Grateful

Scientists have begun to chart a course of research aimed at understanding gratitude and the effects on physical and emotional health. They’re finding that people who practice gratitude consistently report a host of benefits:

• Stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure
• Improved resilience
• Higher levels of positive emotions
• More joy, optimism, and happiness
• Acting with more generosity and compassion
• Better quality and quantity of sleep
• Fewer aches and pains
• More likely to take care of their health

At The Center, we have so much to be grateful for every day. 

Kami Norland

“I am grateful for the innovation, inspiration and compassion of the Accountable Communities for Health teams across Minnesota.”

Bethany Adams

“I am grateful for the opportunity to help people who work hard to provide access to quality health care in their communities.”

Angie LaFlamme

“I am grateful for rural providers who are committed to providing quality care to their patients in this ever-changing and challenging health care environment.”

Jere-lyn Fern

“I am grateful for the opportunities that I have had here at the Center and meeting many wonderful people from all the State Offices of Rural Health that we work with.”

Tracy Morton

“I am grateful for 45 states, 1,333 critical access hospitals, thousands of rural communities and countless lives improved with quality care.”

Nicole Clement

“I am grateful to the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy for the dedication that The Center shares with them to the viability of rural hospitals and access to

quality health care.”

Bridget Hart

“I am grateful to witness and be a part of innovation and collaboration that happens every day at The Center!”

Alyssa Meller

“I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from rural communities all over the nation in how they are working together to better the health of their communities.“

Cassandra Rockers

“I am grateful for being able to work with wonderful people both in rural communities and in Duluth!”

Terry Hill

“I am grateful that  our Center has a role in improving the health and wellbeing of rural people across the United States.”

Kim Nordin

“I am grateful for the people who live in rural communities with pride and love. I am inspired by their resilience, creativity and passion for their small towns, reservations and communities!

Joe Wivoda

“I am grateful for the Network Development grantees, especially those that are focusing on behavioral health.”

Debra Laine

“I am grateful for the Network teams who are pioneering a way to change their communities.”

Sally Buck

“I am grateful for the 45 State Flex Coordinators committed to supporting critical access hospitals by improving quality, financial stability and community health.”

Rhonda Barcus

“I am grateful for all the caring folks in health care that help people every day in rural communities, like the one my mom and sister live in.”

Sarah Brinkman

“I am grateful for the 1,600+ small rural hospitals dedicated to making improvements to meet the needs of their communities.”

Phil Birk
“I am grateful for the emergency response volunteers that are first responders in the Iron Range communities where my immediate family lives. I’m also grateful that there are hospitals in Aurora and Ely, Minnesota because Duluth is too far away if my family needs emergency care.”

Becky Gourde
“I am grateful that so many health care organizations are collaborating to improve outcomes in rural areas.”

Memories from a Veteran: Terry Hill

It's Veterans Day 2015, and I'm compelled to begin this blog before it becomes old news. I write this as a veteran of the Viet Nam War, and since it’s a day for remembering, I'll begin by sharing a few of my memories of that war.

Opening memory: The fear begins as I board the plane at Travis Air Force Base, along with 220 other soldiers. We fly in almost absolute silence to the Republic of Viet Nam. We are all scared and apprehensive that we'll never see our families again; that we will come back in a box, or even worse, that we will return gravely wounded and become our family's burden for the remainder of our lives. For much of the ensuing year, the fear is never far away, and occasionally it erupts into sheer terror.

Memory 2:  One month later, I'm deep in the Viet Nam jungle with my First Cavalry colleagues, and after a twenty minute firefight, we cautiously creep forward to examine the results of our fire. A wounded Viet Cong soldier is gasping for air, and his makeshift uniform is slowly turning dark red. I stare into his eyes. They blink several times, and I can see the intense fear of what will come next. Then they stare ahead lifelessly. This is not the body prepared by a mortician for final viewing; this is a body twisted in agony, very much like my own. This boy too had parents and people who loved him, and they will deeply mourn his passing. To paraphrase both Marlon Brando in, "Apocalypse Now", and Joseph Conrad in “Heart of Darkness", this is the "horror".

Memory 3:  It's months later, and back at the fire base near Phouc Vinh, my friend, Rusty, is approaching with a paper bag in hand. Rusty is in his second tour in country and has seen more than 18 months of combat.  Although only a corporal, Rusty is our squad's informal leader; an older guy we can depend on when it matters most. Rusty’s eyes seem to bulge from his face, and as he gets near, he begins raving that he has found the secret of life, the secret that will get us out of this awful war. The answer, he alleges, is in his paper bag. He opens it slowly and I peer inside, recognizing my own face in the mirror that lies at the bottom of the bag. Hours later, Rusty is escorted aboard a helicopter to begin a long journey to a mental health facility in Japan, and I will never see him again. Two months later, another friend has a mental break while waiting to leave country, and makes a similar trip to Japan.

Final memory:  I arrive back at Travis Air Force Base, and process back into civilian life. The previous day, our base was rocketed by the enemy, and later today I'll walk the streets of San Francisco. I'm elated to be safe and back at home, but the yearlong experience will haunt me, and a post traumatic illness will plague me for several years to come.

Looking back today, I see that the entire wartime experience made me stronger and more resilient. I survived, but there are many, many soldiers that returned from that war, and from more recent wars, that have never fully recovered. 

I believe this country must do more to serve those we send into combat; more than the ceremonial rituals that are appreciated, but only begin to provide our veterans the support that they need. We must dramatically improve access to health services for our veterans, and must enlist the VA in more effectively integrating their health services with those of other health care providers.

One important improvement would be to make rural vets eligible to receive health services at their local rural hospitals, clinics and mental health facilities. It doesn’t make sense to ask rural vets to travel great distances to VA clinics and hospitals, when appropriate services exist locally. And, we must pay rural health providers fairly for these services.  

If we send young men and women to fight our battles, we must be prepared to provide full access to needed health services when they return.