Introducing...UW Health Belleville Family Medical Clinic

Belleville Family Medical Clinic, located in Belleville, Wisconsin, is one of the four Madison Residency training sites whose mission is to train family doctors for the people of Wisconsin through providing high quality personalized medical care.

Belleville is located 20 miles southwest of Madison and straddles the Dane and Green County lines. It is one of the fastest growing communities in the State, and was voted the top-rated Madison suburb in 2002. The community offers all of the amenities of a small town, a safe and peaceful environment, numerous community and recreational activities, friendly people who genuinely care for each other, and most notably, the UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) Capital of the World. The town provides the perfect setting for the Clinic to carry out its mission of providing excellent patient care and quality resident and medical student training in a rural location. Belleville Clinic is the only medical facility in the community and it serves as a community-based "laboratory" where important questions about the healthcare needs of area citizens are addressed. The clinic is a vital community resource, especially through its central role in BCHIP, the Belleville Community Health Improvement Project, which employs a COPC (Community Oriented Primary Care) approach to community health problems. In addition, Belleville Clinic is an important economic force that generates an estimated $15 million each year for the Belleville community Most of the physicians and staff live in Belleville and the surrounding communities which ensures comprehensive, integrated care through ongoing relationships.

The Clinic was established in 1981 at the request of the community, which had identified the need for a medical facility as the number one community need following the retirement of the village's solo doctor in 1979. The first clinic was a part-time faculty practice that was housed on private property donated expressly for that purpose. One of the first DFM physicians to see patients in Belleville was Bill Scheibel, MD, with the assistance of two support staff, one of whom was Marie Wonders, who is still employed full-time at the clinic today. A steady growth in the number of patient visits and plans to train residents on-site prompted an addition to the building in 1994. The current clinic building offers 9 exam rooms, 1 procedure room, shared faculty and resident offices, and a conference/staffing room. Residents were first introduced to the practice in 1995, with the addition of two per year for the next two years making a total of six residents who train at Belleville each year. We currently have 1 full-time and 5 part-time faculty, who average 12 years at Belleville; 2 community faculty preceptors, a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, nutritionist, 6 patient care and 7 administrative staff who provide care for 4200 active patients.

Belleville was the first practice in Dane County in 2000 to move to an electronic health record, which was championed by Paul Smith, MD. Through Dr. Smith's efforts, local businesses and individuals were solicited to contribute to provide part of the funding for the EHR. Belleville continues to rely on its Practice Partner electronic health record.

A key factor in the success of our clinic as a clinical and teaching site has been our extensive involvement in the Belleville community. In 1988, the Belleville Community Health Improvement Program (BCHIP) was established through the clinic to use a community-oriented primary care approach to help the community identify, address and evaluate the impact of interventions on community health priorities. BCHIP has received 5 grants totaling over $200,000 for a range of community health projects. BCHIP activities have included:

• A community walking and wellness initiative that resulted in nearly half of the local population walking in teams;
• The Healthy Breakfast program that partners with local service clubs to provide low cost fruit and healthy breakfast choices at school;
• The Children as Health Advocates and Mentors Program (CHAMP) that trained children to be health advocates;
• The Big Buddy program that trained older high school students to recognize and intervene with younger students showing mental health problems.

In addition, the clinic has participated in BCAP, the Belleville Community Assistance Program, which provides small grants to those in need - the Clinic recently contributed $750 raised through our holiday party silent auction for items that were donated and purchased by clinic staff and physicians. The clinic sponsors the UFO Fun Run as part of the annual community UFO Days held each year late in October to commemorate the sightings of UFO's in the area. Our residents provide a regular health related newspaper article for the Belleville Recorder; our staff and doctors provide service to the Belleville EMS as Medical Director, and participation in the annual EMS day. We provide service to the school district through health lectures, serve as school physician and sports team physician, and annually present a scholarship to a graduating senior pursuing a health care career. We are responsible for cleanup of a 2 mile section of HWY 69 through the Wisconsin Adopt A Highway Program; offer lectures and other services to the local senior center; participate in the annual community fair; the community Winterfest, and are a members of the Chamber of Commerce.

We look forward to celebrating our 25th year next year. As the only healthcare facility in the community, it will be essential for us to continue our presence in the community; provide convenient, skilled and family centered care for our patients; and offer residents and students a quality educational experience.