Wisconsin Safe Care Summit badge

October 22, 2026 · Hilton Appleton Paper Valley

The room was full.

187 healthcare and first response professionals spent a day learning to recognize and respond to domestic violence. Registration filled. A waitlist formed behind it. Thank you to everyone who made it happen.

Hear about 2027 Bring Red Signal to your clinic
187professionals trained
18Wisconsin counties
50+organizations
5.5CME credits offered
$0cost to attend

What changed

Fifty three participants completed the post-event evaluation. The grant behind the summit asked us to reach 75 percent on each measure. Every one cleared it.

Increased knowledge of domestic violence indicators94%
Increased knowledge of referral pathways96%
Greater confidence responding in their role91%
Would recommend the day to a colleague96%

Forty five participants wrote out a specific change they are making in their own practice. That is the number that matters.

A corrections agency changed how it assesses danger

An attendee wrote that they will stop treating the absence of visible marks as evidence that strangulation did not occur. Strangulation is among the strongest predictors of a later homicide.

Five clinics are pursuing Red Signal

Including an obstetrics practice and a college campus. Red Signal lets a patient disclose intimate partner violence during a routine visit without saying a word.

Clinicians changed how they ask

Screening patients alone every time, and asking direct, specific questions instead of a general "do you feel safe."

In their words

One of the best summits I've ever attended and I've been a RN since 1995 and have attended many summits.
Love, love, loved this whole day. Please, please offer again. We don't get this info anywhere else.
Hearing from real survivors was very impactful in acknowledging this isn't just something that happens in the movies, or towns far away from here.
Loved how well-planned and thought-through every little detail was. Very trauma-informed and welcoming throughout. It felt like this summit has been around for years.

What the day covered

The program was built around one framework for clinicians: Recognize. Respond. Refer. Attendees moved through a keynote, three rounds of concurrent breakouts, a resource fair with fifteen community organizations, and a closing panel. See the full agenda from the day ›

The keynote

Her Story Matters

Drawn from an article of the same name published in Obstetrics & Gynecology on routine intimate partner violence screening during pregnancy. It told the story of Kali Randall, who was killed along with her two children, and whose family founded Kalico Forest in her memory. Members of her family presented it. The clinical message was that in many domestic homicides the fatal assault is the first documented act of violence, which makes a routine visit one of the few openings anyone gets.

Breakout sessions
  • A warning we cannot ignoreStrangulation and homicide prevention. Offered twice.
  • A pediatric perspectiveDomestic abuse and teen dating violence.
  • Domestic violence for healthcare professionalsRecognize, Respond, Refer. Offered three times.
  • Human traffickingIdentification and response in a clinical setting.
  • No Wrong DoorThe forensic nursing response to domestic violence.
  • Rewriting the JourneyCoordinated care and access for rural survivors.
  • No Simple ChoiceA scenario based learning experience working through live clinical situations.
  • Sister Let's TalkHealing, empowerment and breaking cycles of gender violence.
  • Your Peace Your PowerSelf care and secondary traumatic stress for this workforce.
How the day closed

An advocate panel brought together the executive directors of Christine Ann, Harbor House and Golden House to answer questions directly from the room. The day ended with a grounding session led by Be. A Center for Holistic Mental Health and Healing. Attendees named that closing repeatedly in their evaluations as something they needed after a heavy day.

Who presented

Presenters came from Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services, Harbor House, Golden House, Reach Counseling and Kalico Forest, joined by clinicians and advocates from across the region. Nearly all of them presented at no charge.

  • Megan Berg
  • Emma Brice
  • Meika Burnikel
  • Cassandra Diaz
  • Leah Eckhart
  • Meg Fischer
  • Nora Gonzalez Carvajal, BS
  • Sandra Groenewold, MD
  • Carly Hirsch
  • Kimberly Huddleston
  • Jodi Nuthals-Mikulsky, MSE
  • Olivia Olszewski
  • Martha Phillips, BSN, RN
  • Tracy Plamann
  • Brian Randall, BSBA, NRP
  • Carey Sorenson, PhD, RYT-200
  • Alia Swingle
  • Courtney Van Auken, BS

Put the training to work

The Red Signal Program lets a patient quietly signal during a routine visit that they are experiencing intimate partner violence. Staff then see the patient alone and offer support at whatever pace the patient chooses.

  • No cost to the clinic
  • About a week to set up
  • Roughly 31 sites live across Wisconsin
  • Training delivered by Christine Ann, Harbor House and Golden House

Knowing that we have a program that allows us to ask the questions, knowing what I am going to do if they say yes, will take a lot of the hesitancy off our thoughts as clinicians and physicians.

Julianne Falleroni, DO
Family Care of the Fox Cities

See how Red Signal works

Thank you

The Wisconsin Safe Care Summit was hosted by Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services, Inc. with Kalico Forest, Harbor House, Golden House and Reach Counseling. Continuing education was provided through the joint providership of Gundersen Medical Foundation and Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services. Reach Counseling coordinated the resource fair, where fifteen community organizations staffed tables.

The day was free to every attendee because sponsors made it free. Our thanks to each of them, and to the presenters, nearly all of whom gave their time at no charge.

Keystone sponsor

Lifest Gives

Response sponsor

Aerial Dance

Coffee sponsor

M&G Auto

Track sponsors

Trusted Contracting · Harbor House · Dr. Wendy Schroeder, DO · Alliance Laundry Systems · Albatross Financial

Ally sponsors

JBC Machine · myVA Rocks

Media and marketing

Red Shoes Inc.

In-kind support

TC3 Sports · Manderfield’s Home Bakery · Valley Bakers · Hilton Appleton Paper Valley · Jennifer Dilge Photography

Friend sponsors

Michael Clark · Jake & Christina Stelter · Todd Cherry

Seat sponsors

Elissa Moore · Emma Herlache · Mary Moore · Sue Manning · Dan Steves · Larry Wilfer · Maggie Handler · Ashley Harris

This event was funded in part by the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

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More support resources and ways to reach us ›

Forged in strength. Rooted in hope.

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