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The study said the goal of the institute would be to improve access to health care and develop businesses and products to enhance the region's competitive edge and diversify an economy that has relied on manufacturing and a growing service industry.
The consortium hired Tom Rainey of Rainey & Associates, Hanover, N.H., and David Ward of NorthStar Economics of Madison, who conducted research in the La Crosse area. The two shared the study's results Wednesday with more than 50 representatives of higher education, health care and other area businesses.
"A constant theme was creating a better way to connect with Minnesota and Iowa," said Deb Suchla, the consortium's executive director. "Local researchers talked about developing a network."
The consortium will meet in late September to discuss setting up a health science research institute, she said. The group needs to develop a comprehensive business plan in forming the institute, said Lee Rasch, Western Wisconsin Technical College president and consortium president.
The study identified a need for expanded educational programs to meet work-force shortages in nursing, radiation therapy, medical lab technology, pharmacy, occupational therapy and physical therapy.
"Nursing shows up as the most consistent area of need," the study said.
There also is a need for a good transition from associate to baccalaureate degree programs and graduate-level degree and continuing education programs for health-care professionals, the study showed. The study said these programs need to be available in more rural areas.
Researchers said the La Crosse area trails both state and national levels of college graduates in the work force.
Rainey and Ward suggested expanding educational partnerships and collaborations in the region.
The study found that most of the educational programs have been confined to the founding members of the consortium — Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, Franciscan Skemp/Mayo Health Systems, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Viterbo University and Western Wisconsin Technical College.
Researchers said they found consortium partners were not well networked into a statewide system of technology and product development. They suggested a center of excellence focused on health research and built around regional strengths spanning a 23-county region in western Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa.
The study also showed a need to provide clinical sites and field experiences for health-care workers and special simulation laboratories, especially for undergraduate nursing programs in the region.
The consortium received a $51,280 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development and Administration for the study. The grant was matched by funding from the five consortium partners — and Winona State University, the city of La Crosse, CenturyTel, the La Crosse School District and Northern Engraving.
