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About the Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health

The Dakota Conference has served as an interdisciplinary forum for more than 35 years. Attracting about 350+ professionals annually, the conference provides an opportunity to share strategies for building and sustaining healthy communities in North Dakota.

The Dakota Conference includes pre- and post-conference workshops, keynote speakers, a variety of breakout sessions, poster presentations, evening meetings and events, and an awards banquet.

Mission

  • Provide quality education for rural and public health professionals.

Vision

  • Improve the health and well-being of North Dakota communities.

Goals

  1. Provide continuing education to health and human service administrators, managers, researchers, and clinical providers in the areas of:
    • Healthcare administration
    • Health promotion and disease prevention
    • Environmental health and occupational health
    • Diverse populations and health disparities
  2. Create an environment of learning that is informative and educational to an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary audience of health and human service professionals.
  3. Provide conference participants with the opportunity to formally present community-based solutions to common rural and public health issues.
  4. Provide conference participants with the opportunity to informally network with others to share skills and strategies meant to address access, financial, and quality-of-care issues found in rural and public health.
  5. Foster an environment that is conducive to collaboration between different organizations, health and human service disciplines, and communities.

Objectives

Upon completion of this conference, participants will be able to describe strategies meant to address access, financial, and quality-of-care issues found in rural and public health. Participants will be able to define solutions to improving health and develop skills that will be taken to the participant's communities and implemented in their healthcare practices.

Conference Planning Committee Members

  • Haley Bruhn, North Dakota Public Health Association
  • Brittany Dryburgh, University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) Center for Rural Health
  • Tracy Evanson, UND College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines
  • Audrey Lorenz, Altru Health System
  • Brittany Ness, North Dakota Rural Health Association

Composition of Planning Committee

Questions?

Nicole Threadgold
(701) 330-3264
nicole.threadgold@UND.edu