Healthcare providers and policies often focus on urban centers, as that is where most Americans are concentrated. But millions of rural Americans, especially youth, need access to healthcare resources, too.
Last Wednesday, MSU’s College of Allied Health and Nursing (AHN), sponsored by various local health providers such as Mayo Clinic, BlueCross BlueShield and Delta Dental, made rural healthcare the focus of this year’s health summit. The annual event has a different focus within healthcare each year.
Brooke Burk, a professor of the college and coordinator of this year’s health summit, gives some insight into the event’s planning.
“The goal of the committee was to really make it very practical for where Minnesota State, Mankato is situated in the state of Minnesota. Because we’re surrounded by so many rural communities, we felt that it was important to pick a topic that was relevant to where we were located geographically,” she said.
How does this relate to students at MSU? Events like these connect AHN students with potential employers and widens their awareness of problems in healthcare.
“The main goal was to connect students with professionals working in allied health careers to address some of the challenges that youth in southern Minnesota are facing that prevent them from being as healthy as possible and living to their fullest potential,” Burk said. “We need to do a better job in our allied health professions, whether it’s healthcare, schools or community services … we can’t just focus at the individual level. We need to think more broadly about the families and the social context within which we live.”
Most Mankato students prefer educational events that also offer some fun. After the opening keynote speech by Carrie Manning, a Dakota Sioux member who works with the Spotted Bull Recovery Resource Center (SBRRC), interactive learning sessions took place, which left an impression on Burk.
“I really liked the interactive case study component, because it allowed folks to not just listen to a lecture on a particular topic,” she said, “but to really get to think about and strategize different ways that they might approach helping this individual, if they were to come into their office or to their organization and share, ‘I have this particular need, or I have this particular concern.”
Activities like these help train students’ brains to think of solutions on the spot, which is a vital skill in healthcare where decisions must be made soundly, yet quickly.
After the first round of the interactive sessions, attendees had an hour to lunch and network before going into a second round. The event was closed off by two keynote speakers: Michelle D. Sherman, PhD LP ABPP, who is a board-certified clinical psychologist and Fellow of American Psychological Association’s Society for Couple and Family Psychology, and her mother DeAnne Sherman, a mental health advocate and educator who volunteers with NAMI-Minnesota, among other activities.
The Health Summit was open to all MNSU students, faculty, and staff free of charge, and to community members for $30 each. Those interested in attending next year’s summit should watch out on MavLife next Spring. Past years’ topics include technology and community in healthcare, mental health, and health equity.
MSU’s College of Allied Health and Nursing hosted their annual health summit, focusing on rural healthcare. (Matt Miller/The Reporter)
Write to serene.lu@mnsu.edu
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