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 Capital Campaign Update
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We're excited to share that as of yesterday, we have contributions or pledges totalling $224,996, 42.8% of our campaign goal.
Greg Rittenhouse, a Rural Health Network Board Member and retired healthcare administrator, explained why he is supporting our campaign to create a center for rural health service, innovation and learning:
"I support Rural Health Network because the Network is equipped and has proven to be a vital partner to the people and community they serve. I've seen the importance that clinical care has on the community; however, healthcare isn't equipped to deal with everything. My work in the healthcare industry has allowed me to see that it's not just about the diagnostics, it's about the understanding; we need to adjust our focus on all factors (food, health, mobility), something that Rural Health Network services have prioritized."
We invite you to learn more and join Greg in supporting our campaign vision.
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Introducing our Northern Broome NORC Team
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We announced earlier this spring that Rural Health Network had received a NYS Office for Aging Naturally Occuring Retirement Community (NORC) grant. The funding will be used to provide a range of community and health services to help older residents in the Broome County townships of Lisle and Triangle to remain in their homes and community. We have started placing staff and interns who will work with partner organizations through the fall to prepare for services that will be offered in January 2020. Interviews are underway for a Community Health Worker who will join the NORC staff team next month.
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Sandy Atwood, Northern Broome NORC Program Coordinator.
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Sandy Atwood is the new Program Coordinator for the Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORC) Program in Northern Broome County. She has a long career in the field of human services, grant programs and not-for profits (much of which was in Whitney Point). Sandy grew up in the rural community of Champion, NY (between Watertown and Carthage). She has lived in Broome County for the last 34 years, and in Triangle for the past 30 years!
Sandy said "I'm very excited to be back working in my hometown and serving the people who reside there. I am very impressed with the various work that Rural Health Network encompasses and I'm thrilled to be part of the team!
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| Ginny Smith and Kendall Hanrahan |
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Ginny Smith will be working in our NORC program based in Whitney Point. Ginny is from Montrose, PA, just across the border from Binghamton. She earned her undergraduate degree in Finance and Real Estate from Temple University. Three years ago Ginny made a profound change in her life and joined the Susquehanna County Juvenile Probation staff, where her experiences led her to apply to the Binghamton University's Master of Social Work program. A component of the MSW program is hours worked in the field. This internship with Rural Health Network/NORC offers Ginny the opportunity to implement a new program and have a positive impact on the aging adults of Broome County.
Kendall Hanrahan has lived in Binghamton, NY her whole life and is thrilled to be working at the Rural Health Network as one of the NORC (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community) Interns. She is currently working on completing her Masters of Social Work (MSW) at Binghamton University, and is very excited for the opportunity to expand her knowledge of the field in this position. Kendall looks forward to all the connections she will make this year at Rural Health Network, and hopes she will be able to bring the knowledge she has learned here into the field with her after she completes her MSW program in the spring of 2021. She is so grateful for this experience, and looks forward to all that is to come!
The five-year program involves a collaboration of education, healthcare, aging services and community partners. Staff will be located at the Northern Broome Senior Center and will work closely with the Broome County Office for Aging on all aspects of the program
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AmeriCorps VISTA Positions Update
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RHSC VISTA Positions Are Nearly Filled!
Slots are filling up fast! We have two more VISTA positions available with Rural Health Service Corps:
The Center for Civic Engagement Volunteer Coordinator will partner with Binghamton University Community Schools through the Center for Civic Engagement's Youth Initiative to strengthen a model of utilizing college interns and volunteers to implement a countywide, university-assisted community school initiative in Broome County. This work with the Youth Initiative aims to create learning environments that address the needs of schoolchildren and enhance student support so youth can take full advantage of all classroom opportunities, irrespective of income or other barriers.
The
Rural Tioga Poverty Education VISTA will lead efforts for Tioga County initiatives focused on the coordination of action steps identified in the 2018-2019 Tioga Tells Quality of Life Assessment project. The final product will ensure more equitable resources and service allocation to rural Tioga County residents.
These positions would involve a full year of service at 40 hours/week with a flexible start date. For more information about the benefits of service or to apply, please visit our website at
ruralhealthservicecorps.org.
Three New National Service Members Join Rural Health Network
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Jamie Henry
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Jamie Henry is the Food and Health Network Program Assistant VISTA. Her position with FaHN will consist mostly of grant writing and fundraising activities, along with public relations and assistance with FaHN programming.
Jamie is originally from Dansville, NY, a small town in the Western Finger Lakes region. In May 2019, she graduated from Alfred State College with her bachelor's degree in health sciences. She is looking to explore the many areas within the field of public health as she begins her professional career, which is what brought her to South Central New York. Jamie said, "I am eager to see what this place holds and I'm enthusiastic about the opportunity to develop my professional skill set."
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Tristan Mace
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Tristan Mace is an Americorps VISTA member working as a Marketing and Communications Associate at Rural Health Network. He was raised in the mountains of Saranac Lake, but spent a majority of his life in Binghamton, New York. His area of study was focused on communications and visual arts while attending SUNY Broome, and he continued his education at SUNY Oswego studying graphic design and technology.
As a fresh face to a professional setting, he is hoping that his time here at Rural Health Network will teach him valuable skills that can be used in his future endeavors.
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Nicole Kaczmarczyk
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Nicole Kaczmarczyk is a Farm to School AmeriCorps member who will be working with local schools in an effort to educate children on healthier food options. She is a Broome County native who graduated from Union-Endicott High School.
Nicole received a Bachelor's degree in Biology with a minor in human development from SUNY Geneseo and has an interest in pursuing a career within the field of public health. She is excited to give back to her community and improve the nutritional health of local school districts.
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Health Equity Events in
Delaware & Tioga Counties
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The Blueprint for Health Equity event series began in the Hudson Valley PHIP region. These workshops help health and human service providers learn about health disparities and how the individuals they serve might be impacted. The workshops include an interactive component such as a poverty simulation or rural cultural competency roleplaying, and an actionable commitment to moving towards health equity. The first event in the Southern Tier region was held in Ithaca earlier this spring.
Stephanie Wright, Population Health Coordinator, is coordinating two Blueprint events in Delaware and Tioga Counties.
The Delaware County Blueprint for Health Equity event will be held on October 15 at SUNY Delhi from 8:00am-4:00pm. The event will focus on how ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) impact lifelong health, and will include a keynote address on health equity and ACES, several breakout sessions, a networking lunch, and a panel discussion. Planning Committee partners include Delaware County Public Health, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Delaware County, Delaware Opportunities, Inc., and SUNY Delhi.
The Tioga County Blueprint Event will be held on October 22 at Tioga Downs from 9:00am-1:00pm. It will feature a panel of people with lived experience, a keynote presentation by Dr. Sharon Bryant, Binghamton University professor, rural cultural competency role playing, and reflective discussion. Planning Committee partners include Tioga Opportunities, Inc., Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Tioga County Public Health.
If you're interested in attending a Blueprint event, please click here to register for Delaware County, and here for Tioga County. For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Stephanie at [email protected].
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Chronic Disease Self Management Program
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The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program is a workshop for anyone who has or is at risk for a long-term health condition, OR a caregiver of a person with a long-term health condition. The groups meet once per week for 6 weeks, and focus on action planning, problem solving, communicating with health-care providers, and other skills related to managing our own health.
Rural Health Network will be holding workshop series in Broome, Tioga, and Delaware Counties this fall.
For more information or to register for the Broome or Tioga workshops, contact the Director of Community Health Education, Mary Maruscak.
For more information or to enroll in the Delaware County workshops, contact Bassett Healthcare Network by email or by calling 607-547-3948. |
Interns Joining Rural Health Network Team
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AmeriCorps Member Kevin Brouillard and Sidney Elementary Students selling produce grown in their school garden. |
Last year, we awarded Sidney Central School District our first School Garden Grant. Funding helped provide supplies for six new raised beds and materials for their hoop house. Currently, students are also learning business skills as they sell produce from the garden at a Famer's Market hosted by the school on T
hursdays.
We are excited to announce that we recently awarded five more School Garden Grants, totaling $1,000 to A.F. Palmer Elementary School, Glenwood Elementary School, Binghamton West Middle School, Homer Brink Elementary School, and Johnson City Elementary School! The grants will be used to purchase a variety of supply and material needs for their school gardens, and promote student and community volunteerism. We look forward to working with these school districts to help them achieve their goals for the gardens!
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Garlic harvest at a VINES garden
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Rural Health Service Corps members and members of the Food and Health Volunteer Corps partnered with VINES for a 9/11 Day of Remembrance. Activities for that day included preparation for upcoming events, trimming garlic, raking, weeding, and harvesting. VINES is always looking for volunteers to get involved, and the Rural Health Service Corps is currently recruiting for AmeriCorps members. Visit the
VINES and
RHSC websites to learn more.
The first NY Thursdays menu has been finalized! We kicked off our first NY Thursday meal of the 2019-2020 school year yesterday! The menu included an All-beef Hot Dog, Oven Roasted Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, a Fresh Berry Cup, and Low Fat Milk. Many students from our various partner districts in Broome-Tioga BOCES schools helped out in the cafeteria with corn shucking!
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Update on the Social Determinants
Measurement Project
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Programs targeting Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) face the challenge of quantifying impact beyond traditional cost-in, savings-out return on investment. How do we measure the impact of food security on an individual, and what financial numbers can we attach to that outcome? Social return on investment (SROI) measures cross-sector and intangible effects by estimating the cost of what might have happened, had the program or intervention not occurred - this avoided outcome is referred to as a "counterfactual."
For the eight cohorts involved in this project, we are calculating a conservative SROI based on the estimated cost of the worst-possible outcome, usually an avoidable Emergency Room visit. This SROI is a starting point for determining the broader impact of specific social determinants interventions in these cohorts. Other methods exist, including software algorithms that incorporate factors beyond worst-possible outcome. The
Commonwealth Fund ROI calculator for Social Determinants of Health is available for free online use. This calculator is supported by a collection of literature on the website with cost estimates for different social determinants interventions.
To learn more about these activities and the RHN Social Determinants Measurement project, please contact
Emma Nalin
, Project Coordinator.
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Thank You!
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We're sending a big Thank You to Visions Federal Credit Union for a contribution from their employee Denim Days program. We were honored to accept this gift.
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Articles and Events of Interest
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Reflections on Public-Private Collaborations in Rural Health
Published by the
Health Affairs Blog on
August 22, 2019, the article features several key themes on the relationship between health security and economic opportunity. Read the article here.
Broome County Office for Aging Hosts Age-Friendly Broome County Conversation
The Broome County Office for Aging invites others to join them on Ocober 2nd for a conversation about the plan and process to make Broome County an age-friendly community. Details and RSVP contact can be seen here.
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United Way Campaigns Kick Off
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Donna Cook, Wegmans; Marci Goodwin, Jack Sherman Toyota; and Jack Salo, Rural Health Network of SCNY accept awards recognizing outstanding employee campaigns to support United Way of Broome County for the 2018-2019 year.
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United Way campaigns for the coming year are kicking off throughout the region. Rural Health Network was honored to receive a Cabinet Award from United Way of Broome County for the 2018-2019 year recognizing "an outstanding employee campaign to support our community". We encourage others to join our staff in supporting a local United Way and the role they have in improving lives in our communities. |
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To support our work at Rural Health Network,
Our latest
Impact Report has been published. 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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