Advancing Wellness

The reach and depth of the HRMC Foundation has grown dramatically since executive director Paul Rann took the wheel, including a renewed commitment to focus on community wellness.

It’s serious work being the executive director of Huron Regional Medical Center Foundation, but Paul Rann is convinced he’s the one having all the fun.

“I get to be a conduit for someone else who wants to have an impact on our community, and I get to have a lot of fun doing that,” said Paul, who has served as executive director for six years. “I get to see generosity every day in the contributions our donors give to the Foundation, and the care our nurses and physicians and staff give to our community. It’s one of the reasons I took this job — to be able to work with a hospital that is genuinely interested in investing in the needs of our community.”

The reach and depth of the Foundation has grown dramatically since he took the wheel, including a renewed commitment to focus on community wellness. “We are taking a look at what community members need to be taken care of, and then working to meet those needs,” he said. “We’ve changed how we approach this work and we’re seeing a different way to engage our community to strengthen the region.”

One way the Foundation has responded directly to the needs of the community is creating solutions for the workforce shortage in the medical field, particularly in nursing. In 2017, the Foundation partnered with Southeast Technical Institute to start an LPN to RN program in Huron at the Huron Community Campus and has future plans to bring a full LPN program to HCC by 2020. “People here are extremely generous and if they see a good idea, they want to back it.”

In Huron, people don’t shy away from problems. “We find solutions,” Paul said. “We’ve been a leader for other rural communities in gathering people together to find solutions to our greatest challenges. If we see a gap, we’re going to address it and move forward.”

Supporting education is just one way of addressing a need that could help the community long term. The Foundation plays a major role in by providing the resources for scholarships and training that will help educate future nurses, physicians and staff who will return to Huron and make a difference. “Often, small towns think they can’t do big things,” he said. “But we can do great things in Huron.”

A healthy Huron is about vibrancy, and part of Paul’s mission is to continue to bring awareness to the importance of health for every individual in the community. “If we have people here who can help care for people, great technology that helps us diagnose and treat people well, and an overall wellness goal for every person – that is health care,” he said.

So, expect to see Paul around town in the weeks, months and years to come — meeting with community members and championing the movement toward a healthy Huron.