The Idaho Office of Rural Health and Primary Care received the 2012 Award of Merit from the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) at a ceremony held October 17 during the organization’s annual conference in Madison, Wisconsin.
NOSORH presents the Award of Merit each year to a State Office of Rural Health that has made a significant contribution in the field of rural health. NOSORH considers important benefits to rural health, innovative programs, unusual contributions, or activities that have advanced State Offices of Rural Health.
NOSORH Education Coordinator noted that the Idaho State Office of Rural Health and Primary Care is a SORH that “may be a very small office in numbers of people,” but the things it has achieved “are truly incredible. It is “the epitome of a State Office of Rural Health” and its director, Mary Sheridan, “should be recognized for her leadership, great ideas, and hard work,” Hansen said.
Some of the Idaho office’s most recent accomplishments include the development of the APGAR Community Assessment tool which is now being used across the nation; building partnerships between Critical Access Hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers in their communities; and having staff serve as member on the NOSORH Board.
“We are honored to receive this award and greatly appreciate the recognition by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health,” Sheridan said when accepting the award on her office’s behalf. “The Idaho State Office of Rural Health has a long-standing history of working collaboratively with a broad array of stakeholders and this contributes immensely to our success. Although our office may be described as small in terms of staff numbers, we are a very enthusiastic group, with a passion for serving Idaho’s rural communities.”
Photo Caption: Mary Sheridan (center), accepts the NOSORH Award of Merit on behalf of the Idaho Office of Rural Health and Primary Care from NOSORH Education Coordinator Stephanie Hansen and NOSORH President John Barnas.
