National Rural Health Day Pays Tribute to Over 30 'Community Stars' Nominated as Real Life Rural Health Heroes

Today is National Rural Health Day. There are an estimated 60 million people, 1 in 5 Americans, living and working in rural areas across the United States, and among them are 31 men, women, and hospital teams honored today as Community Stars for their commitment to the delivery of health services in their communities.

    Each year, in preparation for National Rural Health Day, the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) opens nominations to those who wish to recommend an individual or team whose work exemplifies the power of rural as it relates to innovation, collaboration, education or communication.  A few of the 2017 Community Stars featured in this year’s e-book include:

-Jodi Cregger, Life Flight Nurse from Wichita, KS

-Meredith Hall, Volunteer Coordinator for a women’s resource center in State College, PA

-Craig Val Davidson, Hospital Administrator for two Critical Access Hospitals in Beaver, UT

-John Waits, MD, CEO and Practice Physician for a Federally Qualified Health Center in   Centreville, AL

-Chadron Community Hospital’s Home Health and Hospice Team, Chadron, NE

-Erik Thorsen, Hospital Administrator, Astoria, OR

-Ariel Lufkin, MD, Telemedicine Hospitalist in Guthrie, OK

    The full collection of 2017 Community Star stories can be found on the PowerofRural.org website. “We’re excited about this year’s book of stars,” said Teryl Eisinger, Executive Director of NOSORH. “Too often, these dedicated, hardworking men and women fly under the radar or work behind the scenes, and they deserve to be in the spotlight for all they do to support the health and wellbeing of their communities.” 

   Also happening today are free webinars, Walk with a Doc events taking place in at least eight states, and a rural social determinants of health Twitter chat at 12:00 pm ET, co-hosted by NOSORH, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and other national organizations. To review a full line-up of events, details, and locations, go to www.PowerofRural.org/events.

        Finally, at 11:16 a.m. in each time zone, and throughout the day, NOSORH is asking its followers, partners, rural providers, hospitals, legislators and those with a rural interest to use the #PowerofRural in social media. To learn more about National Rural Health Day, visit http://www.PowerofRural.org.

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To schedule an interview with a National Rural Health Day spokesperson, contact Ashley Muninger, Communications & Development Coordinator for the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health Phone: (888) 391-7258 Ext. 104 
ashleym@nosorh.org | www.nosorh.org

Source: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health

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