Rural Health and Economic Development

1
Rural Health and Economic Development

• Alison Reum
• Assistant Extension Professor
• University of Kentucky

2
What I do

• Sustainable economic development in rural
  communities
• Entrepreneurship
• Business Retention
• Small Business Recruitment
• Rural health care
• My extension program has both short term and long
  term goals.

3
Entrepreneurship

• Goal 1(Short-term)
• Secure funding for Supercoaching Workshop, a
  component of the Kentucky Entrepreneur Coaches
  Institute
• Goal 2 (Long-term)
• Help provide networks for both the coaches and
  entrepreneurs.

4
Business Retention

• Focus on the existing goods
• Work with current small businesses to ensure they
  can continue to be successful.
• Enhance the opportunities for employees

5
Business Recruitment

• Business recruitment should be a secondary goal
  behind retention
• Recruit the right business
• Stop chasing the big fish who is only passing
  through
• Find the businesses that will promote sustainable
  economic growth and enhance the lifestyle of all
  members of the community.

6
What firms look for
7
Rural Health Scenario

• The key to the quality of life in any area relies
  on quality and affordable health care.
• Two benefits from quality local health care
• The health sector itself is a large driver for
  economic development. Typically is the largest
  employer in a rural area.
• Healthy workers are more productive
• Troubling statistics
• 18.1 population no insurance (14 Nationwide
  Median)
• Median BMI 24.5 (22.0 Nationwide Median)

8
Percent of overweight children 2-5 years old, by
county, 2002
9
(No Transcript)
10
Rural Health Works Program

• The purpose of Rural Health Works is to provide a
  process by which community residents can evaluate
  their health system.
• What is Rural Health Works?
• Rural Health Works started in 1998 and is a
  partnership among the involved states, the
  federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Dept. of
  Health and Human Services, USDA Cooperative
  Extension Service, and Rural Policy Research
  Institute. Five pilot states led the initial
  start-up of the program Kentucky, Missouri,
  Nevada, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. A steering
  committee consisting of professionals from the
  five pilot states and associated national
  organizations direct the project.

11
RHW responsibilities

• Rural Health Works
• Teaches state professionals how to conduct and
  present economic impact studies,
• Demonstrates how the impact studies can be used
  in a community assessment process, and
• Provides budget tools which can be used to access
  and expand health services.

12
Some RHW projects

• Value of health care sector to the economy
• Economic impact of a proposed hospital, clinic,
  physician
• Feasibility study to determine the success of new
  infrastructure
• Market demand reports
• Community surveys and directories

13
My plan

• Immediately address health care needs, work with
  health care networks and extension agents to
  determine priority areas
• Work with local leaders to recruit small
  businesses, not necessarily the next Toyota
• Work with local leaders to make good objective
  decisions given the communitys tangibles and
  intangibles.
• Thinking more long term
• Housing issues (mobile homes, lack of quality and
  affordable housing)
• Human capital (education, job training, etc.)