With these grants, rural health care providers and their communities collaborate to address their unique health and wellness challenges. The grants are offered jointly by the BCBSND Caring Foundation and the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota, School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Compass Health, Inc. – Kenmare – will be creating a mental health coaching program to address the growing need for mental health assistance in an area that lacks mental health professionals.
Cooperstown Center Medical Foundation – Cooperstown – will create a handicap accessible garden that is a safe environment for their care residents and community to connect to nature, helping to improve physical and mental health. The local school will actively engage their students as well to participate with the seniors offering an opportunity for meaningful connections, engagement and impact.
Eckert Youth Homes – Williston – as the only residential addiction treatment program for adolescents in North Dakota and in an effort to prevent teen pregnancy they will purchase the RealCare Baby 3 Simulator and curriculum and incorporate this education into existing programming.
House of Everyday Learning – Fargo – will help alleviate the burdens that families experience driving to Fargo for pediatric screenings or therapy services on a weekly or bi-weekly frequency. Their Mobile Therapy Unit (MTU) Program brings these services directly to the rural communities and decreases barriers such as transportation, cost, and time away from work and school for the families that it serves, while also increasing availability and access to healthcare.
Langdon Prairie Health – Langdon – will educate and provide resources that mental health services are available by telehealth in a private, confidential and secure setting, concentrating on two specific population groups, youth and farmers, to assist in treatment of depression, anxiety, traumatic events.
Northland Health Center – Turtle Lake – will implement “A Care Closet” in three rural/frontier schools to provide a free resource for students and their families who are experiencing hardships: food insecurity, lack of weather-appropriate clothing, basic hygiene supplies, school supplies, and more.
Pembina County Memorial Hospital – Cavalier – will provide an outdoor biking activity for the residents, staff, and community volunteers at Wedgewood Manor, a skilled nursing facility; allowing for improved mental health and less isolation all while increasing mental health, immunity, attention span and memory function.
Sanford Health – Hillsboro – will provide adaptive devices to allow those with mobility issues to get to medical appointments.
Sanford Health – Valley City – project will promote breastfeeding in rural populations by certifying lactation consultants, allowing for additional nurses to travel to rural clinics where lactation services and support do not currently exist.
