HEALTH AND WELLNESS: Creating home-grown health care professionals

The organizers of the new Eastern North Dakota Health Education Center hope that creating an appetite for science in young people will result in a more robust health care system in the state.

The aim of the center, based in Mayville, N.D., is to develop programs that attract and retain health care providers in areas of the state that are underserved. Eighty-one percent of North Dakota has been identified by the federal government as being medically underserved, said Mary Amundson, AHEC program director and a UND Center for Rural Health assistant professor who helped develop the center. States identified as being medically underserved have a shortage of primary care professionals.

The Eastern North Dakota Health Education Center is the first of three centers that will be developed in North Dakota. During the next five years UND also plans to develop centers in the central and western regions of North Dakota.

Eastern North Dakota Health Education Center director Dr. Bill Krivarchka will develop programs and do fundraising for the center. Krivarchka most recently was a staff dentist for the Veterans Affairs Health Center in Fargo and before that had a private practice called Goose River Dental based in Mayville. Katie Anderson, AHEC education coordinator, was the Tobacco Prevention and Safe Communities coordinator for the Traill District Health Unit in Mayville and Hillsboro, N.D. Anderson’s job is to work to make connections with teachers and students from kindergarten through graduate school.

Goals

The AHEC has long been a dream of Amundson who has worked for the Center for Rural Health since 1989. Initially a physician recruiter for the entire U.S., and later for North Dakota, Amundson knows first-hand about the shortage of primary care physicians and the reluctance of many medical school graduates to practice in rural areas.

The aim of the Eastern North Dakota Health Care Center will be to generate an interest in science- and health-related fields, Amundson said. She hopes that by doing so the AHEC will create within North Dakota its own pool of physicians and health care professionals.

The AHEC is exploring ways to spark an interest in science in elementary and high school students, including sponsoring events such as the recent Science Day at UND. Science Day, geared toward fifth- and sixth-graders was taught by UND medical students who presented information on topics such as health and wellness, anatomy and medical instruments at hands-on stations. Eventually, the AHEC would like to expand the science day program to another area of the state.

Another activity the AHEC is considering is a science bus, equipped with experiments, which would travel to schools and focus on students in grades 9 through 12. Other ideas that the AHEC is exploring are holding summer science workshops for teachers and students and job shadowing health care professionals in clinics and hospitals.

“I see a real partnership with the schools and health care facilities,” Amundson said.

Another goal of the AHEC is to develop a network of health care professionals in rural areas. The AHEC plans to begin working with medical students and student nurses to develop a team approach while they’re still in college. Eventually, the AHEC would like to expand that team approach to include other health care professionals such as physical and occupational therapists.

“The goal is getting teams of graduates out together practicing their careers,” Amundson said.

Bailey writes for special features sections. Reach her at (701) 787-6753; (800) 477-6572, ext. 753; or send e-mail to abailey@gfherald.com.

Tags: health, rural health, features