Department chair David Rakel, MD poses with former DFMCH faculty members Bobby Nourani, DO and David Rabago, MD at the annual prolotherapy conference.
The University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine and Community Health was awarded a 2025 Hackett Hemwall Patterson Foundation Appreciation Award at the foundation’s 43rd Annual Regenerative Medicine Conference on September 25, 2025. The award is presented “in appreciation of [the department’s] continued partnership, academic excellence, and vital support of the Hacket Hemwall Patterson Foundation’s educational and research efforts in prolotherapy.” Dr. David Rakel, department chair, accepted the award on behalf of the department.
The Hackett Hemwall Patterson Foundation is named in part after former UW Department of Family Medicine and Community Health faculty member Jeff Patterson, DO. In 1982, Patterson spearheaded the foundation’s annual prolotherapy medical conference and moved the conference to Madison in 1998. Patterson was a visionary leader in prolotherapy and tirelessly advocated for its use.
Published: October 2025