Innovation and partnerships benefit higher ed, rural health care – Grand Forks Herald

As I stepped outside one day in mid-October, it was raining beautiful golden leaves. At least it looked that way. It was the morning after our first hard freeze in Grand Forks and the trees “understood the assignment.”

Fall is definitely here and hopefully, you’ve had time to get out and enjoy the change of Mother Nature’s colors across the region. We’ve also had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), which is trending across social media. If you didn’t catch it, you’ll have to wait another 80,000 years.

This time of year, Prairie Business holds its annual awards event. It’s a fun party to celebrate the honorees of the three contests highlighting individuals each year. We had a great turnout and heard from several of our Leaders & Legacies award winners about leadership and family-owned businesses. You can read more about it this month.

November’s focus is on higher education, health care, and architects and engineers. These topics are covered several times a year in Prairie Business, and we strive to share new angles and unique stories about these important sectors.

We’ve got two features on higher education, one focusing on business programs at regional universities, and the other about the impact of trade and tech schools in our communities. Schools of business are offering popular programs including accounting, marketing, management and entrepreneurship. Technical and trade schools are offering stackable certificates for those already in the workforce, as well as streamlined programs that can get students into a career in a short period of time. We’re lucky to have such involved leaders helping to give people options and opportunities to learn about high-demand careers.

Did you know that more than half of the rural hospitals in the country don’t offer labor and delivery services? In North Dakota, 79% do not, according to the

Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform

. Of the state’s 39 rural hospitals and rural emergency hospitals, 31 do not have obstetric services as of July 2024. The median drive time to a hospital in North Dakota with OB services is 58 minutes. This was surprising to me as I researched the topic, but it’s a fact that rural health care workers know all too well.

I spoke to leaders at independent rural hospitals and rural health experts to learn about their biggest challenges and their innovative solutions. The facilities are using their relationships with industry and with each other to build a network across the state that supports providers and staff by allowing them to share knowledge and expertise. Small, rural communities are an important piece of our economy and accessibility to health-care services is crucial. You can read more about the topic inside this month.

Finally, our architecture and engineering coverage focuses on K-12 facilities, and what it takes to modernize older schools compared to new construction. We talked to industry professionals who shared the challenges school districts face when trying to create safe and secure places of learning for students and staff. The biggest hurdle for districts is funding, all agreed.

National Rural Health Day is Thursday, Nov. 21, so thank a health care worker for all that they do. Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving and we’ll see you back here next month!

I look forward to hearing from you at

[email protected]

or 701-780-1276.

Carrie McDermott joined Prairie Business magazine in March 2023. She covers business industry trends in North Dakota, South Dakota and west central Minnesota. Email address: [email protected].