Rural, public health awards presented Rural and public health providers, volunteers and organizations were recognized recently with awards. The North Dakota Public Health Association presented two awards: • Public Health Worker of the Year to Debbie Swanson, Grand Forks Public Health Department, Grand Forks, and • Outstanding Service to Heidi Heitkamp, Mandan, N.D. The North Dakota Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program’s Making a Difference Award went to the MeritCare Critical Access Hospital Network, Fargo. The Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health planning committee presented four awards: • Outstanding Rural Health Professional to Sharon Ericson, CEO, Valley Community Health Centers, Northwood, N.D.; • Outstanding Rural Health Program to Altru’s Hospice in Partnership with Faith in Action, Cavalier, N.D.; • Outstanding Rural Health Provider to Gwen Witzel, Cavalier County Memorial Hospital, Langdon, N.D.; and • Outstanding Rural Health Volunteer to Sarah Heitkamp, Petersburg, N.D. The awards are presented annually as part of the Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health, which is facilitated by the Center for Rural Health at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. This year’s conference, scheduled for April 1–3 in Mandan, was canceled because many of the conference’s participants were providing support during the statewide emergency from flooding and severe weather. The Dakota Conference is a joint effort by Altru Health System of Grand Forks, North Dakota Public Health Association, North Dakota Rural Health Association, College of Nursing, and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences’ Center for Rural Health and Department of Family and Community Medicine. -- Denis F. MacLeod, Communications Specialist, Center for Rural Health, dmacleod@mail.nodak.edu, 701-777-3300