Church Health Services Observes 20 Years
2/14/13 – Wednesday marked exactly 20 years since Church Health Services started providing primary care services to the poor and uninsured in Dodge County. Co-founder Lois Augustson says the Beaver Dam-based non-profit has been successful because of support from the community in terms of donations of time, money and talents. Earlier this year, Church Health Services moved from a shared room in the Trinity United Methodist Church to their own, handicapped accessible facility in the former St. Katharine’s Drexel Parish Center. Interim Executive Director Susan Osteen says the new location will allow them to expand to provide mental health services. This summer the group plans to offer dental clinics and in the future hope to provide eye clinics, foot clinics and chiropractic care. A dedication and open house in planned on Sunday, April 14 from noon until 2pm. More information is available on their new website www.churchclinic.org.
Walker To Turn Down Health Care Money
2/14/13 – Governor Scott Walker confirmed Wednesday afternoon that he will not propose a full expansion of Medicaid in Wisconsin under the Obama health reform law. The Republican Walker told the state’s largest business group at its meeting in Madison that he’ll turn down millions-of-dollars the federal government offered for virtually the entire expansion. Instead, he would reduce income limits down to the poverty level for programs like Badger-Care. Walker also wants to end a cap on a program that insures childless adults, and force those above the new income limits to buy insurance from the federal exchanges which take effect in 2014. Walker said he wants fewer people uninsured, but he also wants fewer people relying on government – and his so-called “hybrid” plan would accomplish both. Walker said it would reduce the state’s percentage of non-elderly adults without insurance from 14-percent to seven. And he said more new people would get Medicaid coverage than recent figures from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Those analysts said a full expansion of Medicaid would cause about 175-thousand extra people to sign up. Walker said the full expansion would have covered 252-thousand more – and his package doesn’t cover that much less, at 224-thousand-600. Democrats decried the Walker plan, which will go to the Legislature next week. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca called it “right wing extremism.” House Democrat Ron Kind of La Crosse said he could not imagine a better deal from Washington to pay for Medicaid coverage quote, “in my lifetime.”
Born Votes To Exempt Vets From Drug Database
2/14/13 – Wisconsin senators will be the next to decide whether veterinarians should not have to report the prescriptions they issue to a statewide database. The Assembly approved the exemption this week, and sent the bill to the Senate. A 2009 law requires all 12-hundred of the state’s drug dispensers to report their transactions, so it’s easier for police to arrest thieves who steal painkillers like Oxycontin. The state Veterinary Medical Association failed in the last session to get an exemption from the reporting requirement. They say very few people abuse drugs meant for animals. They also say the reporting would be expensive, because many veterinarians don’t keep the electronic records that most pharmacies do. Representative Mark Born of Beaver Dam called it “crippling government regulation” that would have left veterinarians on the hook for nearly $7-million dollars. State officials are behind on establishing the database, but they expect it to go online soon.
Inmate Gets Another 14-months in Prison
2/14/13 – An inmate at the Waupun Correctional Institution will spend an additional 14 months behind bars for spitting on a corrections officer. Arthur Hill entered a “no contest” plea Wednesday to a felony assault charge for the incident last June. This is the second time in the past year that Hill has had his prison term extended. He had four years added to his sentence last July for the December 2010 vandalism of the secure ward of Waupun Hospital. The 26-year-old stood on a toilet in his cell, wrapped a plastic bag around the sprinkler heads and jumped off while yelling, “let’s make it rain.” Hill put blankets under the door allowing water to pool in the cell, which sustained over $4800 in damage. Another $38,000 in water damage was reported to the ICU located one floor below the secure ward in the hospital.
Kratz Strikes Deal to Avoid Federal Trial
2/14/13 – A sexual assault victim will get some kind of settlement, after she was harassed by the D-A who prosecuted her abusive boyfriend. Former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz has avoided a federal court trial set for next week, by striking a deal with Stephanie Van Groll. The terms were not immediately disclosed. Kratz sent over 30 racy text messages to try and strike up an affair with Van Groll, while he was prosecuting her boyfriend. He was never charged, after Van Groll called police. She later filed a federal lawsuit claiming that her civil rights were violated. Kratz tried but failed to get the case dropped. The texts were sent in 2009, but it didn’t hit the news until the following summer. Once it did, other women came forward to say that Kratz sexually harassed them. Former Governor Jim Doyle had started proceedings to remove Kratz when he resigned. He later became a private lawyer in the Fox Valley – but he filed for bankruptcy 10 months ago, and at last word, he moved to Florida. Meanwhile, the Kratz saga is not over yet. The state Office of Lawyer Regulation recommended that he have his state law license suspended for six months. Kratz said a reprimand would be in order, saying he’s been punished enough. The case remains pending in the State Supreme Court.
Fitzgerald Won’t Support Tax on Mines
2/14/13 – The Wisconsin Senate’s majority leader says he will not support any tax on mining companies, as part of a bill to encourage a new iron ore mine in the far north. Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau told members of the state’s largest business group yesterday (Wed) that some members of his own Republican Party want a so-called “tonnage tax.” It would force mining companies to pay fees according to how much in minerals they extract. Fitzgerald refused to say who in his caucus supported the tax. But he said there’s no way Governor Scott Walker will raise any taxes – and it would be a signal that lawmakers don’t want mining. Fitzgerald said some Republicans fear that a mine may not generate enough other tax revenues, so they’re pushing for a tonnage tax to make sure local communities get something. Republicans are trying for the second time in two years to get Gogebic Taconite to build a new iron ore mine in Ashland and Iron counties, by relaxing certain environmental protections and preventing public challenges to D-N-R mining decisions. The G-O-P says the state and the region badly needs jobs, while Democrats say it would hurt the environment too much.
Roggensack Forced to Answer Questions About Court Strife
2/14/13 – State Supreme Court Justice Pat Roggensack was put on the defensive yesterday, as fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley renewed concerns about her safety less than a week before Roggensack stands for re-election. Bradley submitted a court filing which said she was given added police security over two months before Justice David Prosser put her in a choke-hold in a June 2011 altercation. Prosser was not charged in the incident. But Bradley said that to this day, she and Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson lock themselves in their offices when working after hours because they remain concerned about Prosser’s behavior. Roggensack’s been trying to downplay the court’s internal strife in her campaign, calling it “gossip at its worst.” She said yesterday that the court has had no major outbursts since the 2011 blowup. Roggensack said she also works nights and weekends without locking her door – and if there’s a security plan, she wants to know more about it. Her campaign consultant, Brandon Scholz, said the timing of the liberal Bradley’s court filing was political. If Roggensack loses in Tuesday’s primary, the Supreme Court would lose its conservative majority.
Bradley denied trying to sway voters, while both of Roggensack’s primary opponents expressed new criticisms. Vince Megna said Bradley quote, “confirms the sickness of our court.” Ed Fallone said Roggensack should retract her comments that everything’s fine, and apologize to Bradley. In her court ruling, Bradley withdrew from a possible ethics ruling against Prosser, saying she was a direct witness to the behavior in question. A majority of the justices have now withdrawn – and it does not leave enough to rule on a complaint against Prosser from the state’s Judicial Commission.
Hacker Gains Access to Personal Information on Froedtert Servers
2/14/13 – A hacker might have obtained personal information from 43-thousand people treated at hospitals-and-clinics affiliated with Milwaukee’s Froedtert Health system. Froedtert said yesterday that a staff member’s computer received a virus which allowed the hacker to get files on various patients. Less than three-percent had Social Security numbers. The other stolen data included medical history numbers, diagnoses, clinical information, and things like names and phone numbers. Froedtert said it had no proof that patients’ information was compromised. But the medical group sent out letters this week to those affected. The patients were treated at Froedtert’s main hospital in Wauwatosa and facilities in Menomonee Falls and West Bend.
