UND to host Sec. of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at National Rural Health Journalism Workshop

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota (UND) will be the host for the Association of Health Care Journalist’s virtual Rural Health Journalism Workshop, June 21-23. This workshop is sponsored by the UND Leaders in Action Rural Health and Communities Grand Challenge.

The event’s featured speaker is U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, head of the U.S Department of Agriculture.

“A significantly greater proportion of [North Dakota] residents live and work in rural areas than a majority of other states in the U.S.,” said Dr. Shawnda Schroeder, associate director of research and evaluation for the Center for Rural Health at UND. “UND also serves as our State Office of Rural Health and we host the Center for Rural Health, with more than four dozen dedicated team members focused on striving for rural health equity. This is a great opportunity to share our larger national programs focused on rural health equity with the journalists who most commonly report this information.” 

The goal of UND’s Rural Health and Communities Grand Challenge is to help rural communities solve their unique health and social problems. This is one of five Grand Challenges, which are geared toward generating opportunity by helping diversify North Dakota’s economy and addressing social issues. 

The easy-access, three-day workshop will bring journalists together with healthcare and policy experts who focus on the medical needs of people in rural areas and how they differ from those living in urban settings. People living in rural communities can play a large role in setting policy and promoting legislation in many states and across the country.

The workshop is hosted by UND. Other sponsors include The Commonwealth Fund, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

About the Center for Rural Health:
Established in 1980 at the University of North Dakota, the Center for Rural Health is one of the nation’s most experienced rural health organizations. It has developed a full complement of programs to assist researchers, educators, policymakers, healthcare providers, and most important, rural residents to address changing rural environments by identifying and researching rural health issues, analyzing health policy, strengthening local capabilities, developing community-based alternatives, and advocating for rural concerns. For more information, visit RuralHealth.und.edu.

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Jena Pierce
Communications Manager
Center for Rural Health
University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences
1301 North Columbia Road, Stop 9037
(701) 777-4205 direct | (701) 777-3848 main | (701) 777-6779 FAX
jena.pierce@und.edu

CRH:  www.ruralhealth.und.edu | www.facebook.com/CRuralHealth | www.twitter.com/CRuralHealth