Active Prescription

If you have been referred by your physician, please follow this link to register for the Active Prescription Program (participants in the program must be referred by a Bicycle Federation approved physician. Contact Dar Ward at 608-251-4456 or dar@bfw.org to find out how your physician can be approved for particiation).

Background:
The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin has been awarded one of 19 grants from The Wisconsin Partnership Fund for a Healthy Future at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health for community-academic partnerships designed to improve the health of the people of Wisconsin. Funding for this program was provided following the conversion of Blue Cross/Blue Shield to a for-profit organization. The awards mark the second series of planning and implementation grants awarded by the Oversight and Advisory Committee of the Wisconsin Partnership Program.

Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin was awarded $25,000 to plan for an "Active Prescription for Wisconsin" project to integrate physical activity and regular bicycle use into daily life among adults through prescriptions from health providers. Bicycle Federation will work with academic partner Dr. Javier Nieto MD PhD of the University of Wisconsin Department of Population Health Sciences and with the Thunderhead Alliance, a national group that supports the advancement of state and local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations. The "Active Prescription" concept was drawn from a successful program in Victoria, Australia. Bicycle Federation will spend the planning grant over the period of one year to gather partners from the medical and insurance communities and to adapt the program concept for use in Wisconsin. Bicycle Federation then hopes to implement a full pilot program in 2007-2009.

"The news of this grant award is very exciting for the Thunderhead Alliance as Active Prescription programs have only begun to gain momentum in the U.S.," said Sue Knaup, Executive Director for the Thunderhead Alliance. "We look forward to taking part in this planning project and including it in our national replicable model."

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin is a statewide nonprofit bicycle education and advocacy organization with over 2,400 members. Bicycle Federation's mission, to make Wisconsin a better place to bicycle, embraces the basic vision behind the organization; that bicycling is a viable, healthy, and environmentally sustainable means of transportation, recreation, and sport. Bicycle Federation provides bicyclists of all ages with information on recreational rides, safety tips, and commuting skills while educating decision makers about the importance of bicycling to our communities. Learn more at www.bfw.org.

Potential partners with an interest in "Active Prescription" should contact Dar Ward at 608-251-4456 or dar@bfw.org.