Health Care

Two UW-Platteville engineering students have designed a new device to help patients exercise in bed at a fraction of the cost of large-scale in-home rehabilitation set-ups. Working off an idea from mechanical engineering Assistant Professor Yang Chen, seniors Emily Milchuck and Sebastian Sellek spent the summer building a prototype of a device that allows patients to perform heel slides without leaving their beds. The device resembles a rowing machine and a leg press. The machine can move patients' legs on its own but can reduce the assistance if a patient is able to apply more force. Chen and her students hope to one day market the device for hundreds of dollars less than the in-bed and at-home rehabilitation machines currently available.

Revamped cybersecurity courses. New cultural training. Hands-on special education experience. Instructors across the UW-Platteville campus have used grants from the Provost and Academic Affairs Office to redesign curriculum in multiple disciplines over the last year, including cybersecurity training, launching a new cultural competence program and new approaches in special education. The grants are intended to enhance student learning in existing courses and enable instructors to teach or redesign courses outside of their regular duties.

UW-Platteville is addressing the healthcare gap in rural areas by training a new generation of physician assistants. Through a unique partnership with UW-Madison, students gain hands-on experience in local healthcare settings, preparing them to meet the growing needs of underserved communities.

After several years of planning, UW-Platteville's collaborative Master of Physician Assistant Studies program is officially open to applicants, with the first cohort scheduled to begin in summer 2023. The program will allow UW-Platteville students to earn a degree through UW-Madison’s nationally-recognized Master of Physician Assistant Studies program, while remaining on the UW-Platteville campus to complete the coursework.