
On September 29, 2011 the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) announced funding for four FASD Regional Training Centers in
the United States. The Great Lakes FASD
Regional Training Center (GLFRTC) was awarded a 3-year cooperative agreement to
continue their training activities, and to add a key planning component to
implement screening and brief alcohol intervention into a medical system of
care.
GLFRTC is based out of the Department of Family Medicine at
the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Formed in 2008 under a cooperative agreement
with the CDC, GLFRTC represents a seven state region: Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina and Hawaii. The overarching goal is to improve the
knowledge, attitudes, and skills of medical and allied health care providers
and students around the issues of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). With this new award, expanded emphasis will
be placed on screening and brief intervention to reduce the risk of an
alcohol-exposed pregnancy.
The broad goals of the GLFRTC are: (1) Improve knowledge,
attitudes and skills of medical and allied health care professionals and
students regarding the prevention, identification, and treatment of FASDs
through targeted training and resource dissemination; (2) Increase the number
of medical and allied health care professional training programs that implement
recurring, required courses that cover content of the FASD Competency-Based
Curriculum Development Guide for Medical and Allied Health Education and
Practice; (3) Increase screening and brief intervention targeted towards women
at-risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy within the 20 family medicine residency
and community clinics in Wisconsin; and (4) Conduct comprehensive process and
outcome evaluation of all project activities to track knowledge and practice
change over time.
Click
here to view our FASD Resources and download our brochure.
Staff Photo (from left to right): Project Medical Director David Wargowski, MD; Project Education Director Kristi Obmascher; Project Director Georgiana Wilton, PhD; Project Evaluator Barbara Vardalas, MA.
Project ActivitiesFASD Training: Check out our range of in person and e-learning training opportunities addressing the biopsychosocial issues related to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Training is offered across the Great Lakes region and beyond; and provides current science-based information and shares resources and strategies. Continuing education units (CEUs) from UW-Madison are available for many trainings.
FASD Materials: Check out our FASD-related informational and educational materials for health and human services providers, the general public, and others.
FASD Awareness: Learn more about our ongoing efforts to raise awareness about FASD, including sponsoring events each year to recognize the international September 9th FASD Awareness Day.