Office of Rural Health and Primary Care

2011 Minnesota Rural Health Hero

Therese Zink, M.D., of Zumbrota, received the Minnesota Rural Health Hero award for promoting rural health in Minnesota and across the county. Dr. Zink is a member of the University of Minnesota faculty, a published author, and a family physician in Zumbrota.

hero award winner As a faculty member and associate director of research and evaluation at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Dr. Zink teaches third-year medical students who are part of the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP). The Minnesota Legislature and the University founded RPAP in 1971 to train more rural and primary care physicians. Over the past five years, Dr. Zink has analyzed the outcomes of RPAP, demonstrating the program’s success training rural and primary care physicians and showing its potential as a model nationwide.

Dr. Zink edited an anthology of stories, poems and essays about rural health care today, which she shared with rural medical school programs across the United States. “The Country Doctor Revisited, A Twenty-First Century Reader,” is playing an important role in educating students about rural practice and helping them match their interests with the reality of practicing in a rural community. She also facilitated a book discussion with first- and second-year medical students at the University of Minnesota using selections from the book to explore issues about modern rural practice. Based on that experience, she received a grant from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine to sponsor book discussion groups at 10 U.S. medical schools. The discussions will link rural residency faculty and medical students to create conversations, mentoring and networking relationships. Zink uses her website, YouTube and Facebook to change the way rural medicine is perceived. Says Zink, “We need to reach out to the next generation of health professionals using the methods they engage in daily.”

Dr. Zink also makes an important difference in her own community. She started a Violence Prevention Committee to raise awareness about family violence and to better coordinate efforts among the police, community members and mental health and health care providers. She helped raise funds to construct a Peace Garden for reflection. She worked with others in the community to create the Stabilize Zumbrota Families Fund to help families in need of short-term assistance. She is partnering with the Rochester nonprofit Twenty Teeth to provide preventive care and fluoride washes to school-age children in the Zumbrota/Mazeppa School System.

In nominating Dr. Zink, Ray Christensen, M.D., assistant dean for Rural Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School said, “Rural medicine is privileged to have many wonderful people who devote their personal and professional lives to providing medical care and access to rural citizens and visitors. Therese Zink stands out as a special rural person.”

UPDATE: In October 2011, Dr. Zink launched a blog that includes snippets from her book with reflective questions geared toward students on rural rotations or with interest in rural health.

2011 Minnesota Rural Health Team

Right Side Up in Otter Tail County received the Rural Health Team Award for its compassionate in-home efforts to reduce fall risk among seniors and improve their quality of life.

Each year one in three adults over the age of 65 falls and half fall again. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related mortality in those 75 or older. Primary risk factors for falls include medical conditions, multiple medications, environmental hazards, and age-related changes in vision and balance.

team award winners

Right Side Up grew out of a nursing student’s project that looked at the number of falls occurring in Otter Tail County. It has continued with medical, pharmacy, physical therapy students on clinical rotations at Lake Region Healthcare in Fergus Falls. In addition to well over 30 students, Right Side Up includes nurse practitioner Marie Braaten, pharmacists Eric Christianson, Mark Dewey and Todd Johnson, physical therapist Eric Leopold, and nurses Lynn Lundquist and Diane Thorson, and Laurissa Stigen, executive director of the Central Minnesota Area Health Education Center. The entire Right Side Up team works together to assess the risk of elderly community members falling and makes recommendations to decrease fall risk.

When a family member or health care provider refers an individual with a history of falls or the potential to fall, Right Side Up arranges a home visit. The home visit includes an environmental assessment, an inventory of all prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, a medical history and a balance test. With assistance from a public health or home health nurse, the students conduct the assessments and then present recommendations to reduce the risk of falls to the entire team. Final recommendations are sent to the individuals and their primary care providers for action.

A key component to reducing falls is coordinating care using a team approach. Not only do students gain confidence in their abilities, but through this early experience with an interprofessional approach to patient care, students are better prepared to continue improving quality of life for seniors well into the future.

The Minnesota Rural Health Conference presents hero and team awards each year. This year’s conference, “Cornerstones of Rural Health,” was hosted by the Minnesota Department of Health’s Office of Rural Health and Primary Care, the Minnesota Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Resource Center. More information is available at www.health.state.mn.us/divs/orhpc/conf/index.html.

Both the Rural Health Hero and Rural Health Team are recognized at the Minnesota Rural Health Conference for their contributions to rural health care:

Minnesota's Rural Health Hero Awards recognize outstanding individuals who have made a significant contribution toward improving the health care of rural Minnesotans. Factors considered include: compassion, efficiency, innovation, collaboration, unselfishness and leadership in rural health care. Minnesota's Rural Health Heroes can be practitioners, advocates, administrators, volunteers, educators, researchers, policymakers, or other community members.
Minnesota's Outstanding Rural Health Team Awards recognize teams of people who have made a significant contribution toward improving the health care of rural Minnesotans. Factors considered include: compassion, efficiency, innovation, collaboration, unselfishness and leadership in rural health care. Minnesota's Outstanding Rural Health Team can be an organization, clinic, partnership or collaborative, program or practice.

Previous Rural Health Award Recipients 1999-2010
*Rural Health Team Award Winners:*
2010	The Northern Dental Access Center received the Rural Health Team Award for its work with families in rural, northwestern Minnesota who have low incomes. Staff is trained in understanding poverty and in recognizing the symptoms of sexual assault, neglect, mental health vulnerabilities and more. A patient advocate works to address all concerns to ensure patients receive the care they need in the most pain-free way possible. More details about Northern Dental Access Center on the ORHPC Models page.
2009	Riverwood Healthcare Center and Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, Brainerd Lakes Affiliate were recognized for their Breast Health Team. Riverwood Healthcare Center launched a Nurse Navigator Program for Breast Health to serve residents of Aitkin and Crow Wing counties. The program educates women about the need for regular screenings for early detection of breast cancer and offers one-on-one support and coordination of services for women who are diagnosed with breast cancer. The program reaches out to women 35 and older and those with low household incomes. The goal is to improve care for patients with breast cancer and to improve access to breast cancer screenings. The program is a model for breast health that is being used in other health care systems.
2008	Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center’s Wellness and Disease Management Team was recognized for their involvement in the health of their community. The team develops and implements programs and services that promote wellness, prevention, disease management and early intervention. Saint Elizabeth’s helps elementary children, seniors and every age in between to reduce their risk factors through increased physical activity and improved nutrition.
2007	One of the driving forces of the Drug Free Coalition of Bemidji has been its voluntary involvement of members from all sectors of the community including parents, health care, social services, government, schools, law enforcement, faith communities and youth. This collaboration is making an impact on youth drug and alcohol abuse through the multidisciplinary approach of projects and services.
2006	The Access Healthcare Home Health Psychiatric Nursing Team is a Medicare-certified, Minnesota class A licensed home health agency based in Grand Rapids, with patients in Cohasset, Deer River, Hill City, Jacobson, McGregor, Aitkin, and Iron Range towns. The team of certified psychiatric registered nurses includes Nancy Hock-Lien, Linda Mortenson and Carmen Rumer.
2005	Sisu Medical Systems is a nonprofit corporation that manages shared information technology (IT) services for a consortium of medical centers using a minimum of member resources, which is crucial to sustaining and increasing the regions’ rural health care capabilities and it would be cost prohibitive for small facilities.
2004	The Senior Helping Hands Peer Volunteers made invaluable contributions by helping troubled seniors recover and re-enter their community. The team's leadership, innovation, dedication and commitment to the program makes a difference in the quality of life for seniors struggling with chemical dependency and mental health issues.
2003	The Madelia Community Hospital “Fight the Fat” Program Award recipients include the town of Madelia and the dedicated people who helped plan and lead the program, including Deb Grote, Donna Klinkner, Candace Fenske, Bev Dahl, Denise Osburn, Deidre Hruby, Jodi Ulmen, and Laura Meyer
2002	Freshwater Education District Lakewood Health System Fetal Alcohol Diagnostic Team,Staples, for their efforts to increase community understanding of the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome.
2001	County Emergency Medical Services, Fertile, a non-profit, charitable organization run entirely by volunteers.
2000	Paynesville Area Health Care System, a model for collaboration in health care delivery, and an important component of the Rural Physician Associate program and the Rural Health School.
2000	Saludando Salud, providing medical interpretation services, referral and appointment assistance, health education, and cultural competency and medical interpretation training to Chicano/Latino people in south central Minnesota.
1999	Drs. Keith Moulton and Roger Parsons of the Moulton and Parsons Clinic in St. James for their fifty years of caring for the people and community of St. James.

Rural Health Hero Award Winners:
2010	Colleen Spike,St. Peter, received the Minnesota Rural Health Hero award for her role as a champion of small rural hospitals. Her nursing background, compassion and holistic approach to care are evident in the value she places on collaboration. Under Spike’s guidance as chief executive officer, River’s Edge Hospital & Clinic grew from a 38-bed facility to a 30-acre health care campus providing care for St. Peter, all of Le Sueur and Nicollet counties and portions of Blue Earth and Sibley counties.
2009	Tim Rice, Staples, received the Minnesota Rural Health Hero award for his contributions in strengthening medical services in central Minnesota. Rice is president of Lakewood Health System, which has grown from one hospital and 200 employees under his direction to an independent, integrated system of five primary care clinics, senior services and 800 employees. According to the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services, Lakewood has set the national standard for the medical home model, also known as a health care home.
2008	Gary Wingrove received the Minnesota Rural Health Hero award for his contributions in strengthening emergency medical services (EMS) in rural Minnesota and nationally. Wingrove is director of Government Relations and Strategic Affairs for Mayo Clinic Medical Transport, a nonprofit air and ground transportation company serving multiple communities in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Prior to that position, he served as emergency medical technician and paramedic for volunteer, nonprofit, government and hospital-based ambulance services in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin and as state EMS director.
2007	Ray G. Christensen, M.D., is a board-certified family physician and cofounder of the Gateway Family Health Clinic in Moose Lake. Dr. Christensen helped develop the trauma system in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, the Arrowhead EMS Association, the Northern Lakes Health Care Consortium, Minnesoat Center for Rural Health, Minnesota Office of Rural Health and Primary Care and the Rural Health Resource Center. He has advocated for rural health through the Minnesota Health Care Commission, Area Health Education Center and Regional Coordinating Boards. He served as president of the Minnesota Rural Health Association and is currently the Clinical Services Chair for the National Rural Health Association. Dr. Christensen currently serves as assistant dean for Rural Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth campus, mentoring family practice students, and was the driving force behind the Minnesota Summer Internship in Medicine Program.
2006	Gary L. Davis, Ph.D., L.P., associate director of the Center for Rural Mental Health Studies at the University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth, championed the telemental health service that now exists in Northland Medical Center in Bigfork, Scenic Rivers Health Services in Cook and the Littlefork Medical Center in Littlefork.
2005	Wilfredo Apostol, M.D. has played a major role in the health care and community life of Lyon, Redwood, Murray and Cottonwood Counties over more than 30 years.
2004	Marie Comstock's contributions continue to benefit the residents of Roseau County and surrounding areas.
2003	Darrell Smith of Grand Marais for his dedication and commitment to the residents of Cook County.
2002	Rick Failing, hospital administrator of Kittson Memorial Healthcare Center in Hallock.
2002	Mel Nefstead of Staples for his work as a rural health advocate in his community and statewide since 1968.
2001	Dr. Darrell Carter, Granite Falls family physician and founder of the Comprehensive Advanced Life Support (CALS) Program.
2000	Anne Roberton, a retired emergency medical technician and former director of the Rushford Ambulance service.
1999	Warren Larson, Community Liaison Director, North Country Health Services, Bemidji, for his tireless work to counteract violence in schools and communities with kindness and caring.