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Center for Rural Health Resources

Addressing Indigenous Health

Native Americans have historically faced greater health disparities than almost any other population in the U.S. The Center for Rural Health (CRH) works with tribal communities to help improve health outcomes and well-being for American Indians, specifically geared toward helping Elders.

What We Can Do for You

Related to addressing Indigenous health, we provide:

  • A national program focused on Native American Elder issues: the National Resource Center on Native American Aging.
  • Help identify and increase awareness of evolving Native Elder health and social issues along with collaborating with tribes. Through education, training, technical assistance, and research CRH assists in developing community-based solutions to improve the quality of life and delivery of support services to this aging population. CRH conducts and offers assistance with a needs assessment survey, a WELL Balanced program, and a Native Elder Caregiver Curriculum.

Our Expertise

Our Native American programs have a predominantly Indigenous staff with expertise in Native geriatrics, elder abuse, mental health, suicide prevention, health disparities, community-based participatory research and tribal participatory research, resiliency, health and wellness. We have worked with 255 of the 574 federally recognized tribes.

Key Contact

Aging

As the population over the age of 65 continues to grow, both in the state and nationally, the Center for Rural Health works to address issues of aging in rural and tribal communities. Our staff:

  • Work to ensure access to healthcare and support services in communities.
  • Research the availability of services for aging populations.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of innovative services for individuals with dementia.
  • Provide culturally appropriate information and training to assist in the prevention of elder abuse and increase quality of life for Elders in tribal communities.

The Center for Rural Health's Rural Health Information Hub lists additional rural aging information and resources.

Key Contact

Collette Adamsen, Program Director

Behavioral Health

North Dakota faces a serious lack of behavioral health services and professionals. Stigma and privacy concerns associated with mental health issues in rural areas may mean that many people do not seek out the few services available. The Center for Rural Health works to offset behavioral health disparities by:

  • Supporting rural health facilities as they work to provide behavioral health services.
  • Addressing the lack of culturally competent behavioral health professionals in tribal communities.
  • Sharing behavioral health research, data, and best practices.
  • Utilizing relevant state, tribal, and local data to guide North Dakota's substance abuse prevention planning, programming, and evaluation.

Key Contact

Rebecca Quinn, Program Director

Disability and Injury

The Center for Rural Health supports rural communities in addressing chronic disease and injury by:

  • Researching levels of injury and chronic disease burden in North Dakota.
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of chronic disease management and support services.
  • Promoting healthy lifestyles in rural communities as a means to avoiding chronic disease and injury.
  • Assisting communities and facilities in planning and implementing clinical prevention and coordination services.

Key Contact

Rebecca Quinn, Program Director

Educating and Informing

The Center for Rural Health is committed to enhancing the understanding of rural health issues in our state, region, and the nation. We work with a wide range of rural stakeholders to:

  • Raise awareness about the challenges facing rural communities.
  • Help people working on rural issues share their experiences and learn from one another.
  • Support informed decision making.

What We Can Do for You

In the area of educating and informing, we offer:

  • Key North Dakota rural statistics, maps and supporting information via publications, including fact sheets, maps, and more.
  • Professional development opportunities at the Dakota Conference on Rural Health as well as other workshops and meetings.
  • E-mail updates on state and national resources and opportunities via the Center for Rural Health Update.
  • The Rural Health Information Hub's (RHIhub) website offers an online clearinghouse with information on 80 key rural health and human services topics and all 50 states, examples of successful programs and approaches, tools to support grant writing, free customized assistance, and much more.
  • The Rural Health Research Gateway website provides free, easy, and timely access to research conducted by the Rural Health Research Centers. Users can subscribe to receive alerts when new research is released, or visit the website to access research products, information about the research centers and researchers, and information on current and ongoing research projects.

Our Expertise

Our staff and faculty present and publish on a wide range of rural health topics at the national, regional, tribal, state, and community levels. We also serve on a variety of national and regional boards, committees, and task forces, all with the aim of helping to inform people, organizations, and policy discussions about rural issues.

We provide information to the North Dakota Legislature, the Governor's office, and our state's federal delegation, as well as to legislative staff across the country.

CRH is the home of RHIhub, the nation's rural health information center. RHIhub provides information, resources, models, opportunities, and more to millions of website visitors each year. CRH also hosts the Rural Health Research Gateway, which works with the federally-funded Rural Health Research Centers to communicate rural health research findings to a broad audience around the country.

Key Contact

Kristine Sande, Associate Director

Emergency Medical Services

Rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies in North Dakota face significant challenges. Over 90 percent of EMS staff are volunteer, with continually dwindling numbers. Many ambulance services and quick response units do not have reliable and sustainable funding sources. To support North Dakota rural EMS agencies, the North Dakota Flex Program at the Center for Rural Health:

  • Assists in conducting research on rural emergency infrastructure.
  • Facilitates and encourages the ongoing collaboration between rural EMS agencies, Critical Access Hospitals, and rural communities in developing collaborative regional or local systems of care, addressing community needs, and integrating EMS throughout North Dakota.
  • Partners with the North Dakota EMS Association to provide quality improvement initiatives for EMS units.
  • Works with North Dakota Health & Human Services Division of Emergency Medical Systems and other stakeholders.

For more information, see the Rural Emergency Medical Services page on the Center for Rural Health's Rural Health Information Hub website.

Key Contact

Jody Ward, Program Director

Health Workforce

The Center for Rural Health assists rural areas in meeting their health workforce needs. Using state and federal resources, we:

  • Educate North Dakota students about rural health careers.
  • Research workforce issues at the state and national level.
  • Provide assistance in matching healthcare professionals and rural communities.

What We Can Do for You

In the area of health workforce, we offer:

Key Contact

Hospitals and Facilities

Strengthening and sustaining rural healthcare infrastructure means access to quality healthcare for rural North Dakota residents. We work with rural hospitals, facilities, and others interested in rural healthcare to:

  • Provide rural facilities opportunities to maintain and improve the care they give.
  • Support current healthcare systems, allowing them to flourish.
  • Distribute various grants to sustain health systems.

What We Can Do for You

Related to hospitals and facilities, we provide:

Our Expertise

We initiated and currently support the North Dakota CAH Quality Network, which is a resource for CAHs to share best practices and quality initiatives. We also work with both rural and urban hospitals to coordinate meetings and continuing education opportunities. Our staff are invited to present, at the state and national level, on the collaborative efforts related to quality and patient safety taking place in rural North Dakota. They also serve on a variety of committees related to EMS, HIT, quality improvement, and other topics related to rural healthcare.

Key Contact

Informing Policy

The Center for Rural Health supports rural and tribal health through policy work at the state, regional, tribal, and national levels. We help policymakers and people interested in healthcare delivery get the information they need by:

  • Studying the impact of current policies and regulations on communities.
  • Examining the potential impact of proposed policy changes on communities.
  • Supporting informed decision-making through provision of data and research.

What We Can Do for You

In the area of policy, we offer:

  • Policy-related research.
  • Policy-relevant information on topics that concern you, your organization, or community through policy-focused presentations on current issues, policy briefs, other publications, and the Rural Health Information Hub's Rural Health Policy guide.
  • Assistance in understanding the impact of current and proposed policies on rural health and how you can provide input to policymakers.
  • Assistance to your organization in policy framing. CRH faculty and staff have specialized training in policy communications and messaging.

Our Expertise

We have over a 40-year history of supporting North Dakota health policy. Our staff and faculty serve on national and state policy relevant boards and committees such as the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) and National Rural Health Association (NRHA). Staff and faculty have provided testimony at the state and federal level on key rural and tribal issues. The Center provides support and information to North Dakota's Congressional delegation, the Governor's office, state legislators, and various associations and organizations.

Key Contact

Jacob Warren, Director

Public Health

Solid public health services can improve the overall population health, meaning healthier communities and healthier North Dakotans. The Center for Rural Health works to further the public health mission in North Dakota by:

  • Working with diverse organizations to build partnerships and improve population health in rural areas.
  • Coordinating the annual Dakota Conference on Rural Health.
  • Gathering statistical data on various North Dakotan health aspects to inform stakeholders, educators, and policy makers.
  • Providing technical assistance on accreditation, grant writing, needs assessments, improvement planning, and community engagement for local public health units.

Key Contact

Quality

Everyone deserves access to quality healthcare, no matter your address or the size of your primary healthcare facility. The Center for Rural Health leverages resources to sustain and enhance the quality healthcare provided by North Dakota's rural hospitals and clinics by:

  • Coordinating statewide efforts for Critical Access Hospitals to share best practices, tools, and resources related to providing quality care.
  • Facilitating the distribution of grants to rural communities to improve programs, equipment, and overall care.
  • Collecting data for healthcare facilities to benchmark work and improve practices, resulting in even better care for rural North Dakotans.

For more information on the importance of quality healthcare nationwide, see the Healthcare Quality page on the Center for Rural Health's Rural Health Information Hub website.

Key Contact

Jody Ward, Program Director

Research and Evaluation

The Center for Rural Health (CRH) undertakes research initiatives to support rural and tribal communities and conducts evaluation to measure the merit or worth of rural health policies, projects, programs, agencies, or systems.

Our Expertise

CRH has faculty and staff with extensive experience in program planning and evaluation for local, county, state, and federal programs. CRH is also home to many programs engaged in qualitative research, quantitative research, community based participatory research, tribal participatory research, and mixed methods. CRH recognizes the unique attributes of both evaluation and research as separate yet related disciplines, and often works on projects actively engaged in both.

What We Can Do for You: Research

In the area of research, we offer:

  • Policy relevant research that is relied on by congressional offices, state legislators, state associations and other key policy makers and stakeholders.
  • Key research findings on a wide range of topics via presentations and publications, including fact sheets, policy briefs, reports and journal articles, related to our research.
  • Opportunities to collaborate on research relating to rural and tribal health at the state, regional, and national level.
  • Community-based participatory research such as our Community Health Needs Assessments.
  • Tribal participatory research through the National Resource Center on Native American Aging.
  • Research education and mentorship through the Dakota Conference on Rural Health, student internships, guest lectures, conference presentations, and faculty roles on students' thesis and dissertation committees.
  • Access to national rural health research publications funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy via the Rural Health Research Gateway.

What We Can Do for You: Evaluation

In the area of evaluation, we offer:

  • Technical assistance in determining the merit or worth of a policy, project, program, agency, or system.
  • Program evaluation services to help organizations assess the effectiveness of their efforts, improve programs, and report accomplishments to stakeholders and funders.
  • System evaluation services to help stakeholders define a system, assess subsystem processes, evaluate coordination between subsystems, and determine a system's effectiveness as a whole.
  • Evaluation planning assistance.
  • Evaluation capacity building to help an organization strengthen its capacity to conduct and use evaluation effectively.
  • Evidence-based program and policy design guidance and support.
  • Publications customized to your reporting needs and requirements.

Key Contacts

We are interested in all aspects of research and evaluation that relate to rural and tribal health.

For inquiries about specific research or evaluation topics:

Working with Communities

The Center for Rural Health works with rural and tribal communities to build responsive and sustainable health systems and strong rural health organizations. We help communities:

  • Engage their community members
  • Build collaborative and cooperative relationships across organizations and communities
  • Develop their local healthcare capacity and workforce
  • Promote healthy communities and lifestyles
  • Evaluate current programs and develop new ones
  • Learn about and implement innovative strategies

CRH works with many types of health organizations including:

  • Hospitals
  • Public health units
  • Nursing homes
  • Clinics
  • Ambulance units
  • Community health coalitions and networks

What We Can Do for You

In the area of working with communities, we offer:

Our Expertise

The Center for Rural Health was created in 1980 to have a primary mission of providing service and assistance to rural communities in the development of stronger, more viable health systems and to improve the health status in rural North Dakota. We have over 45 years of experience in working directly with rural communities to help them to identify and develop community-based solutions to their local health issues and to advocate for rural concerns. We have conducted numerous community engagement efforts including strategic planning, network development, grant development, community needs assessments, and other assistance focused on building local capacity. The Center for Rural Health believes in the power of the rural community and its members to articulate and construct their own vision for community health.

Key Contacts