Health Equity
Opportunities for everyone
All people need opportunities to be active. Without them, people with disabilities, medical conditions or injuries experience a downward trajectory in health, which then impacts employment, financial independence, quality of life and life expectancy. Having a disability but little access to healthy activity dramatically increases the likelihood of developing a secondary condition—not from the disability itself, but from a lack of healthy movement.
Health equity is achieved when physical, social and other barriers are removed for everyone.
STAR Center strives to give everyone the opportunity to live a healthier, more fulfilling life.
There are many barriers to health equity. Physical barriers, like access to traditional facilities or the lack of adaptive equipment, are just the beginning. Economic and social barriers mean even fewer opportunities.
Transportation challenges, job or caregiver responsibilities, and social isolation compound the problem.
The STAR Center reduces these barriers and gives everyone the chance to lead the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. No one is disadvantaged because of physical limitation, social position or other circumstance.
We believe everyone should have the ability to live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible.

We serve people with disabilities, chronic conditions, or those recovering from strokes or accidents. The STAR Center will offer an all-inclusive array of programs, allowing all community members to benefit through participation. Every individual will have the opportunity to choose what type of programming best suits their needs.
- Cognitive impairment
- Seniors
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Dementia
- Huntington’s disease
- Developmental challenges
- Autism spectrum
- Down syndrome
- Cerebral palsy
- Congenital syndromes
- General public
- Caregivers
- Students
- Case workers
- Training coordinators
- Family members
- Neurologic challenges
- Spina bifida
- Muscular dystrophy
- Multiple sclerosis
- Stroke
- Parkinson’s disease
- Orthopedic challenges
- Connective tissue disorders
- Fibromyalgia
- Arthritis
- RA
- Balance issues
- Chronic back pain
- Physical challenges
- Trauma
- Spinal cord injury
- Amputation
- Veterans
- Wounded Warriors
- PTSD
- War fighters
- Team RWB Eagles
- Social isolation
- Visual challenges
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Low vision
- Glaucoma
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Cataracts
When medical physical therapy ends, many people have no other way to continue their recovery. The STAR Center provides the physical and social opportunities that allow people to reach their healthy potentials.
Function declines when physical therapy ends
Without STAR Center
No opportunity when medical PT ends
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Medical PT
-
Crisis care only
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Declining health
With STAR Center
A path to optimized health
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Medical PT
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Community-based assisted exercise
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Optimized health
“It’s distressing how many patients ask me to extend their physical therapy…because when it ends, they have no other options.”
Having a disability but little access to healthy activity dramatically increases the likelihood of developing a secondary condition.
4 times the depression
4.5 times the COPD
2.5 times the cancer
2.5 times the asthma
3 times the arthritis
2.5 times the diabetes
4.2 times stroke risk
2 times the heart disease
57% more adult obesity
50% more hypertension
40% more elevated cholesterol
Secondary impacts
The STAR Center will not only make direct impacts on the people it serves, but the ripples of benefits in our community will be incalculable. The STAR Center will bring opportunities in vocational job training and hands-on learning experiences for university and college students, along with the opportunity for lasting impacts with health and university research projects. This unique resource will make the greater La Crosse area a more attractive place to live and work.
Academic programs that will be contributing to the STAR Center
- occupational therapy
- physical therapy
- therapeutic recreation
- adaptive physical education
- athletic training
- exercise physiology
- biomechanics
- sports administration
- exercise and sports science
- public health
- nursing
- didactics
- music
- art
- recreation management
- early childhood development
- facility management
- sociology
- marketing