Medicine:Rural Health Month
Rural Health Month is celebrated in November in Australia and the United States.
Australia
Rural Health Month was launched in Australia by Rural Health Pro, a social enterprise of RDN, in the year 2020.[1] The event takes place annually in November and has been widely embraced by the rural health community as a time to acknowledge and celebrate the work of health professionals in remote, rural and regional health services.[2][3][4][5]
RDN, an Australian charity for health access, conceived of the idea in 2019 as an opportunity for a multidisciplinary coming together of the rural health community for a series of educational and networking events events with a rural positive focus.[6] In 2025, the National Rural Health Commissioner Professor Jenny May described the month as an opportunity for rural health professionals to access the professional support they need. "The power of connectedness is a vital ingredient in bringing our rural health community together," the Commissioner said.[7]
Events taking place during Rural Health Month include the National Rural and Remote Health Awards.[8] The Awards were inaugurated at Parliament House in 2023 by Rural Health Pro.[9][10][11] The Awards celebrate the achievements of health professionals and organisations in rural and remote communities across Australia, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.[12][13][14][15][16][17] Summing up the spirit of the Awards in her 2024 address at the ceremony, Governor-General Sam Mostyn said:
"Healthcare is so much more than just about treatment. It is education, it's prevention and management, it's project planning and execution, it's communication and collaboration, innovation and so much more. Yours are not just jobs, but vocations of care. Your work is essential to the wellbeing of all Australians and the prosperity and progress of our nation
— Ms Sam Mostyn, Governor-General of Australia, 2024 National Rural and Remote Health Awards[18]
United States
In the United States, Rural Health Month takes place in November, and includes National Rural Health Day. In November 2025, US Reps. Jill Tokuda (Hawaiʻi-02) and Diana Harshbarger (Tenn.-01), co-chairs of the Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, led the US Congress in celebrating National Rural Health Day, highlighting the need to advance bipartisan policy to strengthen rural healthcare systems in America.[19]
External links
- Rural Health Month - Rural Health Pro www.ruralhealthpro.org
- Rural Health Month - Rural Doctors Network - www.ruraldoctors.org
- National Rural Health Day - National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH)
References
- ↑ Honouring Vocations of Care; NSW AMA Doctor Magazine, Summer 2025 Edition, p. 29
- ↑ Celebrating Rural Health Care Heroes www.rwannetwork.com.au, 19 Dec 2024
- ↑ Funding boost for operating theatre in Young as local member calls for a 'comprehensive' health plan; Region Riverina; 12 Nov 2024
- ↑ Parliament of NSW: 4176 - Rural Health Month Notice given 19 November 2025 by Joe McGirr
- ↑ Welcome to Rural Health Month 2025; www.ruraldoctors.org, 31 October 2025
- ↑ Honouring Vocations of Care; NSW AMA Doctor Magazine, Summer 2025 Edition, p. 29
- ↑ Welcome to Rural Health Month 2025; www.ruraldoctors.org, 31 October 2025
- ↑ Bullinah Aboriginal Health Service's 'rising star' honoured at national awards; National Indigenous Times; Nov 6 2025
- ↑ Southern stars shine at National Rural and Remote Health Awards; NSW Government - News;1 Dec 2023
- ↑ Celebrating RFDS’s Fallon Gray as National Rural and Remote Health Awards Finalist; Royal Flying Doctor Service - news; 6 November 2025
- ↑ Parliament House hosts inaugural National Rural and Remote Health Awards; www.ruraldoctors.org, 16 Nov 2023
- ↑ Rheumatic heart disease cases drastically reduced in North West Queensland; abc.net.au; 5 Dec 2025
- ↑ Spotlight on inspiring Aboriginal health stories at National Rural & Remote Health Awards; www.ruraldoctors.org, 17 Nov 2023
- ↑ Aged Care Evaluation Unit named finalist in national awards Aged Care Evaluation Unit named finalist in national awards; NSW Government; 20 October 2025
- ↑ Alice Springs and Katherine health teams named award winners; NT News, 9 Nov 2025
- ↑ Health partnership wins national award for reducing RHD; Northwest Weekly; 6 Nov 2025
- ↑ One for the "little guys" says Milton-based national award winner; Milton Ulladulla Times; Nov 6, 2025
- ↑ Indigenous healthcare heroes among winners at National Rural and Remote Health Awards; National Indigenous Times; 7 November 2024
- ↑ Tokuda, Harshbarger highlight National Rural Health Day; Maui Now, Nov 23, 2025
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