UW System leaders announce $90M health care professional training budget request

(The Center Square) – The University of Wisconsin system plans to ask for an additional $90 million of funding to use toward training 35,000 new healthcare professionals over a 10-year span in its next budget request.

That request will go to the state’s new governor, elected Nov. 3, for the state’s next biennial budget that will into effect July 1.

The universities announced the initiative Monday without further details on how that funding will be spent, whether it be on instruction, facilities, materials, laboratories or a combination of those costs.

“When healthcare professionals are in short supply, it can be harder to get an appointment, harder to get timely care, and harder for communities to thrive,” Universities of Wisconsin Interim President Renée Wachter said in a statement. “This proposal strengthens the healthcare professional pipeline and involves all UW universities to make it happen.”

Wachter and a group of university presidents will als...