Designer Claire Johnson Joins The Creative Company’s Culture of Story-Driven Experiences

FMI: Laura Gallagher
608.442.6336
laura@thecreativecompany.com

Designer Claire Johnson Joins The Creative Company’s Culture of Story-Driven Experiences

Madison, WI – The Creative Company is pleased to announce that Claire Johnson has joined the firm as a graphic designer.

Claire Johnson arrived at her current position by way of school and stage. Johnson began her career as a special education teacher. She first noticed her visual-communication skills while accommodating curriculum for students in special education programs – a talent for which she was tapped to train her industry peers. Johnson also brings a decade of leadership creating, designing, and developing stage costuming as she helped bring characters to life for the Verona Area Community Theatre where her family plays an active part.

Now, she brings her talent for engaging visuals and creating meaningful human connections to benefit The Creative Company’s clients. 

“We are thrilled Claire is joining our firm,” said Laura Gallagher, President and Founder of The Creative Company, “She’s a creative force whose leadership and expertise will be of tremendous value to everyone we work with. I’ve known Claire Johnson for 20 years and have seen the thoughtfulness she puts into all her creative endeavors. Her portfolio stands head and shoulders above her peers. We’re excited to share her talent with our clients.”

Claire’s new role at The Creative Company allows her to design story-driven experiences, including branding, websites, marketing templates, product design, wayfinding and experiential design.

“Knowing Laura and the team as I have, I was able to see firsthand the innovative and creative culture The Creative Company brings to our community and our state,” explained Claire Johnson. “When I began my search for a new role, I knew I wanted to work with a visionary company that would allow me to create unique visual experiences with a diversity of creative voices. The Creative Company was my first call and I’m so glad to be on the team.” 

Claire received her associate’s degree in Graphic Design from Madison Area Technical College. She also holds a bachelor of science from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Special Education and Teaching.

The Creative Company is a leading PR and marketing firm representing top nonprofits, businesses, and cooperatives, helping them evolve, promote, and protect their brands and reputations. The Creative Company is certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise by the State of Wisconsin and won 2022 Dane County Small Business of the Year.

Visit thecreativecompany.com for more information. To schedule a meeting with Claire Johnson, please email her at claire@thecreativecompany.com or call 608-442-6336 to schedule a free 30-minute consultation.

Study confirms Overture Center’s significant impact on the local economy

Madison, Wis. (May 3, 2023) — An economic and fiscal impact analysis by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Fiscal and Economic Research Center (FERC) reports Overture Center for the Arts contributed $34,480,000 to the Madison economy during its 2021/22 season, September 2021 through June 2022. Overture engaged in the economic impact study to establish a post-pandemic baseline for its activities.

“The analysis provides a baseline for us coming out of the pandemic,” said Chief Development and Communications Officer Emily Gruenewald. “Prior to our 18-month closure, Overture provided nearly 700,000 artistic experiences annually. In our first season open post-pandemic, Overture ramped up operations over a 9-month period, resulting in 288,150 artistic experiences. We felt it was important to conduct an economic survey during this limited season to track the recovery of the arts industry over the next few years. The last time Overture conducted an economic impact study was back in 2010, and it found the center contributed $28.1 million to the Madison economy. It’s encouraging to see that even in this reduced season Overture’s economic impact has grown to support our community. As we continue to reintroduce more programming in the 2022/23 season, we are seeing stronger attendance and participation, resulting in an even larger economic impact going forward.”

Overture Center’s economic impact comprises four categories of direct spending and the impact of each category. The direct spending comes from the cost of producing and running shows and events, the cost of maintenance and renovations, and ancillary purchases made by Madison tourists. The money that was directly spent in these four categories was then re-spent in multiple subsequent rounds. These subsequent rounds of spending are categorized as “indirect” spending. The sum of the direct and indirect rounds of spending is what constitutes Overture Center’s full economic impact on the Madison economy.

The direct spending was divided up into four distinct categories:

• Broadway: $2.52 million
• Resident Events: $2.50 million
• Non-Resident and Local Events: $680,000
• Operations: $28.80 million

“The importance of Overture Center to the economic health, vibrancy and overall vitality of downtown Madison cannot be overstated,” said Jason Ilstrup, Downtown Madison Inc. “Nearly every day, Overture Center welcomes thousands of guests to entertain, enlighten and wow, helping create an energy, spirit and sense of community downtown. Overture Center is at the heart of a successful downtown Madison now and into the future.”

Additional highlights from the 2021/22 study include:

• Ancillary spending by Overture Center visitors totaled $6,300,000.
• Nearly 53% of attendees were people who live outside the Madison area.
• Ninety-three percent of attendees from outside of Dane County said that attending a show/event at Overture Center was a “very important” factor in their decision to come to Madison.
• Overture Center visitors rented around 7,000 total hotel rooms and their annual hotel spending exceeds $1,000,000.
• Overture Center operations and events also resulted in visitor spending of $4.6 million at local restaurants, primarily located in downtown Madison.

Wisconsin Union Will Host Week of Activities for UW–Madison Graduates, Families to Celebrate Commencement

MADISON – “The living room” of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the Wisconsin Union, will be welcoming graduates, their families and friends for a week full of graduation activities and events at Memorial Union and Union South.

The fun starts with the Senior Class Office’s Senior Bash on May 6 from 5-8 p.m. at Memorial Union and the Memorial Union Terrace, complete with free games, arts and live music featuring DJ Nick Nice for the members of the Class of 2023. Graduating students are invited to dance, create crafts and commemorate their time together.

Grads-to-be can also head over to Wheelhouse Studios for the free opportunity to decorate their caps at Cappy Hour from May 6-10 between noon and 9 p.m. 

Graduates and their loved ones can enjoy open mic night on the Terrace on Wednesday, May 10, at 7 p.m. Additional free Terrace entertainment during graduation weekend include live rock covers from The Mersey Brothers featuring Sean Michael Dargan on Friday, May 12, at 7 p.m., and live soul music from Madison-based band Don’t Mess With Cupid on Saturday, May 13, at 7 p.m.

New graduates will be able to commemorate this exciting life event with a free professional photo on a big Terrace chair on May 13 at Union South from 10 a.m. – noon and at the Terrace from 2-4 p.m. These new alumni and their loved ones can also be some of the first people to snap photos at a new vibrant selfie station by the Sett in Union South, a display which will be up throughout the summer. 

Friends and family members are welcome to enjoy a livestream of Saturday’s bachelor’s, master’s and law degree commencement proceedings from der Rathskeller in Memorial Union or from the Sett in Union South. Several dining options will be available at both locations for patrons to enjoy made-to-order dishes and refreshing beverages. Seating for the indoor livestreams – and the 2,000 outdoor sunburst chairs on the Terrace – are on a first come, first served basis. Flowers, Badger gifts and other items, such as limited edition purple-and-teal mini Terrace chairs, will be available for purchase at Memorial Union and Union South Badger Markets.

“Our new graduates have worked so hard to reach this life achievement,” said Mark Guthier, Wisconsin Union director and associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs. “We are honored to make the moment even more special for them.”

Individuals looking for the perfect congratulatory gift for their UW–Madison graduate can buy $50 lifetime Wisconsin Union memberships, a 75% discount available for a limited time for new graduates only.

For more information about the Wisconsin Union’s graduation events, visit union.wisc.edu/graduation.

Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness: Dane County Health Council and Partners Celebrate First Anniversary of ConnectRx Wisconsin

Contact: Lisa Adams, 608-206-5628, Lisa.Adams@ssmhealth.com

Dane County Health Council and Partners Celebrate First Anniversary of ConnectRx Wisconsin
Saving Our Babies Initiative Showing Promising Impact on Improving birth outcomes for Black women and birthing people in Dane County

MADISON, Wis. – The Dane County Health Council (DCHC) and the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness (FFBWW) are celebrating the one year anniversary of the ConnectRx Wisconsin program, a central component of the Saving Our Babies Initiative and its strategies to improve Black birth outcomes in Dane County.  

The Saving Our Babies Initiative coalesced in 2018 as a result of the Dane County Health Council and partners joining forces in response to a 2017 community health needs assessment confirming that maternal and child health is one of Dane County and Wisconsin’s most pressing and persistent health concerns. Recent reports indicate that Dane County continues to have one of the worst Black infant mortality rates in the United States, accompanied by significant racial disparities in household income and a growing life expectancy gap between Black and white women. As documented in the Saving Our Babies Report, at the root of these disparities is the stress caused by economic insecurity, racism and bias in the daily experiences of Black women and their families, and disconnected and difficult to navigate community services.

Launched in April 2022 by the DCHC, FFBWW and partners, ConnectRx Wisconsin is a care coordination system designed to address these challenges at their root. The aim of the program is to reduce low birth weights for babies born to Black mothers by meeting the clinical and non-clinical needs of expectant mothers and their families. ConnectRx Wisconsin specifically supports Black pregnant women and birthing persons through a wrap-around service delivery model that connects both clinical and trusted non-clinical community providers who work together to support patients’ health, social, economic, mental health, and other resource needs. A clinic and community-based workforce of Community Health Workers (CHWs) and Doulas provides additional assistance to highest risk patients, ensuring they are supported throughout their pregnancy and postpartum.

All Black pregnant women and birthing persons served by local hospitals and clinics are screened for social determinants of health. If a patient screens positive in one of the following social determinants of health—financial resource strain, food insecurity, housing stability, stress, or transportation—and they consent, a referral is made to ConnectRx Wisconsin. In addition, through the electronic health record, a curated list of resources pulled from United Way of Dane County’s 211 is provided to the patient.

Since its launch, more than 400 Black women have been screened and referred to ConnectRx Wisconsin, connected to a vast network of community-based partner agencies and programs providing family-stabilizing resources and services. With an estimate of roughly 600 births by Black mothers or birthing persons each year in Dane County, these referral numbers clearly show the need and uptake. Early results also indicate that Black women patients participating in ConnectRx Wisconsin are experiencing fewer C-sections, more full term births, and higher infant birth weights as a result of doula assisted births and deeper partnerships between clinical providers, patients and the community workforce that make up the wrap-around service model.

“We are encouraged by the early indicators of improvement we are seeing in the birthing experiences among Black women participating in ConnectRx,” said Kyle Nondorf, President of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison and one of the DCHC partner organizations.  “Though we have much more to learn from our formal evaluation efforts, we are seeing evidence that our efforts are translating into a new standard of care for Black women and birthing people.”

Nondorf and others contribute these early signs of success to the unprecedented collaboration that the Saving Our Babies Initiative has enabled across its many partners to align priorities, share leadership, and to co-design community-informed solutions. The initiative continues to grow community capacity to address Black birth disparities by building and bridging critical clinical and community infrastructure for a unique and integrated care coordination approach. 

In the community, ConnectRx Wisconsin participants are supported by FFBWW, which manages the initiative’s doula provider network and provides additional out-of-clinic CHW support. The Black Maternal Child Health Alliance (BMCHA) sits on the Health Council, informing the effort and providing broad leadership and advocacy locally and statewide. An additional network of trusted community based organizations and service providers are embedded in ConnectRx Wisconsin’s wrap-around support, accepting referrals to assist patients with housing, mental health, transportation, employment, and other critical family-stabilizing needs. 

“What we’ve known all along and are demonstrating in these efforts is that viable, systemic solutions for Black women and communities must be co-built and co-led by Black women and communities,” said Lisa Peyton-Caire, CEO and President of the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. “We’re showing that innovation and real change in disrupting stagnant health and birth disparities emerge when systems listen to, partner with, and invest in community capacity. It works.”  

Peyton-Caire and Annette Miller, president of EQT By Design, a co-partner on the project, say that ConnectRx Wisconsin is leveraging partner strengths and paving the way for Dane County to become a ‘center of excellence’ for Black Maternal and Child Health. Black women and families are being centered in the work. Health systems are embedding deeper training and education for its leadership and staff to improve care delivery to Black women and birthing persons. Community-based organizations are connecting patients to local resources in tandem with CHW’s and Doulas. The collaboration between health systems and community partners is bridging previously disconnected systems, forming a safety net for those most impacted by inequitable health outcomes in the Dane County community. 

“To see our collective efforts materialize this way in concert with Black women and community is confirmation that partnership is the answer,” said Renee Moe, President and CEO of the United Way of Dane County which has been a member of the Dane County Health Council for more than 20 years. “We are demonstrating the power of collaboration and collective impact in helping solve one of our community’s greatest and most pervasive challenges.”

As their work continues, the DCHC and partners understand the urgency of sustaining efforts for the long haul. Post pandemic data show that COVID-19 was likely a key driver of the more than 60% increase in deaths from pregnancy from 2019 to 2021. Black women and birthing people continue to face the biggest threats and now experience the highest mortality rates in recent memory; 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births.

“The pandemic has and likely will continue to disproportionately impact Black birthing people and their families,” said Dr. Tiffany Green, co-chair of the Black Maternal and Child Health Alliance of Dane County and associate professor of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. 

Green, a health economist and nationally recognized expert on reproductive health equity, says continuing to center Black women, birthing people and babies is critical to mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on pregnancy- and birth-related outcomes. “This is not the time to drop our guard. Healthcare systems and providers must continue to protect the most vulnerable by holding themselves accountable to the communities they serve,” she said.  

Ariel Robbins, Project Director for the Dane County Health Council, says initiative partners are encouraged by the positive early impacts that the Saving Our Babies Initiative and ConnectRx Wisconsin are yielding, but that there is much more to do to strengthen the work and to ensure its sustainability for the long haul. 

“We’re committed to doing our part to eliminate racial birth disparities in our community, but it will take a collective effort from all sectors and corners of our community to make it happen. The problem wasn’t created in a day, and it will not be solved tomorrow. But with the support and investment of everyone and every sector – from business, philanthropy, to economic development, housing, and policy –  we have a fighting chance to save our babies.” –

– The Dane County Health Council is a coalition of healthcare providers, government and nonprofits with a mission to eliminate gaps and barriers to optimal health and reduce disparities in health outcomes in Dane County. Council members include Access Community Health Centers, Black Maternal and Child Health Alliance, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, Madison Metropolitan School District, Public Health Madison & Dane County, SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital, United Way of Dane County, UnityPoint Health – Meriter and UW Health.

ImageMover, QuidelOrtho simplify test-to-treat process for pharmacies

ImageMover, a provider of workflow services for pharmacies, is partnering with QuidelOrtho, a provider of point-of-care diagnostic testing solutions, to bring a comprehensive solution for pharmacist-administered testing for a variety of illnesses, including COVID-19, influenza A+B, Lyme disease, strep throat and RSV.

The integrated solution combines QuidelOrtho’s Sofia 2 fluorescent immunoassay analyzer, an automated small benchtop system, with Workflow Services to create a one-stop solution for pharmacists.

“With this patient-friendly system, pharmacies can onboard patients 80% faster than with the current manual process and are freed up to focus on what really matters—delivering the best possible patient care,” the companies said.

Patients complete a short questionnaire and self-register, pharmacists review patient information and perform testing using the Sofia 2 test, and Workflow Services automatically reports the results. If allowed, the pharmacist will dispense medication based on the outcome of the test result.

“This solution addresses major challenges pharmacists face when offering a test-to-treat program, such as lack of staffing and time for complex reporting and record keeping. We’re excited to partner with Workflow Services to continue to build comprehensive pharmacy programs for the new age of clinical service providers and to expand access to healthcare, especially in underserved communities,” said Cheryl Miller, vice president, retail sales and marketing at QuidelOrtho.

The joint system provides speed, accuracy and security. Sofia 2 provides dual modes for walkaway and batch testing, with results available in 3-15 minutes, depending on the assay. It also offers an expansive test menu, including COVID-19, influenza A+B, Lyme disease, strep throat and RSV. The small instrument size and room-temperature storage of kits make the test suitable for pharmacies, hospitals, urgent care centers and physician offices.

“Care delivery is changing, and consumers are seeking convenient clinical services from pharmacists that normally they might have received from their general practitioner,” said Kevin Houlihan, president and CEO of ImageMover. “With QuidelOrtho tests and Workflow Services, pharmacies can confidently expand their care delivery methods with reliable tests and simple workflows.”

“The public health benefits of enabling pharmacists to become go-to community healthcare professionals for consumers in need of fast and convenient point-of-care testing and treatment are enormous,” Houlihan noted. “We are proud to offer a comprehensive Workflow solution together with QuidelOrtho’s easy-to-use Sofia 2 assays for a wide range of viruses and health conditions.”