Kay Miller Temple, MD - Bio Sketch

With a perspective gained from providing direct patient care for more than 30 years and a master's degree in journalism and mass communication, Kay Miller Temple writes for the Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) at the Center for Rural Health (CRH) within the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Grand Forks.

Kay creates original content for the Rural Monitor, RHIhub's online magazine, as well as for the Rural Health Models and Innovations, a section that features interventions and solutions specific to unique areas in rural America that address that area's health disparities.

Since joining the CRH in 2017, Kay has taken on leadership roles with additional projects, such as the Targeted Rural Health Education (TRHE) project. As TRHE's writing mentor, Kay helps medical students who have completed clinical experiences in rural North Dakota communities write and publish health education stories for their communities' rural newspapers.

In 2021, Kay was appointed to the National Rural Health Association's Health Equity Council. Kay has also accepted speaking engagements and served on rural health webinar panels. She was a 2019 National Rural Health Association Rural Health Fellow and currently is on the board of directors for AgriSafe Network, a nonprofit organization with attention to the health and safety of farmers and ranchers.

Kay grew up on the family homestead near Cresbard, South Dakota, and returns to her home community regularly. She earned her MD from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine and was boarded in internal medicine, pediatrics, and hospice and palliative care. After spending 15 years doing direct patient care in rural and urban areas, she joined the Mayo Clinic, Arizona Campus in 2001. There, she worked as a hospitalist for another 15 years and served on many administrative committees. She chaired the organization's Utilization Management committee and led the rollout of the hospital-wide Clinical Documentation Integrity Program. Additionally, she created the System-Based Practice Day, a one-day curriculum for first-year medical and surgical residents used by the organization's training programs to meet the core competency recommendations of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. In 2013, Kay earned a master's degree in journalism and mass communication from Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.