National Rural Health Day In celebration of National Rural Health Day on Thursday, November 21, 2013, the National Center for Rural Health Professions (NCRHP) will be honoring Darryl Vandervort, retired CEO of Katherine Shaw Bethea (KSB) Hospital in Dixon, Illinois as an Illinois Rural Health Hero. Vandervort has been a tireless advocate for rural health in Illinois and specifically for rural health professions training. Under his direction, KSB Hospital was among the first collaborating hospitals for the Rural Medical Education (RMED) Program in 1996 and continues to take students annually for their four month rural health immersion experience. He has served as a member of RMED’s Recruitment and Retention Committee, a volunteer committee made up of rural health professionals and community members from various geographic locations in Illinois to assist the program in selecting pre-medical students for entrance into RMED. In addition, Vandervort was at the helm of KSB Hospital when they partnered with NCRHP to start a rural interprofessional summer internship for health professions students and a regional site for the Illinois Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program. In 2004, KSB Hospital in affiliation with the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford established a progressive, three-year rural residency training track for family medicine physicians. Throughout his tenure, Vandervort lead KSB hospital in many roles and was visible in the hospital and community for his leadership. NCRHP will hold a reception on Thursday, November 21, 2013 from 11:00 – 1:00 in the lobby of the University of Illinois Rockford located at 1601 Parkview Avenue Rockford, Illinois. In addition to honoring Darryl, events include “This is Rural Health” photo contest, viewing of NCRHP’s rural health video, picture taking by the tractor, meeting our rural medicine and pharmacy students and viewing past community projects completed by RMED students. In 2013, the University of Illinois’ Rural Medical Education Program (RMED) celebrated its 20th year of educating and training physicians for primary care practice in rural communities. The RMED program is housed within the NCRHP located on the Rockford campus of the University of Illinois. Like many states, Illinois suffers from long-standing shortages of many types of medical personnel in rural communities. For example, 68 of 83 rural counties in the state do not have enough primary-care doctors, including internal, family medicine and pediatrics. About 500 doctors in rural locations are near retirement age. To create a pipeline of physicians to fill those positions, RMED recruits between 15 and 20 students annually who grew up in rural Illinois and plan to pursue a career in rural primary care medicine. Since its inception, RMED has served not only in training rural physicians but also in facilitating the return of young doctors to rural communities. Some 243 students – 187 in practice and 53 in residency training – have graduated from the program. Of those in practice, 125 are practicing in Illinois with over 70% practicing in rural communities and over 75% practicing primary care medicine. The program has served the State of Illinois well in its intended role. The RMED mission is “a medical education program designed to recruit students from rural areas who will upon completion of residency training, return to rural Illinois as primary care physicians.” Candidates considering the RMED Program participate in a dual application process, applying to both the University of Illinois COM and the RMED Program. In addition to the regular medical school curriculum, RMED students participate in monthly sessions or activities during the first three years. In the fourth year, RMED students complete a four month primary care clinical rotation, living in a rural Illinois community. Some 35 rural physician/educators on staff at 25 hospitals in Illinois host RMED students for this rural immersion experience. In addition to their clinical rotation, RMED students complete a community-oriented primary-care project in the same community. Students develop projects that address some issue of importance to the community. celebratepowerofrural.org/?page_id=37
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 20:09:13 +0000
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