Thursday, May 12, 2022,
8:00 AM
– Friday, May 13, 2022,
4:15 PM
French Lick Springs Resort 8670 West State Road 56 French Lick, IN 47432
Attend the IU Center for Rural Engagement's two-day conference focused on the issues of greatest importance to Indiana’s rural communities.
Connect with leaders from across Indiana, Indiana University researchers, and colleagues from a variety of fields as you learn and share your perspective on the opportunities and needs facing rural Indiana. The conference is designed for community leaders, residents, and professionals who seek to create a stronger Indiana.
Registration includes all sessions and materials. Join us for both days or a single day. Doors open at 8 a.m.; sessions begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4:15 p.m.
The full conference rate is $80 per person. The rate to attend only one day is $50 per person. Scholarships are available; contact iucre@indiana.edu for more information.
Select sessions on Day 1 have been approved for CEUs by the School of Social Work at Indiana University. See session descriptions for details.
Registration has closed for this event.
Day 1 Schedule
This morning session will bring all participants together with opening remarks from IU Executive Vice President and Provost Rahul Shrivastav. A conversation with Governor Eric Holcomb and IU Center for Rural Engagement Executive Director Kerry Thomson will focus on Indiana’s rural opportunities and Gov. Holcomb’s 2022 Next Level Agenda, including the READI initiative and community connectivity.
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Breakout 1: Food as Medicine: Definition, Implementation, and Impact across the Uplands and the State
In the past few years, rural communities across the Uplands and state have implemented diverse “Food as Medicine” programs that connect people with healthy, local food to address adverse social determinants of health, such as food insecurity. This presentation will define a Food as Medicine approach tailored to Indiana rural communities, survey ongoing Food as Medicine programs in the Uplands, share lessons learned about Food as Medicine impacts, and highlight resources available for developing Food as Medicine programs. Rooted in local food system values, Food as Medicine programs can transform local public health and economic prosperity.
Presenters: Julia Valliant, Jodee Smith, and Jacob Simpson
Breakout 2: Accepted but Not Acceptable: Exploring Shifting and Contradictory Perceptions of Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood in Rural Communities
Our team conducted over 120 qualitative interviews about teen pregnancy and parenthood in two rural Indiana counties. Participants included current and former teen parents, parents of teenagers, social service and healthcare providers, school officials, and community stakeholders. An emerging theme in our data is how perceptions of teen pregnancy and parenthood have shifted across generations and become contradictory. For example, participants described how teen pregnancy and parenthood have become more accepted within their communities but remains a highly stigmatized experience for the teens themselves. We will discuss how these community perceptions challenge, but also provide opportunities, for prevention efforts.
This session has been approved for 1 CEU by the School of Social Work at Indiana University.
Presenters: Katherine Trudeau, Alison Greene, Catherine Sherwood-Laughlin, Lisa Greathouse, Lauren Baney, Dechen Sangmo, Frederica Jackson, Susan Kavaya, Jonathon Beckmeyer, and Michaella Ward
Breakout 3: Recovery Ecosystems
This session will cover the effects of substance use disorder and recovery on rural communities, the difference between treatment and recovery, and how to create healthy recovery communities.
This session has been approved for 1 CEU by the School of Social Work at Indiana University.
Presenters: Heather Rodriguez, Rebekah Gorrell, Sean McDonough
Breakout 4: Community Voices for Health: A Model for Equitable Community Engagement
The Community Voices for Health in Monroe County initiative is designing and testing a framework that provides opportunities for effective and inclusive public engagement in health-related policy decision-making. Identifying a process in which health policy is deliberated with more inclusive representation from community members—especially those voices typically not at the table—can benefit other Indiana communities and the health of residents. This breakout session will review our process, lessons learned, and recommendations for approaches to expand community engagement in policy decisions around health.
Presenters: Liz Grenat and Lisa-Marie Napoli
Join us for lunch with your fellow IU Rural Conference participants and a mid-day panel discussion on substance use disorder in rural communities featuring William Cooke, MD, a Scott County physician and author of Canary in a Coal Mine, Michael Husain and Lisa Hall, director and producer of The Addict’s Wake, an award-winning documentary set in Brown County, and Jon Agley, associate professor and deputy director of research at Prevention Insights at the IU School of Public Health.
Breakout 1: Empowering Nurses During Change: How Nurse Innovation in Rural Obstetrics Improved Patient Care and Nurse Engagement
We will discuss how our rural county ceased delivery services and developed a maternal-infant navigation program. The nurse-led program works to ensure that social, emotional, financial, nutritional, and family wellness needs are met through care coordination and increased access to prenatal and postnatal care. The presentation will review key program initiatives and their impact on patient care outcomes and nurse engagement.
Presenters: Holly Weaver and Julie Teeter
Breakout 2: You Can Do It!: Implementation and Evaluation of a Financial Incentive-based Prenatal Smoking Cessation Program in a Rural Primary Health Care Clinic
The “You Can Do It!” program, a collaboration between the IU School of Public Health – Bloomington and Southern Indiana Community Health Care, is a financial incentive-based prenatal smoking cessation program. We will discuss the implementation process within the clinic setting as well as provide initial evaluation results for program participants since fall 2019. Evaluation data will include biochemically verified and self-reported smoking rates at multiple timepoints throughout pregnancy and within the first year postpartum. We will discuss feasibility, opportunities, and challenges to consider for program implementation.
Presenters: Kristina Mullis, Ryli Hockensmith, and Jon Macy
Breakout 3: It Takes a Village: Strategizing an Interprofessional Health Promotion Rural School-Based Project to Prevent Substance Use and Promote Mental Health
This project focuses on substance use prevention and mental health promotion in four rural southern Indiana school systems and entails collaboration among IU’s health science schools, a local behavioral health agency, and an area hospital community health department. Learn how we navigated the inter-professional project development, funding sources, access to rural school systems, project sustainability, survey development and data analysis. We will share our lessons learned.
This session has been approved for 1 CEU by the School of Social Work at Indiana University.
Presenters: Kim A. Decker, Meegan N. Voss, and Catherine M. Sherwood-Laughlin
Breakout 4: Overdose Prevention Education and Naloxone Training
Learn what kinds of drugs can cause an overdose, what drugs are and are not opioids, what the signs of overdose are, what to do in the case of an overdose, and how to administer Naloxone to someone experiencing an (opioid) overdose. We will do a demonstration and will provide kits upon request to anyone who believes they are likely to witness and respond to an overdose. This session is offered in partnership with ShipHappens, an Indiana-based initiative that provides access to free training in overdose recognition and response utilizing the antidote Naloxone.
This session has been approved for 1 CEU by the School of Social Work at Indiana University.
Presenters: Antonia Sawyer
Breakout 1: Promoting Pediatric Behavioral Health Across Indiana: Three Model Programs to Support Pediatric Healthcare Providers
The Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry has implemented several collaborative programs – including the Behavioral Health Access Program for Youth (Be Happy), Adolescent Addiction Access Program (AAA), Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) – to ensure Indiana youth and families have access to the care they need. We will describe the aims, structure, and outcomes of three programs designed to increase access to best practice pediatric behavioral health services in rural communities. These programs leverage educational partnerships wherein clinical specialists provide consultation, mentorship, and referral support to local healthcare professionals and stakeholders across Indiana.
This session has been approved for 1 CEU by the School of Social Work at Indiana University.
Presenters: Leah Coe, Sharon Mermelstein, and Celeste Wolfinger
Breakout 2: Developing Healthy Rural Communities: Health Fair Screenings that Provide Hoosiers with Complimentary Healthcare Access
A rural health fair provided an interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) experience for Indiana University health professions students and pre-professional students along with faculty clinicians and Washington County, IN community partners. The students were central to delivering diagnostic and screening tests, providing health education, and engaging with local residents throughout the health fair’s nine specialty stations. A panel of students, community partners, and faculty will discuss the importance of sharing their healthcare knowledge and skills with Hoosier residents.
This session has been approved for 1 CEU by the School of Social Work at Indiana University.
Presenters: Whitney Schlegel, April D. Newton, Tammy Worley
Breakout 3: Connections IN Health is Here for YOU!
Connections IN Health team members and community partners will share about the project, the initiatives involved, and success stories for coalition work with improving health outcomes across the state.
Presenters: Karen Hinshaw, Courtney Stewart, Aliya Amin, La Wanda Girton, and Antonia Sawyer
Breakout 4: Rural Community and School Engagement: A BSW Student Perspective
Join us for an interactive discussion on Orange County community engagement from a student perspective. We will discuss the needs of the community as assessed by the student, community based efforts involving Indiana University and local partnerships, and outcomes of these efforts. We will discuss what is unique about Orange County, as well as what information can be applied to other rural communities.
This session has been approved for 1 CEU by the School of Social Work at Indiana University.
Presenters:Breanna White, Carlene Quinn, and Deb Getz
Join us for a roundtable discussion—small, informal conversations about topics of interest.
Partnerships for Facilitating Rural Health Care Access Join us for an opportunity to share ideas and proven practices for designing and implementing a rural community health and wellness event utilizing a strategic partnership model. Indiana University’s health professional and pre-professional programs, working together in collaborative practice through participation in Indiana University’s rural interprofessional education initiative and Washington County health and wellness stakeholders, hosted a wellness event to offer residents chronic disease, hearing, balance and gait, and vision screenings and mental health resources. This roundtable will explore collaborative strategies for development and implementation of events aimed at enhancing rural health care access by sharing partnership perspectives from faculty, community stakeholders and Center for Rural Engagement staff.
Presenters: Jeanne Johnston, John Keesler, Tina Mitchell, and Todd Burkhardt
Using Embedded Police Social Workers to Increase Access to Services Embedded social workers can assist any member of the community regardless of insurance access and other status to provide brief intervention case management services as well as mental health therapy. Join us for a conversation about the model currently in place at the City of Bloomington and ways it can be adapted for rural settings.
Presenters: Melissa Stone and Michael Diekhoff
Community Outreach and Engagement to Reduce Cancer Burden in Rural Indiana In this roundtable discussion, we will discuss the structure and priority aims of the reorganized Community Outreach and Engagement arm of the IU Simon Cancer Center and share data on the epidemiology of the cancer burden in Indiana, which informs where to focus efforts. Join us for an interactive discussion to gain insights on how to best engage with rural communities to develop and support outreach activities that decrease cancer burden.
Presenters: Jon Macy, Calvin Roberson, and Victoria Champion
Developing Community Partnerships as a Method for Preventing Sexual Violence The Healthy Relationships Initiative is a collaborative project with Indiana University Bloomington (School of Public Health and School of Education) and community-based organizations in rural Indiana. Learn how this project is focused on the development of strategies to prevent sexual violence victimization and perpetration by implementing educational programs for elementary-aged children, parents, school personnel, and community leaders. The educational programs deliver instruction and foster discussion on consent, digital safety, interpersonal boundaries, and strategies for cultivating healthy relationships. We will discuss how to develop community partnerships, and the approach to planning, implementation, and evaluation of the program in schools and community-based organizations.
Presenters: Drew M. Klinepeter-Persing, John A. Leman, Benjamin D. Maddock, Alex Y. Persons, Catherine M. Sherwood-Laughlin, and Zoë D. Peterson
IN Family to Family: Preserving the Rural Culture while Improving Access to Care Learn about Family-to-Family and Parent-to-Parent organizations and their role in supporting families and providers. We will discuss our current community partnerships, projects, training opportunities, and other ways we partner with and empower families. Join us for this conversation about barriers to care, learn how we are working to bridge gaps, and hear from attendees about their lived experiences.
Presenters: Christine Hennessy, Carrie Le
Prevent Pricks: A Collaborative Sharps Disposal Program Centered in Harm Reduction Prevent Pricks is a zero barrier, community based, sharps disposal program piloted in the rural community of Miami County, Indiana, designed as a multi-faceted program to not only reduce improper disposal of syringes, but to also act as a building block to further harm reduction programming. In implementing Prevent Pricks, a community has the opportunity to reduce stigma around syringe use, eliminate the “Not In My Back Yard” or NIMBY mentality of harm reduction programming being established within the community, and work toward efforts to reduce or eliminate the criminalization of syringes. Join us for this conversation about reducing stigma and barriers to community health efforts like this one.
Presenters: Antonia Sawyer and Kassandra Botts
IU Bloomington's Rural Student Recruitment and Support
Join team members from Indiana University Bloomington's Office of Enrollment Management to learn more about the methods and models that have been built specifically to support and retrain rural students through pre-college preparation, the admission cycle, scholarships and scholar support.
Presenters: Hilary Deardorff, Stephanie Stephenson, and Emily Arth
Pregnant and Parenting Teens Navigating Health Care Resources and Support in Rural Indiana
Pregnant and parenting teens face unique challenges navigating the healthcare system and access to health-related resources. Interviews were conducted with pregnant and parenting teens in Lawrence and Orange counties, which have the highest rates of teen pregnancy in Indiana. Participants talked about experiences related to pregnancy and support as a teen parent. Discuss perspectives on access to sexuality education and pregnancy prevention information, interactions with healthcare providers, utilizing community resources for pre-and post-natal care, and opportunities to learn parenting skills.
Presenters: Katherine Trudeau, Alison Greene, Catherine Sherwood-Laughlin, Lisa Greathouse, Lauren Baney, Dechen Sangmo, Frederica Jackson, Susan Kavaya, Jonathon Beckmeyer, and Michaella Ward
Day 2 Schedule
This morning session will bring all participants together to learn more about recent initiatives and hear from our guest keynote speaker, Jack Hess.
Collaboration By Design
Across generations of leaders, the rural community of Columbus, Indiana, has cultivated a living laboratory for how the public, private, and social sectors can work together to address complex social problems and authentically produce meaningful outcomes. This keynote session tells a seventy-year story about the community's collective work, shares the lessons learned, and illustrates the thinking used to develop the potential of both people and place.
Speaker: Jack Hess is the co-founder and Executive Director of CivicLab, a nonprofit institute dedicated to advancing the practice of civic collaboration based in Columbus, Indiana. CivicLab teaches collaborative community teams how to better approach complex social problems by redesigning the way they work together. Since its inception in 2012, it has partnered with and served more than 300 communities and has trained more than 15,000 leaders and community stakeholders.
Breakout 1: What is Gleaning and How Does It Reduce Food Waste?
The Society of St. Andrew brings people together to harvest and share healthy food, reduce food waste, and build caring communities by offering nourishment to hungry neighbors. Together we will explore how gleaning relates to food insecurity and food waste and the ways you or your organization can be involved.
Presenter: Ann Radtke
Breakout 2: Community Conversations: Rural Community Housing Models
Join us for a discussion about rural housing issues and approaches rural residents are taking to expand housing stock in their communities.
Presenters: Arla Frazier, Phil Mininger, Reagan Wampler, Martha Nice, Max Smith, Zackary Dunivin, and Gabriel Piser
Breakout 3: Harnessing Student Support for Community Needs and Opportunities
Hear from two IU student engagement programs, Project HOPE and the IU Corps START initiative, and learn how IU students can infuse your organization with the energy and innovation you need to move forward.
Presenters: Alan Dennis, Bipin Prabhakar, Keith Gelarden Dayton, and Suzanne Allen
Breakout 4: Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape
Join us for an overview of the recent Sentinel Landscape designation of over 3.5 million acres in Southern Indiana, part of a federal program aimed at strengthening military readiness, conserving natural resources, protecting critical habitat, enhancing America’s working lands, and helping prepare Indiana for environmental changes. The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of federal agencies, state and local governments, and non-governmental organizations that works with private landowners to advance sustainable land management practices around military installations and ranges. Sentinel Landscape partners accomplish their objective by connecting private landowners with voluntary state and federal assistance programs that provide tax reductions, agricultural loans, disaster relief, educational opportunities, technical aid, and funding for conservation easements.
Presenters: Mark Dobbs and Andrea Lutz
Join us for lunch with your fellow IU Rural Conference participants and a mid-day program. Denny Spinner, Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs executive director and former mayor of Huntingburg, will convene a panel of mayors including Mayor Treva Hodges of Charlestown, Mayor Scott Long of Wabash, and Mayor Dean Vonderheide of Jasper to discuss rural city innovations and challenges.
Breakout 1: Exploring the Benefits of a National Forest in Your Community
The Hoosier National Forest provides a broad suite of benefits to U.S. residents, visitors, and local communities, including direct and indirect economic benefits, as well health, quality of life and aesthetic benefits. We will explore and consider the existing benefits and solicit ideas for ways the National Forest can do more for local, rural communities. We will cover background on the National Forest and mission of the U.S. Forest Service, ongoing activities and existing benefits, and we will discuss potential additive benefits to explore.
Presenter: Mike Chaveas
Breakout 2: USDA Rural Development Funding Opportunities
Join us for an overview of U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development programs designed to benefit the rural communities, and discuss ways these opportunities could be a fit for your hometown.
Presenters: Craig McGowen, Cynthia Ferguson, and Terri Weyer
Breakout 3: Rural Arts Engagement
Please join us after lunch for coffee and dessert to enjoy a lively sampler of original poetry and prose from participants in recent rural writing workshops. In addition, the panel will discuss the ways that the arts can help restore and revitalize communities through sharing collective interests, generating curiosity around the past and the present, help mend and soothe old wounds, and celebrate our histories and relationship to the land and each other.
Presenters: Dusty Lynn Baker, Catherine Bowman, Andrew Gerber, Conor McIntyre, Anne OConnell, Judy Quinlin
Breakout 1: Creative Placemaking in Rural Communities
We will explore recent creative placemaking initiatives in rural Indiana that have activated public spaces and heritage sites for the benefit of residents and visitors alike. Learn the steps communities and partnering organizations have taken to identify opportunities, develop and implement plans, and launch these renewed spaces that serve as gathering places and community points of pride.
Presenters: Daniel Martinez, Judy Johnson, Britt Brewer, and Jess Novitski
Breakout 2: Tackling Environmental Change in Rural Indiana
In this presentation, we will define the impacts of environmental change which are of particular concern in rural Indiana (such as extreme heat and precipitation). We will explore outcomes and examples of what Indiana communities have accomplished and implemented as a result of their partnership with Environmental Resilience Institute and share findings from the 2022 Indiana University Resilient Communities Survey.
Presenters: Aaron Deslatte, Matt Flaherty, and Cody Smith
The Rural Fresh Market program addresses the loss of retail food businesses and the food deserts that were created in rural communities as a result. Learn about the system of best practices for retail food operations, an ongoing mentorship program, and the concept of Community-Owned Businesses to create a unique, financially self-sustaining, community-owned market. This innovative program offers rural communities a business model that can succeed financially where other business models may not.
Presenter: Sean Park
Join us for a fast-paced round of lightning presentations to quick-start your inspiration.
Benefits.gov: A One-Stop Shop
The federal government provides a variety of assistance of which many people, businesses and smaller government entities remain unaware. Benefits.gov is a collaboration of over ten United States departments which allows users to access information on benefits they may be eligible for and how to apply in a vast assortment of areas including agricultural loans, veteran employment, housing loans, social security, educational scholarships and refugee assistance. Learn about interactive tools within the platform that can be utilized by educators, public advocates and government officials to streamline the process and open up opportunities for the people in their communities.
Presenter: Emily Alford
Kindness and Gratitude: Bringing People Together
Learn what science has to say about the benefits of practicing kindness and gratitude on personal and professional relationships. Gain practical ideas for getting the word out about how kindness and gratitude can improve health outcomes in any population. Learn what you can do on an individual level to feel higher levels of kindness and gratitude, and ultimately feel happier.
Presenter: David Seckman
Rural Internet: Make A Plan and Work The Plan
Bringing fiber internet to rural Indiana is the difference between communities that will advance into the future and those that will quietly become a quaint reminder of yesteryear. High speed internet is no longer an amenity—it is necessary infrastructure. Learn how a rural community is preparing and implementing their plan to expand high speed internet access.
Presenter: Marce King
Building on Your Strengths Rural Assets and Networks
Learn how an asset-based community development model holds the keys to making big things happen in small towns.
Presenter: Jane Rogan
The conference schedule and sessions are subject to change.
Day One: Taking Action for a Healthier Indiana
May 12, 2022
Sessions will include rural mental health, local food initiatives, substance use disorder interventions, and public health planning topics.
Day Two: Collaborating for a Stronger Indiana
May 13, 2022
Sessions will include regional collaborations, environmental resilience, and local arts and culture topics.
