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 community members  
• Build collaborative and cooperative relationships across organizations and communities
• Develop 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:

• Grant writing support including grant writing workshops, identifying funding sources, finding statistics and background information, critiquing grant proposals, and providing letters of support.
• Attracting health professionals through the State Office of Rural Health, the Area Health Education Center and our workforce specialist.
• Community health planning and development to help organizations understand and meet their community's needs via:
  • Meeting facilitation of community and health facility discussions
  • Strategic planning to help organizations develop a comprehensive vision and direction
  • Community Health Needs Assessments via surveys, focus groups, and key informant interviews
• Topical presentations for your organization or community through our speakers bureau.
• Program evaluations that provide a picture of where your organization is succeeding, and areas of potential improvement.
• Healthcare facility support. Learn more about What We Do: Hospitals and Facilities.
• Promote healthy communities through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota grants and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program grants.
• Promote behavioral health through resources such as the North Dakota Brain Injury Network and the Rural Community Toolbox: Funding & Resources for Rural Communities to Address Substance Misuse.

Our Expertise

CRH 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 30 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. CRH believes in the power of the rural community and its members to articulate and construct their own vision for community health.

Key Contact

• Brad Gibbens, MPA
  Acting Director
• Jody Ward, MS, RN, APHN
  Program Director

Current Projects

• Building Healthier Rural Community (BUILD) Grants Program
• Community Health Needs Assessment
• Flex
• National Resource Center on Native American Aging
• Native Aging in Place Project
• Native Urban Elder Needs Assessment Survey
• North Dakota Brain Injury Network
• North Dakota Qualified Service Provider (QSP) Hub
• Primary Care Office
• Project ECHO
• Resource Center on Native Aging and Disability
• Rural Health Clinic Network
• Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program
• State Office of Rural Health