The 2018 County Health Rankings are out and now you can use the interactive map in the link provided below to find out how health is influenced by where we live, learn, work and play. Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to your health!

LINK: How Healthy is Your Community?

The list of the 2018 Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the U.S., is here, according to The National Rural Health Association’s Rural Health Policy Institute, iVantage Health Analytics and The Chartis Center for Rural Health. The hospitals included in this list are top performers in managing risk, achieving higher quality, securing better outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction and operating at a lower cost than their peers.

A special congratulations to our friends and partnering hospitals, Phelps Memorial Health Center (Holdrege, NE), Cherry County Hospital (Valentine, NE), Box Butte General Hospital (Alliance, NE), Community Hospital (McCook, NE), Rooks County Health Center (Plainville, KS), Smith County Memorial Hospital (Smith Center, KS) and Community Memorial Healthcare (Marysville, KS).

Congratulations to LRHC’s CNO, Nicole Thorell, who was selected for the National Rural Health Association’s (NRHA) Rural Health Fellows (RHF) Program of 2018. This is a year-long in-depth program that allow rural leaders to work and develop evident visions for rural America. Thorell said in a recent article, “The NRHA fellowship will provide me an opportunity to strengthen my knowledge in regards to policy and how to appropriately advocate to our governmental officials. It is extremely important to continue to advocate for rural care because it provides many benefits to the people served,” Thorell said. “Access to healthcare is an issue for our country, and we need to ensure that future policy does not inhibit the ability for rural organizations to continue to provide high quality, cost-effective care close to home.”

To read the full article, please visit LRHC’s CNO Selected for the Rural Health Fellows Program

Dr. Brian Siegel, pain management specialist, visits Sidney Regional Medical Center in Sidney, NE once a month. What many don’t know, Dr. Siegel has also been a big supporter of Sidney’s youth sports programs. We thank you, Dr. Siegel, for supporting the kids and the community of Sidney. It truly is special having physicians who care for their partnering communities! #club39 #SRMC #RPM #Physicianswhocare

Photo courtesy of Ashlie Riddle.

We’d like to thank the nurses for all that they do! Certainly, that gratitude extends further to those fine nurses who support our physicians each day. Nurses truly do play a vital role and deserve to be recognized for their devotion and commitment. A nurse’s job is most definitely a tough one, and one must have a certain level of patience and empathy to perform that type of work. Thank you to all Nurses. We appreciate you!

RPM is excited to announce Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) in Rawlins, WY as a new partnering hospital. MHCC is a 25-bed critical care facility located in south-central Wyoming and is dedicated to providing quality healthcare to Carbon County residents and their visitors.

Dr. Kaare Kolstad, Orthopedic Surgeon, is now seeing patients at MHCC’s Wagon Circle Orthopedic Clinic. To book an appointment, please call (307) 324-6022.