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 It's National Rural Health Day
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Today is National Rural Health Day!
- More than 57 million Americans live, work, and play in rural communities
At Rural Health Network, we're having an impact on a portion of those 57 million Americans as we carry out our mission of
advancing the health and well-being of rural people and communities here in South Central New York.
If you're reading this article, we'd like to thank you for what you do to advance rural health and well-being. Our work is enhanced by the many partner organizations, volunteers, and funders who support us and rural people across the Southern Tier.
To learn more about National Rural Health Day and what you can do to be involved, visit the National Rural Health Day website at
www.powerofrural.org
or visit NOSORH's page at
www.nosorh.org.
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Capital Campaign Update
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Creating a New Center for Rural Health Service, Innovation, & Learning
Rural Health Network is pleased to announce that we have received a $20,000 grant from the R.C. Smith Foundation towards our Capital Campaign. The R.C. Smith Foundation joins the Dr. G. Clifford and Florence B. Decker Foundation, the George A. and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation, United Way of Broome County, and businesses and individuals in providing gifts or pledges toward the campaign.
We're excited to share that as of yesterday, we have contributions or pledges totaling $260,886, 49.7% of our campaign goal.
We invite you to learn more and join in supporting our campaign vision.
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Welcoming New Team Members
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Katie Blaine
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Katie Blaine is excited to join the Getthere team as the Transportation to Employment Coordinator. The position caught her eye because she has seen first hand how employment can change someone's life and help lift them out of poverty. A huge barrier to employment is transportation, and Katie was excited to see Getthere tackling the issue head-on. She looks forward to the challenge of growing the Transportation to Employment Program, making connections with employers, and with individuals that can utilize the program.
Katie is from Rochester, New York, she received a BA in Philosophy and Politics from SUNY Potsdam, and a Master's in Public Administration from Binghamton University. She's held positions in local and federal government and has worked for a variety of nonprofit organizations.
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Rakesh Kukatla
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Rakesh Kukatla recently joined the Community Health Education program at Rural Health Network as an AmeriCorps VISTA member. He moved to upstate New York after having lived in many different states around the country and most recently Washington DC. He has a Master of Science in Biology and has worked in IT, software development and consulting since graduation.
Rakesh was attracted to Rural Health Network because of its participation in the AmeriCorps program and for its focus on health. He is looking forward to gaining experience working with community organizations, local and state agencies, providers and payers of health services.
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Hannah Taggart
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Hannah Taggart is an AmeriCorps VISTA Program Assistant serving with the Food and Health Network. Her r
ole will consist mostly of communications, resource development, and data collection for the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program. She will also be focusing on the augmentation of education and transportation programs for program participants.
Hannah was raised in Bainbridge, NY, just a short trip East along 88 from Binghamton. She graduated from Wells College in 2018 with a dual Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Women's and Gender Studies, and is eager to delve deeper into the professional side of building stronger and more sustainable communities through the development of rural food systems.
In the future, Hannah plans to continue to engage in service to eradicate food insecurity in the South Central New York region, and to continue developing skills that support community strengthening and development through food systems.
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AmeriCorps Positions Available
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Full-Time AmeriCorps Position Highlight
We are currently recruiting for an
Outreach and Engagement Specialist to serve with Rural Health Network! In this position, the AmeriCorps member will:
- Support local community prevention, behavioral health, and general well-being efforts.
- Raise public awareness about heroin and opiate addiction to help mitigate the multiple barriers to recovery (lack of awareness, stigma, misinformation, etc.) that exist.
- Represent Rural Health Network by attending health fairs and events, coordinating Narcan trainings, and participating in the Northern Broome Addiction Awareness Coalition meetings and events (in Whitney Point 1-2 times monthly).
- Meet with patients at Lourdes Hospital and make appropriate referrals.
- Conduct non-clinical healthcare intakes, assessments, and screenings.
(Some evenings and occasional weekend hours will be required. Personal vehicle necessary. Mileage reimbursement available.)
If you are interested in learning more about the position (or want to apply) please
visit our website
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Over 150 stakeholders from across NY and PA gathered in Binghamton on November 6th for the Food as Medicine Summit. Throughout the day attendees learned about innovative programs, policies, research, and coalitions advancing food as medicine in South Central NY, the Northeast, and nationally. Attendees were eager to continue the conversations and identify opportunities to move the work forward. We will be following up with resources in the near future and encourage you to contact us if you'd like to get involved.
Here is an example of the impact shared by a participant:
"The summit was really inspirational and well done, thank you for putting it together. I'm leaving here feeling like I have a better understanding of programs and possible collaborations."
A very big thank you to our event sponsors, HealtheConnections and Care Compass Network for their support, and to event partners Food Bank of the Southern Tier and VINES.
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Northern Broome CARES Program
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 Northern Broome CARES (Care for Aging in Rural Environments) which stems from New York State's Office for Aging's NORC (Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities) initiative is designed to provide multidisciplinary assistance to older adults, allowing them to live in their homes as they age. The program has been working to tailor its needs to benefit Northern Broome County, and started providing limited services in advance of the program launch in January, 2020. We have visited many of the local community groups and civic organizations as well as tabling at the Whitney Point Fall Festival and presenting at the Office for Aging's Public Hearing to provide information about our program. We are receiving great input and support from the community. Many individuals have remarked how happy they are to see part of Rural Health Network back in the Whitney Point area! We would like to thank the various programs at the Rural Health Network and our partner agencies for providing training to the Northern Broome CARES staff.
Northern Broome CARES is located at 12 Strongs Place in Whitney Point. The phone number is: 607-352-4681. We will be serving individuals 60 and over in the towns of Triangle and Lisle. We look forward to exciting things happening in 2020!
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Blueprint for Health Equity Events Recap
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| The Delaware County Blueprint for Health Equity Planning Committee. From L to R: Stephanie Wright, Juliet King, Kali Delmar, Shelly Bartow, and Mary Rosenthal. |
In October, the Population Health Improvement Program held two Blueprint for Health Equity events, one in Delaware County and one in Tioga County. Both events convened health and human service providers and other professionals with the goal of reducing health disparities in the region by interacting with the concepts of health equity and social determinants of health, and how the individuals they work with might be adversely impacted. The Delaware County Blueprint had an added emphasis on adverse childhood experiences and their impact on lifelong health and well-being. The Tioga event had over 40 attendees and Delaware had over 70, with participant fields ranging from clinical care and direct service to education and administration. Our community partners in Delaware County, including Public Health, Delaware Opportunities, and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Delaware County, have plans to host similar events annually as a professional development opportunity.
Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the events, and your continued dedication to health equity in the region!
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Update on the Social Determinants
Measurement Project
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Videos for VBP Participation
As we learn more about Social Determinants measurement and its role in the move toward value-based payment (VBP), we prioritize sharing this knowledge with small and rural community-based organizations (CBOs). CBO-oriented training from the state, Care Compass Network, and the CBO Consortium of Upstate NY have been largely informational, explaining VBP and different ways CBOs can sub-contract with other organizations.
Where we can add value is by highlighting small/rural CBO leaders' experience and insight from the past five years of Medicaid Redesign (DSRIP), as well as their strategies for the future. Our short video series will present relatable examples of how leaders can navigate the opportunities presented by VBP while remaining true to their mission. We are working with local documentarian Brian Frey (Chasing the Dream, Main Street Rising) to develop the series.
So far, we have filmed four one-on-one interviews and one roundtable discussion. These include perspectives from the county level, an Independent Practice Association member, CBOs with limited DSRIP participation, and CBOs that experienced significant growth during DSRIP. Special thanks to filming site La Maison Blanche in Norwich, NY, for their hospitality.
Video release dates and additional interviews are planned for 2020.
To learn more about these activities and the RHN Social Determinants Measurement project, please contact
Emma Nalin
, Project Coordinator.
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Tobacco Use in Rural Areas
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Did you know that rural residency is associated with higher rates of smoking and smokeless tobacco use nationwide? Rural residency has also been linked to an earlier age of onset for smoking and a disproportionately high rate of smoking among pregnant women. Read more in this toolkit from the Rural Health Information Hub.
Today is the Great American Smokeout, sponsored nationally by the American Cancer Society since 1977. It's the perfect occasion to take the first step towards a tobacco-free lifestyle. Health care professionals who would like resources to share with their patients or clients can find them
here.
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Articles and Events of Interest
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We're looking forward to reading all of this recent report Rural Development Hubs: Strengthening America's Rural Innovation Infrastructure from the Aspen Institute's Community Strategies Group.
Rural Health Network and Health-E-Connections hosted a Workplace Wellness Summit last week. See the news coverage here. |
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To support our work at Rural Health Network,
Please take a moment to learn more
about our work and the impact we're making in south central New York.
If you're shopping at Amazon, you can support Rural Health Network by making your purchases though Amazonsmile.
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Advancing the health and well-being of rural people and communities.
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