Leading excellence in healthcare for rural communities
Our Vision
Leading excellence in healthcare for rural communities.
Our Mission
As experts in rural health, our mission is to improve the health and well-being of rural communities through education, workforce development, community partnerships, and policy.
The National Center for Rural Health Professions (NCRHP) at the UIC Health Sciences Campus-Rockford strives to meet the health care needs of rural residents and their communities in Illinois, around the nation and throughout the world. Certified by the Illinois Board of Higher Education since 2003, this University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford center has programs and collaborative partnerships that have become successful models for education, service, research and policy related to rural health involving multiple health professions.
Rural Health Professions (Academic Programs)
NCRHP’s academic programs in medicine, nursing, pharmacy and social work offer comprehensive add-on curriculum which gives students the unique opportunity to train directly in rural communities across the State of Illinois. Students learn firsthand about the issues facing rural health care and are prepared to serve as leaders in underserved rural communities.
IL AHEC
Established in 2010, the HRSA funded Illinois Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Network Program has nine regional centers throughout the state to serve both rural and urban underserved residents through access to health professions education, health careers development and community and public health promotion activities.
Native American Pathways
This program is designed to identify, recruit, support and graduate Native American students interested in pursuing a health professions degree and returning to their tribal communities to practice rural medicine, pharmacy or nursing.
Rural Health Internships and Experiences
The NCRHP pathway programs address the rural health provider shortage by offering students learning opportunities as early as middle school and high school. Students can participate in summer camps, multi-week immersion experiences, and job shadowing rotations in rural communities. Participants of the NCRHP pathway programs will increase their awareness of and experience with many healthcare disciplines.
Research
Faculty and students at the NCRHP are passionate about rural health issues, policy and advocacy. Read some of the powerful research driving our efforts to address rural health inequities and improve access to health care in rural and underserved urban communities.
Research
Faculty and students at the NCRHP are passionate about rural health issues, policy and advocacy.
Read some of the powerful research driving our efforts to address rural health inequities and improve access to health care in rural and underserved urban communities.
Happy Thursday! We're happy to be back again this week with another feature to "get to know" our NCRHP staff on a deeper level. Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Mark Meurer!
Name: Mark Meurer
Degrees: BS-Agricultural Communications
MS-Agricultural Education
Position at the NCRHP:
Associate Director of Recruitment & Public Relations; RMED Program since 2004.
Primary Responsibility:
My main responsibility is to recruit students for the RMED Program. I’m engaged with students in their undergraduate years by doing numerous campus events and career fairs, where I share the RMED story and actively seek out students who will meet the mission of the RMED Program. I also assist students through the application process to medical school and the RMED Program, the interview process and our orientation program from incoming RMED students. I also coordinate the "No Harm on the Farm" tour and teach an Ag Safety/Ag Health lecture to first year RMED students.
Favorite thing about working in the NCRHP:
The absolute best part of my job is the opportunity to work with the best med students in the country! I truly believe RMED students are the most compassionate and hardest-working students in medical school. It’s an honor to play a small part in their journey towards becoming rural physicians. The other best part of my job is the opportunity to work the finest people in rural healthcare. The staff and faculty at the NCRHP are the kindest, most dedicated and most fun staff to work with. We have great respect for each other and work great as a team. Our admissions team at UIC is also amazing! We work closely with our admissions team and their understanding of rural healthcare and their dedication to the RMED Program is unwavering.
Favorite RMED event:
Picking a favorite event is a tough! I love the "No Harm on the Farm" tour because it exposes our students to the health and safety issues that our farmers and ranchers face on a daily basis. Nothing like turning a farm into a classroom for the day! I also love interview days. Getting the chance to visit with our prospective RMED students and meet their families is incredible.
Photos:
1. My wife, Lynnette and I live on a 5th generation family farm and have raised our four kids on the farm that my great-great grandfather bought in 1900. Today, our four kids have wonderful spouses and we have six beautiful grandkids!
2. Rodeo played a huge part of my life growing up. The cowboys in the photo are my college rodeo teammates. We have a reunion every other year at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
3. I still get the urge to ride a few bulls! Wife says, no!
4. Big Prairie Polypays is our farm name. We’ve raised performance-tested, purebred sheep for 25 years. We’ve sold breeding stock to sheep producers in 30 different states.
5. Lynnette and I at one of our favorite places on the planet…Lambeau Field. Go Pack Go!
6. All six of our amazing grandkids!
Thank you, Mark, for taking the time to tell us a little more about yourself! We have just one feature left to bring you before we begin introducing you to the current M1 class that is starting this fall. Check back next week to hear more about our fearless leader, Dr. Hana Hinkle! ... See MoreSee Less
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We are looking forward to our RMED students getting their white coats tomorrow! The University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford will host the White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2028 at noon on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025.
The White Coat Ceremony recognizes 58 first-year medical students, who arrived on campus this week, and the official start of their medical education. Students will receive the white coats they’ll wear during their journey to become doctors.
The ceremony is invitation only, but everyone is welcome to join the event virtually via YouTube: ... See MoreSee Less
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Check out this published article in the National Rural Health Association's Rural Horizons magazine with Beth Squires, Assistant Director of External and Pathways Programs, that highlights our Rural Health Careers Camp!
"While many health care camps focus on STEM principles and highlight mainly physicians, Squires says the Rural Health Careers Camp is unique because it introduces students to a wide variety of professions, which has included EMTs, the coroner’s office, nutrition and dietetics, dental care, respiratory therapy, athletic training, pharmacy, medical biotechnology, and more. This gives campers exposure to careers they might not previously have known about."
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NRHA's Rural Health Voices Blog | National Rural Health Association - NRHA | NRHA
www.ruralhealth.us
NRHA produces several digital and print publications to engage NRHA members and inform rural health professionals. These include our Rural Health Voices Blog, weekly newsletter NRHA Today, our quarter...2 CommentsComment on Facebook
We LOVE seeing our RMED alumni doing great things in residency and are proud of this mini RMED reunion at AAFP’s National Conference in Kansas City. We were also happy to host a booth with Rural Medical Training Collaborative - New to promote rural residencies all across the country!
Pictured here are RMED alumni and current students who were supported to attend the conference by our Program, the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford Residency Program and a group of all RMED alumni CHIEF residents representing their training programs. 🎉
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) ... See MoreSee Less
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The Rural Medical Education Program (RMED) went on a road trip through Southern Illinois last month!
Dr. Kara Fess, RMED Director, along with Vicki Weidenbacher-Hoper, Associate Director of Rural Workforce and Center Development, and Jessica McGuire, Assistant Director of Experiential Rural Training and Program Development, traveled to some of our southern Illinois sites to touch base and discuss further partnership opportunities together in person.
In just two days, the group was able to visit eight sites total, on the first day reaching Lincoln Memorial Hospital, Litchfield Family Practice Center, Pinckneyville Community Hospital, and Marshall Browning Hospital.
They also hosted a BBQ Dinner in Murphysboro, IL at 17th Street BBQ in the evening, for all southern Illinois RMED site CEO's, site preceptors, alumni practicing in the surrounding areas, and Southern Illinois AHEC Directors.
The last day on their road trip took them to Herrin Hospital, Harrisburg Medical Center, Ferrell Hospital, and SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital. They are already looking forward to another RMED road trip they're working on planning for this October to meet with sites in Southeastern Illinois! Stay tuned for more fun pictures of their RMED adventures on the road. ... See MoreSee Less
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Happy Thursday! We're happy to be back again this week with another feature to "get to know" our NCRHP staff on a deeper level. Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Kara Fess!
Name: Kara Fess, MD
Position at the NCRHP (Since Year):
RMED Program Director, since October 2020
Primary Duties of your Position:
As RMED Program Director, I work with first through fourth year medical students to teach a rural-focused medical curriculum. I also work with rural community partners including rural hospitals, physicians, and agencies to place our 4th year students in a rural community for a 16-week immersion experience in family medicine, during which they will complete a community-oriented research project.
Favorite thing about working in the NCRHP:
As a graduate of the RMED program and a practicing rural family physician, I find it most rewarding to have returned to Rockford in my current role as RMED program director. I am working to fulfill the RMED mission to admit and prepare medical students from rural America who will, upon completion of residency training, locate and practice in a rural location. I have come full circle in my career to ensure that rural communities will have ongoing access to competent and caring future physicians.
Which RMED event do you most look forward to every year and why?
This is a difficult question to answer because there is not one single event that stands alone. Our curriculum is structured to build upon itself over the four years. We have a combination of seminars, discussions, networking events, and field trips that ensure our students will be prepared for their future rural practice environment. I find it very rewarding to see the growth of our students over the course of the four years.
Talk about the photos you’ve shared with me! Tell me why they are important to you:
The photos I've shared are of my family; my husband, Rick, and our four children; Emily, Frederick, Harrison and Luke. There is also a photo of our dog, Bueller (Irish setter). Bueller loves to join me at the pool. The other photo is of my parents with all of their grandkids on our back deck. Rick and I lived in San Antonio during my family medicine residency (UTHSCSA), and we love to go back to visit (photo in front of the Alamo) and eat the wonderful TexMex food there. This past Spring we took a family trip to Scotland (I love to travel whenever possible), and so there are a couple of photos from the Scottish Highlands.
Thank you, Kara, for taking the time to tell us a little more about yourself! We have just two features left to bring you before the start of our academic year that kicks off this fall. Check back in the next few weeks to read up on the rest of our NCRHP team! ... See MoreSee Less
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