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Ziller Receives Rural Health Award at NRHA
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PORTLAND, ME -The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) awarded Erika Ziller of the Maine Rural Health Research Center the 2011 Louis Gorin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rural Health Care. Ziller was honored May 5 during NRHA's 34th Annual Rural Health Conference in Austin, Texas, which was attended by more than 900 rural health professionals, researchers, and students.
 The Louis Gorin Award is presented annually in memory of Louis Gorin, a federal employee who for 25 years helped lead the design and authorization of health initiatives for rural America. Award recipients are selected based on their creativity, unselfishness, compassion and cooperative attitude in seeking ways to make lasting contributions to rural health care. This award category includes, but is not limited to, contributions to rural health policy, legislation, health care and health programs.
Ziller's commitment and compassion for work in rural health research stems from personal experience growing up in small-town Maine and raising a family without adequate insurance coverage. This along with her work as a health educator for a rural family planning clinic contributed to her understanding for the need to provide research that impacts policy. Ziller noted, "Insurance is such a key piece of access to health care--I think sometimes when researchers and policymakers are talking about all the numbers, we forget about the impact being uninsured or underinsured has on real peoples' lives."
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In her closing remarks, Ziller thanked NRHA for its consistent advocacy for the elimination of place-based health disparities, and the many dedicated and talented rural health professionals who work tirelessly to meet the healthcare needs of rural people.
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The Maine Rural Health Research Center, established in 1982, works to inform health care policymaking and the delivery of rural health services through high-quality, policy-relevant research, policy analysis and technical assistance on rural health issues of regional and national significance. The Center's portfolio of rural health services research addresses critical, policy-relevant issues in health care access and financing, rural hospitals, primary care and behavioral health.The Center is committed to enhancing policymaking and improving the delivery and financing of rural health services by effectively linking its research to the policy development process. The Center's core support is from the federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Services Research and Administration.
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The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) is a national nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to provide leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education, and research. NRHA membership consists of 20,000 diverse individuals and organizations, all of whom share the common bond of an interest in rural health.
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