Fisher-Titus Celebrates 12th Annual National Rural Health Day
Fisher-Titus will join the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH), the member organization for all 50 State Offices of Rural Health(SORH), and other state/national rural stakeholders in celebrating National Rural Health Day (NRHD) on Thursday, November 17, 2022.
“We are proud to celebrate National Rural Health Day as a 2021 Top Rural Hospital,” said Dr. Brent Burkey, president & CEO of Fisher-Titus. “Fisher-Titus has been dedicated to serving our rural community since 1917. We understand the unique challenges and obstacles rural communities face when it comes to health care, and we are committed to helping our patients overcome those challenges and get the care they need, when and where they need it.”
NOSORH founded NRHD in 2011 to showcase the efforts of individuals and organizations going the extra mile to address the unique health care needs of rural communities. National Rural Health Day is an annual day of recognition which occurs on the third Thursday of November.
In 2021, Fisher-Titus was recognized by The Leapfrog Group as a Top Rural Hospital. They were one of only two hospitals in the state of Ohio to earn this designation. To qualify for the Top Hospitals distinction, hospitals must rank top among peers on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which assesses hospital performance on the highest standards for quality and patient safety. Over 2,200 hospitals were considered for the award and a total of 149 were selected in categories such as top rural, top children's, top general, and top teaching.
The NRHD theme for 2022 is, “Driving Change and Going the Extra Mile.” To observe the day this year, Fisher-Titus is spotlighting and celebrating their providers, leaders, caregivers, and other employees’ passion and dedication to providing rural health.
Here is what some of the Fisher-Titus community had to say about serving a rural population:
“I grew up in a very rural farm community in west-central Ohio. The nearest community hospital, where I was born, was 45 minutes away and we only had volunteers providing ambulance services. Fast forward to today, that community hospital no longer provides inpatient services and has a limited capacity to care for patients close to home.
I chose to work in rural health care to ensure that our communities here in Huron County and the surrounding areas, continue to have access to high quality care where our friends and family can recover close to home.
Providing care close to home has proven to improve patient outcomes during recovery and having convenient access to health care services also increases the likelihood that patients will seek the care they need quicker, avoiding worse outcomes down the road.
On top of the positive impacts on patient outcomes, rural hospitals are the economic engine of small communities with each employee generating around $300,000 of economic impact to area businesses.”
-Suzanne Farmer, Chief Administrative Officer
“My wife, Dr. Vicki Brown, and myself came to this rural area approximately 27 years ago because that was ‘where doctors were needed.’ Our training had given us a taste of such rural medicine and allowed us to hit the ground running and feel like we could address most needs of our patients.
Fisher-Titus and the actual communities we serve embraced us and supported us! Becoming part of the communities we serve makes all the difference. Not forcing patients to splinter their care amongst many specialists and distant medical centers has made our lives of service ever so satisfying.”
-Dr. Chris Brown, Physician, Fisher-Titus Family Medicine – Willard
“I work in a rural hospital because I live within this community and I enjoy helping my community members. In an emergency, time is everything and the further patients have to go to receive health care, the more likely it is that they will have negative outcomes. Working here, I get to help ensure that my friends, neighbors, and family members have access to high quality care, close to home.”
-April Woody, Senior Director, Nursing Services
“Working in rural health care provides us with a unique opportunity to better serve our community and our patients. We are able to interact with them closely and understand their needs whether we are inside the hospital or going about our personal lives – shopping trips, church or even sporting events with our children.
Rural health care is important because some community members don’t have the means to seek health care at a larger system hours away, so it is important that we strive to provide excellent care close to home for them.”
-Theresa Seasly, Director, Nutrition Services
To learn more about NOSORH, visit www.nosorh.org. To learn more about Fisher-Titus, visit www.fishertitus.org.
