The membership of WPVA is approximately 565, including Associate Members.
The WPVA Office is located at 2311 South 108th Street, West Allis, Wisconsin 53227-1901, 414-328-8910, with 3 salaried personnel including a Government Relations Director, an Office Secretary, and a part time bookkeeper.
PVA has a National Service Officer located at the VA Regional Office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The mailing address is 5400 West National Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53214, with a telephone number of 414-902-5655.
WPVA is active in current and proposed legislation advocating in the best interest of the veteran, especially those with catastrophic disabilities. WPVA also advocated for accessibility issues on all levels, including home adaptations, parking areas, as well as all public structures. We are active participants with the ADA Partnership which is a coalition of people with disabilities, service providers, and businesses. WPVA networks and builds coalitions with other disability advocacy groups.
Even though we secured the necessary funding for a new SCI Center a few years ago with the able assistance with many VSO's, we are just now seeing the fruits of our labor. Construction has begun in earnest with the demolition of 3 dilapidated housing units for temporary staff and the cutting down of several old trees. We hope to have a huge grand opening ceremony sometime in 2012.
WPVA is also active in volunteer service in the Milwaukee VAMC, especially with the Spinal Cord Injury [SCI] Unit at that location. WPVA offers peer support, and special events, recreational activities, patient visits, and pizza parties are regularly scheduled. We also have laptop computers and internet access available on a limited basis to patients whose sitting time is limited.
WPVA provides annual scholarships for students in the fields of Nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and PVA has scholarships available for members [and their families]. WPVA sponsors several attendees to the annual meetings of the American Paraplegic Society [APS], American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Nurses [AASCIN], American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists and Social Workers [AASCIPSW]. WPVA contributes to PVA's Education and Training Foundation [ETF] and Spinal Cord Injury Foundation [SCRF]. These entities review hundreds of applications each year and choose several to sponsor.
WPVA is always available to speak to students, clubs, and organizations to describe and discuss what it means to be a veteran and what it's like to live with a disability. We've spoken to 1st and 2nd grade kids at Jackson Elementary School in Manitowoc and Physical therapy seniors at Marquette University.
WPVA supports sports and recreational activities for the disabled including, but not limited to: basketball, softball, quad rugby, trapshooting, and fishing tournaments. WPVA also coordinates and sponsors a team to attend the annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG). In a previous report we discussed WPVA' s involvement and success with co-hosting the 2007 NVWG.
WPVA members also participate in the Allied Veterans Council of Milwaukee County, the West Allis Chamber of Commerce, and the WDVA Council on Veterans Programs.
Referred to committee on Veterans and Military Affairs.
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State of Wisconsin
Department of Health Services
Madison
November 16, 2009
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Section 1. 20.907 (1m) of the Wis. Stats. requires the Department to submit a report on expenditures made by the agency during the preceding fiscal year from nonfederal funds received as gifts, grants, bequests or devises. The expenditure report is attached. In addition, the Department has no in-kind contributions to report.
Sincerely,
Karen E. Timberlake
Secretary
Referred to committee on Ways and Means.
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State of Wisconsin
Department of Health Services
Madison
November 17, 2009
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
The Department of Health Services (DHS) respectfully submits information related to the H1N1 response earlier this spring. Chapter 250.03 (3), Wis. Stats. directs DHS to provide a report to you and the Legislature on the emergency powers used by the public health authority or its agents and the expenses incurred while acting under the state of emergency.
This report will mainly focus on DHS' response to the spring flu outbreak, as well as provide an update on the state's current situation. For more detailed information, please visit our website at pandemic.wisconsin.gov. This site provides valuable information, including our weekly situation reports and our most current guidance to health care professionals and other partners.
A key initiative for DHS is to keep the public informed. To that end, DHS will continue to routinely update the pandemic website when new CDC guidance is issued or other relevant information becomes available on pandemic.wisconsin.gov. In addition, DHS will continue to work with our partners, the media and 2-1-1 Wisconsin to help answer questions from the general public.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact either myself or Dr. Seth Foldy, Wisconsin's State Health Officer.
Sincerely,
Karen E. Timberlake
Secretary
Referred to committee on Public Health.
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State of Wisconsin
Department of Revenue
Madison
November 18, 2009
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
I am submitting the quarterly report of the Wisconsin Lottery for the quarter ending September 30, 2009. As required by s.
565.37 (3), Wis. Stats., the attached materials contain unaudited Wisconsin Lottery year-to-date Revenue and Expenditure information.
The information reported here is a summary and is not intended to be a complete financial accounting of Wisconsin Lottery operations.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this report, please feel free to contact me at (608) 266-6466.
Sincerely,
Roger M. Ervin
Secretary
Referred to committee on State Affairs and Homeland Security.
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Wisconsin Hospital Association
Inpatient Hospital Quality Indicators Report
Madison
November 17, 2009
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Enclosed is a hard copy of the 2007 Wisconsin Inpatient Hospital Quality Indicators Report produced by WHA Information Center pursuant to s.
153.22, Wis. Stats. The report was posted on our Web site in March 2009. Please feel free to download and print additional copies.
If you have any questions regarding the report you may contact me at 608-274-1820, 800-231-8340, or
jkachelski@wha.org.
Sincerely,
Joseph Kachelski
Vice President
WHA Information Center
Referred to committee on Health and Healthcare Reform.
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Wisconsin Hospital Association
Health Care Data Report
Madison
November 17, 2009
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Enclosed is a hard copy of the 2007 Health Care Data Report produced by WHA Information Center pursuant to s.
153.22, Wis. Stats. The report was posted on our Web site in March 2009. Please feel free to download and print additional copies.
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If you have any questions regarding the report you may contact me at 608-274-1820, 800-231-8340, or
jkachelski@wha.org.
Sincerely,
Joseph Kachelski
Vice President
WHA Information Center
Referred to committee on Health and Healthcare Reform.
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Wisconsin Hospital Association
Guide to Wisconsin Hospitals Fiscal Year 2007
Madison
November 17, 2009
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Enclosed is a hard copy of the Guide to Wisconsin Hospitals Fiscal Year 2007 produced by WHA Information Center pursuant to s.
153.22, Wis. Stats. The report was posted on our Web site in May 2009. Please feel free to download and print additional copies.
If you have any questions regarding the report you may contact me at 608-274-1820, 800-231-8340, or
jkachelski@wha.org.
Sincerely,
Joseph Kachelski
Vice President
WHA Information Center
Referred to committee on Health and Healthcare Reform.
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Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
November 18, 2009
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
At the request of the departments of Commerce and Administration, and in accordance with s.
13.94 (1s), Wis. Stats., we have completed a financial audit of the State of Wisconsin Petroleum Inspection Fee Revenue Obligations Program for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2009, and June 30, 2008. We have provided our unqualified audit opinion on the Statement of Changes in Program Assets.
Under the program, the State issued $387.6 million in revenue bonds and commercial paper to provide financing for payment of claims under the Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund Award (PECFA) program and other program-related costs. These revenue obligations are not general obligation debt of the State. Instead, they are to be repaid primarily from the $0.02 per gallon fee charged to suppliers of petroleum products sold in Wisconsin. During fiscal year 2008-09, the State collected $73.4 million in petroleum inspection fees and made $28.2 million in debt service payments. As of June 30, 2009, a total of $231.0 million in revenue obligations was outstanding.
Petroleum inspection fees in excess of debt service requirements, which amounted to more than $45.0 million for fiscal year 2008-09, were deposited to the Petroleum Inspection Fund, and $10.4 million was subsequently used to pay PECFA claims. The remaining $34.6 million was used for a variety of purposes, including a $6.3 million transfer authorized by the Legislature to the Transportation Fund, as well as $16.9 million in transfers to the General Fund to help the departments of Commerce and Natural Resources meet lapse requirements related to
2007 Wisconsin Acts 20 and
226 and
2009 Wisconsin Act 2.
In
2009 Wisconsin Act 28, the Legislature authorized $54.3 million in transfers during the 2009-11 biennium from the Petroleum Inspection Fund to the General Fund, the Transportation Fund, and two other funds. A portion of the funding for these transfers will be made possible by refinancing a portion of the program's debt in fall 2009, which will have the effect of reducing debt service payments during the 2009-11 biennium. However, the refinancing also extends the period of indebtedness and, therefore, the time that the $0.02 per gallon petroleum inspection fee will need to be charged.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us during our audit by staff of the departments of Commerce, Administration, and Revenue.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
