Rural Health Inc. celebrates 40th anniversary
Friday, Nov. 30, was a banner day at Rural Health Inc. in Anna.
Rural Health celebrated 40 years of service to the people of the Southern Illinois area.
The landmark achievement was commemorated from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. last Friday at Rural Health’s main clinic in Anna. The clinic is located behind Union County Hospital in Anna.
The main clinic for Rural Health Inc. is located in Anna. Rural Health also has satellite clinics in Dongola, Goreville, Vienna and Metropolis.
Rural Health has five physicians, with a sixth on the way, and employs a total of 90 people.
In 2017, Rural Health had 14,305 patients and recorded 69,351 patient encounters at all of its locations.
Rural Health has an 11-member board of directors, with representatives from throughout its service area.
Rural Health has a $14 million budget. Numbers compiled by the Illinois Primary Health Care Association show that the agency has an economic impact on the region in the range of $22 million to $25 million.
Rural Health was incorporated on Nov. 29, 1978. The present Rural Health clinic site in Anna was completed in April 1992. The clinic has grown, and continues to grow.
“Our mission at Rural Health is ‘to provide quality services to all patients in need of healthcare while being committed to the overall health and well-being of the underserved’,” Rural Health chief executive officer Cindy Flamm said during Friday’s 40th anniversary celebration.
Ron Osman of Marion was the keynote speaker at Friday’s special event. Osman is Rural Health’s long-time attorney and served on the agency’s board of directors.
Osman remembered the steps that were taken, and the challenges which were met, when Rural Health was born in the late 1970s.
He shared that Rural Health continues to provide life-saving care for thousands of people. Osman urged current employees and board members to continue to provide that special care.
“Every day...you’re making a difference in somebody’s life,” Osman said.
“You are saving lives. There can be no greater calling than saving lives,” he added.