National Rural Health Day at TTUHSC

WHAT: The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Healthwill join the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health and other rural stakeholders in celebrating the inaugural National Rural Health Day.

WHEN: Noon to 1 p.m., Thursday (Nov. 15)

WHERE: TTUHSC Academic Classroom Building, 3601 4^th St., Room 100

EVENT: Approximately 62 million people — nearly one in five Americans — live in rural and frontier communities throughout the U.S. These communities also face unique health care needs including a growing elderly population, minority-specific diseases and the lack of access to health care specialists like pediatricians, dermatologists and internists.

National Rural Health Day was created to showcase rural America, increase awareness of rural health-related issues and promote efforts to address those issues. J. Luecke, M.D., a rural family practice physician in Alpine, Fort Davis and Marathon, Texas, will present, “25 years of Family Practice in the Big Bend: What a Long, Strange Trip it’s Been.”

State offices of rural health are key in addressing those needs. All 50 states maintain a state office of rural health, each of which shares a similar mission: to foster relationships, disseminate information and provide technical assistance that improves access to, and the quality of, health care for its rural citizens. In the past year, state offices of rural health collectively provided technical assistance to more than 28,000 rural communities.

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