Building Community

Collaboration, especially in rural communities with limited resources, is a vital component of community development.  No one can do it on their own.  This report from last fall describes that importance and has a great example of a successful collaboration to develop a rural health network.  We believe that economic/community development and health care are closely integrated, or should be, in rural communities.  The resources below are generally related to community development.   Community development can mean more than attracting new business; it can also mean developing and supporting the resources you already have, and some of the programs address that.  I encourage you to look into them.

Multiplan’s Rural Health Outreach Program awards grants to rural hospitals to develop community outreach programs that improve health care access. Read the rest of this post »

June 17, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Grant Advice, Reports and Studies  2 Comments

Safety Month

June is National Safety Month; appropriate for the summer.  The National Safety Council has produced several dozen health and safety fact sheets on topics such as fireworks safety, home fire prevention and safe bicycling.  They have a whole series on agricultural safety.  There are some great ideas here to develop a community safety campaign.  There is funding out there for these kinds of programs, including our own Rural Community Grant program (applications due July 27!).  Another safety topic that would be great for a community education project is car seat safety.  UW Health produced several resources you can use to develop your own program.   Read the rest of this post »

June 14, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Grant Advice  No Comments

Dental Care

I’ve been pretty busy the last couple weeks and haven’t really had the time to post.  I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.  I haven’t written about oral health in a while and there are several funding opportunities you should know about.

A few months ago the Pew Center on the States released a report on how well we are (or aren’t) providing dental care to children.  The Cost of Delay finds that 20% of children do not have access to annual dental care.  They’ve graded the states based on a series of benchmarks; Wisconsin rated only a C.  To address the lack of oral health care, which is especially severe in rural areas, the authors outline several steps, such as water fluoridation and getting kids treated with sealants. Read the rest of this post »

June 4, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Grant Advice, Reports and Studies  One Comment

Rural Community Grants

I just released the guidelines for the 2010-11 Office of Rural Health Community Grants.  We’re awarding grants up to $15,000 to coalitions working on health issues in rural Wisconsin communities.  This year we’re awarding extra points to EMS-related projects.  Your coalition must include a rural hospital with fewer than 50 beds as an active member with defined project responsibilities.  You can apply for a planning or implementation grant.  We offer the planning option to provide resources to coalitions that aren’t at the implementation stage yet.  Our webpage has examples of successful proposals from the last several years.  I encourage you to take a look at those to get an idea of what the reviewers are looking for.  Proposals are due July 27.

May 13, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Grant Advice, Program Updates  One Comment

Fighting Obesity With Physical Activity Programs

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month  and it’s an excellent opportunity to promote physical activity in your community.  As anyone interested in health issues (or anyone, period) knows, obesity is an increasing problem and tends to be even more of a problem in rural areas.  The opportunities for physical activity are generally more limited than in cities and suburbs.  I think there’s still a misguided belief that living in the country is healthier—all that outside work on the farm, walking to the one room school house….   This article from last month outlines the challenges rural communities face in providing fitness opportunities.  The March issue of Health Affairs, a journal devoted to… health affairs, was dedicated to childhood obesity.  Over a dozen articles (all downloadable) explore this problem from various aspects, including the impact of the lack of recreational options, agricultural policy and personal responsibility in addressing the issue. Read the rest of this post »

May 7, 2010  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Grant Advice, Reports and Studies  5 Comments

Catching Up on Grants and Conferences

I usually write my posts around themes (EMS, oral health, etc.).  I think this is a good way to provide you with an array of resources on a particular topic, but sometimes there are opportunities that don’t fit neatly into a category.  So today I’m posting several funding and conference opportunities in a variety of areas—I didn’t want you to miss out on these.

May is Healthy Vision Month and the American Optometric Association has produced several resources you can use to inform and engage your community in practices to protect their vision, especially eye protection at work.  About 2,000 suffer work-related eye injuries every day.  Sight for Students provides free eye exams and glasses to low income, uninsured children.  Eligible children receive gift certificates through a variety of organizations, such as Head Start, to see a Vision Service Plan eye doctor.  There’s no deadline; contact one of the organizations listed on the website for a certificate. Read the rest of this post »

May 5, 2010  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Conferences and Webinars, Grant Advice, Provider Loan Repayment  2 Comments

Wisconsin Office of Rural Health is Looking for a New Director

We’re looking for a new Director!  John Eich and his family are moving west this fall and we’ve begun the search for his replacement.  This is a great position working with a great group (if I must say so myself).  The Office is located in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison–a great city.   You can view the complete position description and application instructions here.  We’re looking for someone with a background in health care policy, especially rural health care.  The Director will work closely with state and national partners to develop and implement initiatives that help us fulfill our mission, to Champion the highest quality of healthcare for rural and underserved populations by providing collaborative leadership and a wealth of resources to healthcare and community organizations.

Look at our website for more information on the Office and the staff you may be working with.

April 30, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Program Updates  One Comment

EMS Week in Wisconsin

EMS Week (May 16-22) is an opportunity for Services to focus on getting out health and safety messages to their community and to recognize and honor those who dedicate a significant portion of their lives to helping their community.  I’ve asked some of our rural services here in Wisconsin to share news about their EMS week activities.  A few are below.  If you’d like to mention your activities, register (at the bottom of the right column) and leave a comment.  The link above also has some great ideas for EMS Week (or any week) activities.

  • Waushara County EMS is holding their annual Family Fun Fair May 20 at 230 W. Park St. in Wautoma.  They’ll have games, food, a K9 unit demonstration, petting zoo, ambulance and fire truck display and tours and the ThedaStar helicopter. 
  • The Allenton Volunteer Fire Department’s EMS Safety Day is May 23 from 11 to 3 at the Allenton Elementary School, 228 Weis St. in Allenton.  It will feature a bike rodeo and bike helmet give-away, car seat checkups, blood pressure checks and other activities.  The Flight for Life helicopter will visit at 1:00.  Read the rest of this post »

April 29, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Conferences and Webinars, Grant Advice, Program Updates  2 Comments

Safe Kids Week

Every month, week and day is a celebration of something—some of them are silly (did you know April is Fresh Florida Tomatoes Month?) but many of them are legitimate efforts to bring recognition to a serious issue.  You can find a lot of them here.  I try to write some of my posts around themes, and this is where I find most of them.  For example, next week is Safe Kids Week, so this post is about safety and kids.  I know, not too original, but it’s a way to get organized information out to you.  The Safe Kids site has information on safety programs and resources.  For example, there’s information on a Federal Express-sponsored program to help ensure kids have a safe walk to school. Read the rest of this post »

April 23, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Conferences and Webinars, Grant Advice, Training and Tools  One Comment

Rural Community Development

There’s been an interesting series in the Daily Yonder on rural economic development in Alabama, but I think the author’s comments and conclusions apply to Wisconsin or any rural area.  Larry Lee starts his last installment with the observation “What we’ve called ‘rural development’ has failed us miserably for decades.”  A pretty strong statement, but he supports it with reasoned examples.  His suggested solutions?  Rebuild education and focus on the economy, but not the traditional small manufacturing economy.  That may be gone for many communities.  Be creative.  Think outside the box.  All that stuff you hear that in many cases has simply become buzzwords.  For example, many rural communities have discovered alternative tourism, like bicycling.  The Bicycling Federation of Wisconsin reports that bicycling contributes almost $1.5 billion to Wisconsin’s economy annually.  Check out the website for details and ideas on how to tap into this growing market.

I found a good outline for a development plan on the Rural Assistance Center’s site: Read the rest of this post »

April 20, 2010  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Conferences and Webinars, Grant Advice  No Comments