CEO Article: Out of Chaos, Innovation!
Escape to the Chateau is my latest realty TV obsession. The program is about a couple who set out on an adventure to buy and renovate a Chateau in France and then turn it into a business. Sounds a lot like many of our small business entrepreneurs. The Strawbridge’s are so talented and aren’t afraid to tackle any job even if they aren’t sure how to do it. This is what I see in so many of what you do in our rural communities. When you have a challenge or opportunity, you march straight ahead to tackle it and often come away with an innovative solution.
That is one area we all have in common – we don’t always have the answers, but we dig in to find or connect you to the right solutions or innovations. Despite the chaos and hardship, 2020 drove so much innovation and I’m certainly seeing that continue this year with your service to your communities. Thank you for your continued service and resiliency.
As you may know, this is the time of the year we release the Snapshot of Rural Health. Our goal is that the information and data contained in the Snapshot helps you with your day to day jobs as well as long-term sustainability. This year the Snapshot was expanded from 32 pages to 44 pages and each year it will continue to evolve. In 2021, the Snapshot will include telehealth case studies from rural providers along with opportunities and barriers that exist around telehealth. More information on climate change was added in light of the forest fires this past summers in Colorado and the extreme drought that most of Colorado is under. We would not be doing 2020 justice without having a section on COVID-19 including how this is an overlapping crisis with opioids, substance abuse, mental health, unemployment and the rural economy. Finally, we’ve added additional maps as a visual representation of impact on our rural communities.
Be on the lookout for the release of the Snapshot of Rural Health within the next week!
Be safe and well and thank you again for your continued service to your rural communities.
