CRETE - Thursday was National Rural Health Day, a program that spotlights struggles rural healthcare providers face across the country, while highlighting the work that must be done to overcome those obstacles. 

One of the many healthcare organizations in the state that grapples with the daily realities of rural healthcare is Crete Area Medical Center, which is celebrating its 75th birthday this year.

CAMC moved to its current location in Crete in 2003. It's now open from 8 to 7 during the week to better accommodate locals with atypical work schedulers, like Crete's many factory shift workers. They also run branch operations in Wilber and Friend, part of an effort to connect to more of the Saline County community.

"We very strongly believe that the people taking care of you are the people that know you - the people you see at the grocery store, the people your kids go to school with, the people that you're throwing candy to at the parade," said Tyler Lechner, Crete Area Medical Center's public relations and communications specialist. "We just feel we're a part of the community, we're not just in the community. The people that work there are a part of your community. They serve you, you know them. We think that all just leads to better outcomes."

A wing added on the main facility in 2020 includes two labor rooms, two postpartum rooms, and a nursery. That's helping CAMC fulfill one of its main missions: providing quality care close to home for a patient's entire life.

"Whatever ways we can eliminate that piece that maybe makes it hard for you to receive care is really what we're trying to do," Lechner said. "You're one-on-one with the same doctor from when you find out that you're pregnant to until your kid's 18 and moves off to college or whatever it is. A lot of our providers really love that they can start caring for you as a child and then they see you grow up and then they start caring for your child. And some of them will even then start caring for you as you age."

Founded by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health in 2011, the stated goal of National Rural Health Day is to celebrate "The Power of Rural" by "honoring communities, elevating their stories, and sparking action to build a healthier future for rural America," their website says. 

One of the main focuses from a national perspective on this particular National Rural Health Day was on cybersecurity. The NOSORH, along with the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, hosted a virtual panel titled "Connected and Protected: The Power of Rural Cybersecurity" to delve into the topic from a number of different angles. 

"Cyber attacks are a big deal in healthcare. Cyber attacks on hospitals are growing threats to patient safety. A ransomware attack can disrupt critical hospital systems for weeks, impacting everything from cancer treatments to emergency care," said panel moderator Ann Cleaveland, the executive director of the CLTC based at Cal-Berkeley. "Yet, even the largest healthcare systems are often underprepared to stop these kinds of attacks, and in a rural healthcare setting, the problem can be even more acute."

Bringing together experts from tech, healthcare, higher education and other fields, the panel explored how technology is impacting healthcare systems and technologies, and how to defend against some of those acute threats.

"You have patients with the ability to age in place and not be in a facility, be at home, and as they go from home with their device to the clinic to visit their physician on a routine checkup, that device now comes into the clinic network," explained Dr. Ashley Podhradsky, Vice President for Research & Economic Development at Dakota State University.

"And let's say that they're hospitalized. Well, then now that goes to the hospital. So as you look at these different Internet of Medical Things devices, you can see that that area that we have to protect and secure expands with aging in place. And so [we're] working to help people and patients understand that your home network has to be secure, so that way, when you bring your device into this environment, it's secure. And so, trying to, bring in those cyber hygiene skills, not just at the hospital level, but at the home level as well, because then we can truly help everyone stay more cyber-ready."

Part of the statewide Bryan Health System for a few decades, Crete Area Medical Center is one of 62 Critical Access Hospitals making healthcare accessible for rural Nebraskans.

"A lot of our staff here, a lot of our providers, are from small towns. They chose to work here because they wanted to start a family here. They wanted to see patients that are like-minded, have the same values. Our staff just lives to serve rural Nebraska and rural Nebraska patients," Lechner said. "It's just really rewarding to know that you're being cared for by people that people that you trust, people that you see around. I think rural Nebraska is really special in that way, that you really get to know people and form super deep connections with people rather than just walking by someone in a crowd. And I think that helps with healing."