Cooperstown Medical Center to host community forum The Cooperstown (N.D.) Medical Center has been selected as one of two sites in North Dakota to host a community forum on the future of rural health care, facilitated by the Center for Rural Health. The forum will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at the Park Place Assisted Living Facility, 1204 Park Place Ave., Cooperstown, N.D. It is open to anyone with an interest in the health and well-being of rural people and communities across the upper Midwest. The forum will focus on the future of rural health care and feature a keynote presentation by Brad Gibbens, associate director for community development and policy at the UND Center for Rural Health. “This is an excellent opportunity for us to learn about rural health care from one of the state’s top experts,” said Greg Stomp, Cooperstown Medical Center administrator. “Citizens can voice their concerns as well as offer ideas for solutions to make rural health care in Cooperstown and North Dakota better." Attendees will participate in facilitated discussions on items such as health care costs, maintaining access to quality services, and health care workforce availability. “Rural health care is important not only for improving health status, but also as part of the rural economic system. Rural health organizations are typically in the top two employers in a community,” said Gibbens. “However, the viability of such organizations is more and more threatened. Public discussion and input is critical to thinking through options for the future of rural health in North Dakota. “Our goal in having these community meetings is to offer health care consumers a chance to learn more about rural health at the national and state level. Health care is in the national spotlight and is an important subject in the upcoming elections. A community meeting allows people to also share their thoughts on what they see as issues, what they see that is working, and how health care should be reformed.” For more information, contact Greg Stomp or Pam Ressler at (701) 797-2221. -- Wendy Opsahl, Communications Coordinator, Center for Rural Health, wopsahl@medicine.nodak.edu, 777-0871