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The Rural Monitor
Articles by Topic: Hospitals

Lakewood Engage Tackles Food Insecurity in Rural Minnesota

December 23, 2020
To address the issue of food insecurity in the rural Minnesota communities it serves, Lakewood Health System created Lakewood Engage, a community-based program with multiple initiatives including a "Food Farmacy," home delivery, and a farmers market.

Listening to Rural Stories: Q&A with Alisa Druzba

November 25, 2020
Alisa Druzba, director of the New Hampshire's Office of Rural Health and Primary Care, discusses her journey to becoming a SORH director, the ways her state has been affected by the pandemic, and the favorite parts of her job.

Nursing Preparedness: Words from Researchers and Rural Nurses

November 10, 2020
Job preparedness is essential for quality caregiving, professional success, and satisfaction. Three rural registered nurses join a nursing doctoral candidate to share their stories about the path to their profession and their perspective on rural nursing preparedness.

Contact Tracing: Training New Workers and Connecting with Rural Residents

September 9, 2020
Contact tracing is an important step in preventing further spread of the coronavirus. Alaska's AHEC program, a center for public health in Washington, and a national public health foundation share their training strategies while an IHS hospital in Arizona discusses its in-person contact tracing initiative.

“It's on Us”: Healthcare's Unique Position in the Response to Human Trafficking

July 29, 2020
Referred to as a form of "modern-day slavery," human trafficking occurs in every state and is not limited by the size of a community. Health services are one of the most common points of access to a lifeline for those actively being trafficked, giving healthcare professionals an advantage to help victims escape. A rural hospital CEO, a SORH director, a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, and a Safe Harbor Regional Navigator share how they combat human trafficking through training and raising awareness.

Advance Care Planning: New Realities in Times of COVID-19

July 15, 2020
Advance care planning — planning for decision-making in times of medical crisis — has always been intended for all people, all ages, with or without a chronic disease. Clinicians talk about the challenges of these conversations now that COVID-19 has nudged planning from the realm of the theoretical future to current reality.

Pennsylvania Hospital Transitions HRSA-Funded Program to Online Services and Addresses COVID-19 Stress

July 1, 2020
Butler Memorial Hospital in Pennsylvania received a HRSA Rural Health Care Services Outreach grant to develop a program for chronic disease patients. Partway through the grant cycle, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The hospital shares how it was able to transition its program services to an online format and develop new initiatives to address stress in the healthcare workforce and the larger community.