Q & A with Healthy Climate Wisconsin’s Andrew DeLorme, RN

Laura: Where did you grow up and where do you live now?

Andrew: I grew up in south-central Wisconsin. I always tell people Madison, but more specifically, it’s Belleville. It’s next to New Glarus, so people are always like, “Spotted Cow!” And I grew up in the country on my grandparents’ land. We had a river in our backyard, and I spent a lot of time outdoors. Then I went to school at UW-Madison and lived in the downtown Madison area for 7 years. I just recently moved back in with my parents in the Belleville area once again.

Laura: Could you tell me a little bit about the kind of work that you do?

Andrew: Currently, I work as an inpatient nurse at the university hospital that’s affiliated with UW-Madison. I’ve been working as an inpatient nurse for about four years. I spent my first two and a half years working at our burn center in pediatrics, and it’s kind of a catch all unit. It gave me the opportunity to see a lot of patient populations and from there I was really drawn to the more ICU level patients. In February 2023, I switched to the Trauma and Life Support Center. We see all the trauma patients as well as the medical ICU patients, and we are the surgical ICU for our transplant patients as well. 

I am considering pursuing a doctorate to become an Adult Gerontologic Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. Most people refer to it as AGACNP, which you can see why. It’s a mouthful, especially for someone who has braces like me. I like that it offers you the next level of thinking in a critical care setting, looking at the bigger picture of how systems come together, and I really enjoy that as a nurse practitioner you have played the role of nurse before, so you have that bedside manner with families. There’s that extra level of trust and relationship building. That’s one of my favorite parts of nursing, especially in the ICU setting. 

Laura: What would you do on your perfect weekend in Wisconsin?

Andrew: Well, you have to get the weekend started off right, so you need to go to the Farmers’ Market around the Square at the Capitol. But you have to get there early to beat the crowd, so I’d probably get up at 6 a.m. and go to the Farmers’ Market around 7 a.m.

Laura: Wait, so on your day off, you would get up at 6 a.m.?

Andrew: Yeah, if I were to have the perfect weekend, that’s what it would be. I'm more of an early riser. So I’d probably do the Farmers’ Market, and then I’d have breakfast at the Marigold Kitchen. It’s right off the Square, and it’s this beautiful breakfast/brunch place with outdoor seating. Following that I’d like to get outdoors more. I’ve been playing pickleball a lot lately with my father. So I’d like to play with him for a couple of hours, and then I’d probably go on a hike. That’s been one of my favorite summer activities. There are a lot of nice trails even in south central Wisconsin. Around Devil’s Lake would be a good spot, and it’s pretty close.

Laura: What brought you to Healthy Climate Wisconsin?

Andrew: Growing up I used to spend a lot of time outdoors with friends…even in college I was almost split 50-50 as to whether I’d go into healthcare or conservation work. Ultimately, I got into the School of Nursing, but even then I was volunteering with organizations at UW-Madison that worked on sustainability projects. Sustainability is something that’s always on my mind. I think and read about it all the time. It’s not just for myself. It's for everyone, especially in the future. 

So when I was looking to get more involved again I heard about Healthy Climate Wisconsin from Pam Guthman and I thought it was a great fit for me. As a healthcare worker, I can see what happens down the road when people are subjected to climate change. My favorite part about Healthy Climate Wisconsin is the community. I love the people and how passionate everyone is about wanting to make a difference and putting in the work from their own time. 

Laura: If you could broadcast something to every Wisconsinite about health and climate what would you say? 

Andrew: That a lot of reasons people are brought to Wisconsin and love Wisconsin would change and be completely different down the road. And we have the power right now to preserve what it is we love about Wisconsin.

Laura: What is a topic that you really geek out about?

Andrew: Lately, I would say it’s probably been Pokemon. It’s something growing up that I used to play with all my friends, and lately, my brother and I have gotten reconnected to it. It’s a fun surprise. I wasn’t expecting to fall back into it.

Laura: What brings you hope?

Andrew: It brings me hope that there’s so many like-minded people that want to do something big for the world and that we are actually seeing changes on many different levels.