On Feb. 15, the Medical Examining Board (MEB) approved emergency rule language developed and offered by WHA to advance implementation of 2021 Act 158, the Heroes for Healthcare Act, which creates a pathway for former military medics and corpsman to provide care in Wisconsin health care facilities while they seek the required education and credentials for their role.
“The Medical Examining Board recognized the urgency in getting rules created to set up a program to enable former military medical personnel to utilize their skills in Wisconsin, but they also had been wrestling with several challenges in crafting implementing rule language that matched the intent and language of the Act,” said WHA General Counsel Matthew Stanford. “WHA offered an alternative approach to the rulemaking and was happy to collaborate with the Board to advance that alternative.”
“I want to give a shout out to the Wisconsin Hospital Association who put a lot of these language updates out,” said MEB member Sumeet Goel, DO. “I want to thank them for what they did.”
“I also want to thank the Wisconsin Hospital Association for their work in moving this forward and really giving some structure to how we are proceeding,” said MEB Chair Sheldon Wasserman, MD.
The MEB’s approval of the MED 26 emergency rule language is one step in implementing the military medical personnel program under 2021 Act 158. The Division of Safety and Professional Services is also developing complementary rulemaking and application forms. The approved emergency rule language will be officially published in the coming weeks and hearings on permanent rule language will occur at a future date.
“This new law is a win-win,” said WHA Senior Vice President of Workforce and Clinical Practice Ann Zenk. “It recognizes veterans’ medical skills and training that they received to help them quickly find jobs in the medical field and is also one additional tool to help Wisconsin address significant health care workforce challenges across the state and the nation.”
WHA’s Feb. 7 letter and proposal to the MEB can be found
here.