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Dear CSRHA Members and Friends,
 As another Annual Rural Health Conference is fast approaching, we thought it would be a good time to publish this newsletter and tell you all about the many changes that have taken place here at the California State Rural Health Association over the past year. As you are probably aware by now, CSRHA has seen a series of significant transitions in staff and board leadership. I was promoted from Development Director to Executive Director back in March 2008 after an extended interim period. Only months later, five long-time CSRHA Board Members (Speranza Avram, Carol Mordhorst, Peter Abbot, Dr. Bill Davis and Kathy Yarbrough), many of whom were among the founding members of the association, termed off the Board of Directors. Concurrently, Kiki Nocella, PhD stepped into her the role as CSRHA President, and we welcomed five new rural health leaders to the Board, as well as several new staff members – in fact, the entire face of the CSRHA staff, with the exception of myself, has changed.
Change always comes bearing gifts, as the popular saying goes, and we’ve certainly been fortunate to have attracted such a diverse and enthusiastic team of individuals to CSRHA who are committed to improving the quality of life and health in rural California. With new organizational leadership and perspective, CSRHA is on the cusp of another, more significant transformation. Over the past six months, the Board of Directors has begun to explore new strategies and processes for responding to familiar challenges, and we are preparing to embrace the future with a new vision, mission and broader focus.
The CSRHA Board of Directors recently embarked on a strategic planning process in an effort to better align the organization to respond to the needs of rural communities, and serve as the bridge for connecting grassroots community efforts to a broader statewide advocacy strategy in support of improving the health and wellness of all rural Californians. The initial outcome of this planning process resulted in the following newly defined vision, mission and functions statements:
Our Vision:
Empowered rural people creating healthy and sustainable rural communities.
Our Mission:
The mission of CSRHA is to link rural individuals and organizations together to facilitate information exchange, collaboration and advocacy to promote healthy rural communities.
Our Role:
- Facilitate information exchange, communication and collaboration within and among rural communities
- Act as a vehicle for bi-directional communication about the effects of policy, legislation and regulation on the health of rural communities
- Collaborate with rural communities, state and regional organizations and policymakers to advocate for policy changes that support improved health outcomes for rural Californians.
With an increasingly challenging social, political and economic environment, we are all experiencing a fair amount of anxiety and uncertainty about the future. Now, more than ever, rural California needs strong, consistent leadership at the state level. As we move into the New Year, CSRHA will strive to affect positive change for rural communities with the continued support and participation of its membership. CSRHA will continue to strengthen its governance structure, focus on infrastructure development, embrace new partnerships, and implement a pro-active and targeted advocacy campaign with, and on behalf of rural Californians. We look forward to working with you all in these efforts, and welcome your feedback and continued participation.
Warm regards,
Desirée Rose
Executive Director
Article posted on 10/22/08 |
