Mayo Clinic/UW-Eau Claire Innovation Health Challenge event set for Feb. 13

The Mayo Clinic/UW-Eau Claire Innovation Health Challenge, made possible by funding from a Workforce Innovation Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., kicked off last October when Mayo clinicians and staff presented a set of healthcare challenges to UW-Eau Claire faculty and students.

The health challenge pitch invited campus-based teams to collaborate, research and innovate to find solutions to these real patient care concerns. The teams worked to solve the following issues:

• Primary care staffing solutions using AI and machine learning.
• Bariatric patient gown redesign to better accommodate monitoring devices.
• Improved provider/surgeon face protection device for robotic surgery.
• AI solution for streamlining physical therapy appointment access.
• Fascia closure device.
• Improved infant and toddler delivery system for IV fluids.
• Tracking system for use of Mayo-owned wheelchairs inside Mayo facilities and during patient transport.

Dr. Carmen Manning, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences and a primary investigator on the grant, is pleased to share yet another way in which the university and Mayo Health System are advancing both patient care and professional opportunities for students through the work of this grant.

“We are pleased to be deepening our ongoing collaborations with Mayo Clinic Northwest,” Manning says. 

“Students across a range of disciplines have built innovation and entrepreneurship skills while working together to improve patient outcomes. We are excited to hear their presentations this week and see the outcomes of their work. This collaboration between Mayo Clinic Health System and the university has a direct effect on patient care and also will shape the future of healthcare through the impact on these future professionals.”

Dr. Ron Thacker, Entrepreneurial Education Program coordinator at Mayo Clinic Health System-Eau Claire, helped plan and execute the innovation challenge, and he speaks to the ways this first innovation challenge has met the goals for all participants.

“This initiative was designed to address pressing healthcare issues and spark greater interest in healthcare careers, particularly among young people,” Thacker says. “The event was open to participants from all academic disciplines, and we are happy to report that students from 16 different majors, some non-STEM disciplines, successfully collaborated on these important projects.”

Based on interest in this first-time initiative, Thacker says he sees strong potential to make this type of event a mainstay of the Mayo/UW-Eau Claire relationship.

“We were very encouraged by the enthusiasm from the start,” he says.

“Approximately 70 faculty and students attended our opening meeting, far exceeding our goal for the Innovation Health Challenge. If we can build upon this excitement, this event can become a valuable connection for years to come.”