Chief physician moderates rural health innovation forum

Dr. Jeremy Cauwels joins Health Evolution fellows, a community of senior health leaders

Chief physician moderates rural health innovation forum

Jeremy Cauwels, M.D., chief physician at Sanford Health, will be moderating Health Evolution’s “Innovations in Rural Health” forum Aug. 2, which is exclusively for Health Evolution fellows, a curated community of influential chief executives and senior leaders from all sectors of the health care industry.

Health Evolution inspires leaders to embrace new ideas and lead bold change, fostering collaboration to make the health care system more accessible and affordable, more effective and equitable, and more proactive.

The forum will explore innovative strategies for improving access to health care in rural communities. Dr. Cauwels and panelists will also discuss the common misconceptions and most pressing issues affecting rural health care.

Dr. Cauwels will be joined by Melissa Breen, EVP system transformation, chief of staff at Marshfield Clinic Health System, and Karen Murphy, Ph.D., EVP and chief innovation and digital transformation officer, founding director, Steele Institute for Healthcare Innovation, at Geisinger.

Participants will have an opportunity to discuss population health strategies, policy solutions and innovative strategies and partnerships to improve health equity in rural areas.

“We know rural communities face unique health care challenges, and access to care is one of the most significant determinants of health,” said Dr. Cauwels. “As the largest rural health care system in the U.S., we are uniquely positioned to reimagine how we deliver care across a vast rural geographic footprint. We are committed to ensuring that access to world-class care is not limited by a person’s ZIP code.”

Sanford Health has been at the forefront of telehealth and virtual care for several years. Because of telemedicine, Sanford has saved its patients more than 20 million miles of travel, especially those who live in rural parts of the country.

Thanks to a $350 million gift from Denny Sanford, the health care system took a critical step toward transforming the health care experience across rural America by breaking ground on a Virtual Care Center in 2022. The 60,000 square foot facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will serve as a hub for a network of virtual clinics and telehealth services. Sanford Health also recently opened its first satellite clinic as part of its landmark virtual care initiative.

Learn more about virtual care at Sanford Health.

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Posted In Innovations, Leadership in Health Care, Rural Health, Virtual Care