patient care issues. These included primary care staffing solutions using AI, redesigning bariatric patient gowns, improving face protection devices for robotic surgery, streamlining physical therapy appointments with AI, developing a fascia closure device, creating an improved IV delivery system for infants and toddlers, and tracking Mayo-owned wheelchair usage.

Dr. Carmen Manning, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at UW-Eau Claire and a primary investigator on the grant, expressed satisfaction with the collaboration between the university and Mayo Health System. “We are pleased to be deepening our ongoing collaborations with Mayo Clinic Northwest,” Manning said. She highlighted that students have developed innovation skills while working together to improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Ron Thacker, Entrepreneurial Education Program coordinator at Mayo Clinic Health System-Eau Claire, helped organize the challenge. He noted that it aimed to address pressing healthcare issues and increase interest in healthcare careers among young people. “This initiative was designed to address pressing healthcare issues and spark greater interest in healthcare careers, particularly among young people,” Thacker stated.

Thacker reported participation from students across 16 different majors, including non-STEM disciplines. He sees potential for this event to become a regular feature of the Mayo/UW-Eau Claire partnership due to its initial success. “Approximately 70 faculty and students attended our opening meeting," he said. "If we can build upon this excitement, this event can become a valuable connection for years to come.”