The ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ¹Ù·½ System has released , focusing on rural health ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ¹Ù·½ at the ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ¹Ù·½ at Kearney. The video series, hosted by President Jeff Gold, features conversations with researchers, students and educators across NU’s four campuses who are changing lives and making an impact.
The episode, a conversation between President Gold and Peggy Abels, director of health sciences at UNK, unpacks how the Kearney Health Opportunities Program, or KHOP, is helping to increase the number of health care professionals in rural Nebraska through a partnership with the ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ¹Ù·½ Medical Center.
Abels outlines the history of the KHOP program, provides details on the program’s successes and impact on rural communities, and shares efforts underway at UNK to get Nebraska students excited about health care careers as early as seventh grade.
“We have a long history of our students going to UNMC to become health care professionals, and in 2010, we were able to formalize that by starting the KHOP program.” Abels said. “We started with just six students, and this past year, we brought in 72 new freshmen for a total of 177 students currently in the program.
“We are excited and so are our students and their families. Many are first generation and from small rural communities, so they are grateful for the opportunity to receive a fantastic ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ¹Ù·½ and start their careers in central and western Nebraska. The sustainability of rural communities requires quality health care, so this program is a win-win for our students and for the rural communities we serve.”
“Fifty percent of health care professionals will set down their roots within 50 miles of where they finish their ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ¹Ù·½ and training,” Dr. Gold said. “This is why it’s so critical to have programs like KHOP in rural parts of our state.”
New episodes of “Shaping the Future” are released monthly and feature faculty, staff and students from the ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ¹Ù·½ at Kearney, ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ¹Ù·½–Lincoln, ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ¹Ù·½ Medical Center and ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ¹Ù·½ at Omaha. Topics will include athletics, counterterrorism, agriculture, student success, healthcare, K-12 ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ¹Ù·½ and many others.