For the City Times

MILWAUKEE – CREATE Portage County will receive $11,439 to support their ability to use 3D printing to produce personal protective equipment for healthcare professionals and first responders in central Wisconsin.

The funds were obtained through the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin (AHW) Endowment.

AHW recently announced the award of nearly $4.8 million in funding to 17 projects designed to support health care and community agencies in the fight to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus COVID-19 across Wisconsin.

“As part of our commitment to protect the health of people across Wisconsin, this emergency funding was announced to support immediate actions that focus on prevention, risk reduction, and minimizing the transmission of COVID-19,” said Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, director of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment and senior associate dean at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). “The projects selected are laudable in how they will address critical and urgent needs, reach vulnerable populations, and help minimize the spread of COVID-19 in our state.”

The 17 funded projects were selected through a competitive application and review process, and include efforts led by community agencies and MCW experts that will support outreach and communication to high-need populations in both rural and urban areas of Wisconsin, expand access to resources and care, and use innovative technologies and potential treatments to stop the spread.

“As health care providers, communities, and public health experts across Wisconsin strive to flatten the curve of the spread of COVID-19, this funding is greatly needed for the health and well-being of our citizens and communities that are living with this pandemic,” said John R. Raymond, Sr., MD, president and CEO of MCW, which is home to the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment.

The funded projects include 11 statewide efforts that will support positive impacts in communities across Wisconsin, as well as four projects in Milwaukee, one in central Wisconsin, and one in northern Wisconsin.

For a full listing, visit www.ahwendowment.org.