Awardees Honored at Rural and Public Health Awards Banquet

Jun 27, 2025

The 2025 Rural and Public Health Awards Banquet was held in Bismarck, North Dakota on June 18 as part of the Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health. The awards banquet recognized outstanding North Dakota rural health and public health advocates for their accomplishments.

Public Health Awards

The North Dakota Public Health Association (NDPHA) presented three awards for outstanding work in North Dakota public health.

Public Health Worker of the Year

The Public Health Worker of the Year award recognizes a member who has made a significant contribution in the field of public health in the past year. The 2025 recipient was Sarah Weninger, HIV, STI, viral hepatitis prevention coordinator at the North Dakota Health and Human Services.

Weninger just completed her term as president of NDPHA, a position she served in for two years. In that capacity, she strengthened the accountability for the sections and members of NDPHA, she has driven to provide more value to members, and she spearheaded a strategic planning meeting with great success.

Outstanding Service Award

The Outstanding Service Award honors an individual who has exhibited continued excellence in the field of public health. The 2025 recipient was Kirby Kruger, director of disease control and forensic pathology at North Dakota Health and Human Services.

Kruger's contributions to the advancement of the science of public health in North Dakota are significant, including but not limited to being a state epidemiologist, STD program manager, injury surveillance coordinator, and AIDS educator, as well as a science teacher in Sykeston, North Dakota. Kruger received a bachelor's degree in biology and zoology from NDSU in 1986. He also received a certificate of public health from Emory University in 1999.

Public Health Team of the Year

The Public Health Team of the Year award honors a team that has worked collaboratively on a unique, creative, or outstanding public health effort, program, or goal. The 2025 recipient was City-County Health District, located in Valley City.

In 2023, City-County Health District was facing a repeal of a law banning all flavors of e-cigarettes, which had been in place since 2016. Prohibited to lobby, the City-County Health District staff lead a comprehensive educational campaign about the risks of e-cigarettes, and all vape products. In parallel, a coalition of local, state, and national partners formed to educate, inform, and lobby the city of Valley City and its constituents to vote no on Measure 2. The successful result was a 68% vote no on Measure 2 which maintained a state and nationally leading law to protect youth and future generations from e-cigarettes.

Rural Health Awards

Eight Rural Health Awards were presented during the awards banquet.

Outstanding Rural Health Provider

This award is presented to a healthcare provider who practices in rural North Dakota and is unselfishly committed to improving the health of their community and service area. The 2025 recipient was Dr. Catherine Houle, medical provider at West River Health Services.

Dr. Houle has 33 years of experience as a medical provider and has spent 27 of them serving the community of Hettinger. She is deeply committed to ensuring that the individuals that live in southwestern North Dakota, northwestern South Dakota, and southwestern Montana have access to high quality medical care, and travels 680 miles around the area each month to serve them.

Outstanding Rural Health Professional

This award is presented to a professional located in rural North Dakota who has demonstrated leadership in the delivery of rural health services and is unselfishly committed to making a significant and sustained impact on the health of their community and service area. The 2025 recipient was Ben Bucher, CEO of Towner County Medical Center (TCMC) in Cando.

Bucher has been at the helm of TCMC as CEO since November 2015. In his time as CEO, Bucher's leadership has propelled TCMC to earn eight national Top 100 Critical Access Hospital Awards and six national Top 20 Critical Access Hospital Awards. And most recently TCMC received three Top 20 awards, one in every category: Hospitals, Quality, and Patient Satisfaction. He also supported TCMC through an extensive construction project, helping to plan and manage financing to allow Cando to have a new facility to care for the next several generations of patients in the community.

Outstanding Rural Health Career

This award is presented to a community member who has unselfishly committed their energy, time, and skills to improve the health of their rural North Dakota community. The 2025 recipient was Linda Conneran, volunteer with HIA Hospice (formerly Hospice of the Red River Valley).

Conneran comforts families and patients with compassion and thoughtfulness; and showcases her giving spirit by writing sympathy cards and sewing celebration bears as a tribute to loved ones. In fact, during her time at HIA Hospice, Conneran has sewn over 270 bears for families. Each bear is thoughtfully customized to represent a loved one's favorite colors or personality traits. On top of volunteering at HIA Hospice, she also volunteers for Holy Family Catholic Church and the American Cancer Society Relay for Life.

Emerging Rural Leader

This award is presented to a new professional who has demonstrated tremendous promise for and commitment to improving the health of rural North Dakota residents. The 2025 recipient was Dr. Karen Andres, medical provider at West River Health Services in Hettinger.

Dr. Andres is fluent in English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin, breaking down the language barrier that comes with serving rural agricultural communities. Her skills in these various languages ensure that every patient she sees feels heard, understood, and respected.

Rural Health Legislator of the Year

This award recognizes an outstanding North Dakota legislator, congressional representative, or legislative aid for his/her work and support of rural and public health initiatives that address an identified need in his/her district. The 2025 recipient was North Dakota Representative Jon Nelson, from Rugby, North Dakota.

Representative Nelson has worked to support policies to improve healthcare access, workforce retention, and infrastructure development in rural areas – all key components to building and sustaining healthy rural communities. After spending over a decade as a member of a hospital board for a small rural facility, he understands the challenge that rural healthcare facilities face, as well as the critical roles they play in their respective communities. With his help and advocacy, funding was secured for health services, ensuring that rural hospitals and clinics remain viable and fully equipped to serve anyone who may walk in their doors.

Outstanding Rural Health Career

This award is presented to a healthcare professional who has devoted his/her career to making significant contributions to improving healthcare in rural North Dakota. The 2025 recipient was Alan O'Neil, CEO of Unity Medical Center, located in Grafton, North Dakota.

O'Neil has been a part of Unity Medical Center since 2014. During that time, he has created a health system that provides many services that often require rural residents to travel long distances to access. Under O'Neil's leadership, Unity Medical Center has grown – adding an emergency department, a surgery center, 11 private patient rooms, and a conference center/rural medical education center. This physical expansion also increased the hospital's workforce and led to the acquisition of a da Vinci robot – the only one in North Dakota located at a Critical Access Hospital.

R-COOL-Health Scrubs Camp of the Year

This award is presented to the grantee that hosted the Scrubs Camp deemed as the top camp of the year based on the overall combination of a number of factors, including professions students are exposed to, innovative and interactive activities, collaboration of community partners and local healthcare professionals, and organization of the camp and grant process. The 2025 recipient was Coal Country Community Health Center, in Beulah, North Dakota.

The R-COOL-Health Scrubs Camps are one-day camps held in rural communities. A partnership that includes, at minimum, a local healthcare facility, economic or job development authority, and school create a one-day camp for students to learn about careers in healthcare from local healthcare professionals.

Coal Country Community Health Center hosted Scrubs Camps on March 19 and 26 for students in the Beulah area, including the communities of Beulah, Hazen, Center, Stanton, Dodge, Dunn, Golden Valley, Halliday, Hannover, Pick City, and Zap. Coal Country Community Health Center collaborated with Sakakawea Medical Center, Community Healthcare Association of the Dakotas, Knife River Care Center, and Mercer County Ambulance to showcase a variety of healthcare careers.

Flex Quality Reporting Award

This award is presented to a Critical Access Hospital in North Dakota that has developed an Antibiotic Stewardship Program to include all required elements and met the largest number of subcomponent measures. Antibiotic Stewardship Programs can help clinicians improve clinical outcomes and minimize harms by improving antibiotic prescribing. The 2025 recipient was Langdon Prairie Health, located in Langdon, North Dakota.

Critical Access Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs are required by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy and are part of the eligibility requirements for receiving Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility funded activities. These programs are comprised of seven core elements: leadership commitment, accountability, drug expertise, action, tracking, reporting, and education. The goal of the Antibiotic Stewardship Program is to help improve clinical outcomes and minimize harms by improving antibiotic prescribing.

A successful Antibiotic Stewardship Program has implemented at least one recommended action, monitors antibiotic prescribing and resistance patterns, reports information on antibiotic use to relevant staff, and educates clinicians about resistance and optimal prescribing.