Chadron, Nebraska

Rural Health Connector Program

Problem

Rural clinic closures leave residents driving hours for routine care. Health outcomes decline as preventive care disappears, chronic conditions go unmanaged, and the most vulnerable—elders, children, low-income families—suffer most.

Solution

No program called the Rural Health Connector Program, and no community health worker holding library office hours, senior-center telehealth room, church ride network, or food-bank health pop-ups, could be found in Chadron, Nebraska. Chadron is real: a 25-bed critical access hospital (Chadron Community Hospital and Health Services) that also runs a community action agency, Western Community Health Resources, and sits about 110 miles from Rapid City, where Monument Health specialists perform procedures.

Patterns used: Community Health Access Hub