Robinson Daily News

CMH receives Rural Health Hero Training Site Award



 

 

Crawford Memorial Hospital recently received the Rural Health Hero Training Site Award. 
The award was presented to CMH at the annual National Rural Health Day, which was observed Nov. 17.
Under the leadership of CEO Doug Florkowski, CMH began hosting third-year medical students in the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rural Medical Education Program in October 2019, so they could receive surgical training in a rural setting. 
“We are very grateful for this award,” Florkowski said.
CMH surgeons Drs. Joseph Kunzelman, Preston Reilly and Fred Scott, now clinical assistant professors in the UICOMR Department of Surgery and Surgical Specialties, volunteered to teach Rural Medical Education Program students about a rural surgical practice. 
Dr. Reilly and Dr. Scott are incredible advocates for rural medicine and are even better mentors for these medical students,” Florkowski said.
Following the success of surgical experience, rotations in obstetrics/gynecology and family medicine also will take place at CMH.  
“When reflecting upon how these teaching opportunities have grown, along with the gracious housing that is consistently offered to the students, CMH serves as a true rural health advocate for the RMED program,” said, Diane Potts, UICOMR assistant director of curriculum outreach and development, said. “Add to that their dedication to quality rural health care and broad vision for the future needs of Robinson, Crawford County, and rural communities throughout Illinois, and they are clearly Rural Health Heroes.”
“The best way to expose medical students to our incredible medical staff, organization and community was to bring them here for their training,” Florkowski said. “It has been a resounding success.”
Kristen Green, M.D., and Melissa Cox, M.D., shared the 2022 Rural Health Hero Award. Green, an obstetrician/gynecologist, and Cox, an internal medicine and pediatrics physician, both practice at Springfield Clinic and Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln.
“Both Dr. Green and Dr. Cox, are most deserving of the Rural Health Hero Award for endlessly giving of their time and for serving as humble, caring and compassionate role models for the RMED students, who are the next generation of rural providers,” Potts said.
Green, a clinical assistant professor in the UICOMR Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is one of the only OB/GYN providers in Logan County and the region. Despite having a busy clinical practice, she volunteered to teach third- and fourth-year medical students in what is now one of the most popular rural elective courses.
Cox, a clinical assistant professor in the UICOMR Department of Pediatrics, inspires greater awareness of the many skills needed for the full practice of medicine in a rural area by volunteering to teach medical students in her active medicine-pediatrics practice. The National Center for Rural Health Professionsat theUIC Health Sciences Campus-Rockford strives to meet the health care needs of rural residents and their communities in Illinois, around the nation and throughout the world. Approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education since 2003, this UICOMR center has programs and collaborative partnerships that have become successful models for education, service, research and policy related to rural health involving multiple health professions.
 

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