National Rural Health Association announces 2021 awards

The National Rural Health Association has announced its 2021 Rural Health Awards, to individuals and organizations in rural health care who have "dedicated their time and talents to improving the health and well-being of others."

Jennifer McKenney

One winner may be familiar to readers of The Rural Blog: Jennifer Bacani McKenney, who was recognized as NRHA's Rural Health Practitioner of the Year. McKenney is a family physician in her hometown of Fredonia, Kansas, pop. 2,500, and has owned and managed a practice with her father for the past decade. "Dr. McKenney truly embodies the attributes of a strong, dedicated health care provider deserving of our trust," said Joyce Grayson of the University of Kansas Medical Center. "Dr. McKenny says it best by describing herself as a 'people-connecting family doc doing cool stuff for the future of Fredonia.'" The Rural Blog mentioned McKenney in a February item about health-care workers who battle social-media misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic. 

Coalfield Health Care in Logan County, West Virginia, was named this year's Outstanding Rural Health Organization. "Coalfield helps bolster the health of a community that has some of the worst outcomes in the country. Coalfield has served not just as a primary care center for patients regardless of ability to pay, but as an educational, research, and community outreach hub for more than 10 years," NRHA said.

NRHA's Outstanding Rural Health Program award went to Northeast Kentucky Substance Use Response Coalition, a formal network of health care and social service organizations that represents 18 counties and is focused on building a community-based approach to address the region’s opioid crisis. The organization aims to create educational, clinical, and preventive interventions for those who struggle with substance use disorder.

Alana Knudson won NRHA’s Outstanding Researcher Award. She leads the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, and has become a nationally recognized leader in developing and evaluating demonstration projects for the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Her teams' research helps improve sustainable rural access to high-quality services.

Douglas Snow won this year’s NRHA/John Snow Inc. Student Leadership Award. The Michigan State University medical student plays an integral role in student leadership for NRHA as chair of the association’s Student Constituency Group. One medical school official said: "At national, state, and local levels, he has made a lasting impression on rural health leadership and student involvement as well as community and public health."

The NRHA/John Snow Inc. Student Achievement Award went to Kelly Dougherty. The University of Missouri medical student has re-established the university’s rural medical interest group and highlighted the need for rural providers, and is also an active member of the Rural Scholars Advisory Board. 

Pat Schou is NRHA’s Volunteer of the Year. The executive director of the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network, Schou is also a longtime NRHA member and past president of the association. She helped guide and represent the association during the pandemic and ensured rural America's voice was heard on a national level. "She is a role model for how to lead in the worst of times in the most honorable way," according to the NRHA.