Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development

Welcome

At the Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development (CRHSSD), we partner with area agencies to address the most pressing health and social service concerns affecting our communities. As part of SIU School of Medicine, our aim is to reduce health disparities in the 66 urban and rural counties across central and southern Illinois.

We support and empower residents from 66 counties through research, program evaluations, needs assessments, advocacy work and policy recommendations. We’re regularly testing new models of health care delivery to promote meaningful change in our neighbors’ lives and ensure at-risk communities receive the quality health care they deserve.  

We value more than anything else service to our communities, to our professions, and stakeholders. We value our motivated, professional, and productive staff, along with honesty, integrity, mutual respect, creative thinking, and excellence.
 

 

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Rural Land with Road and Fields

Center services

The CRHSSD is in place to help address health care and social service issues impacting the lives and productivity of those in our state and nation. We do this through grant and project development, research and evaluation, training and workforce development, and community engagement and outreach.

Rural Field with Sunset

Latest articles

FFRI awareness

Farm Family Resource Initiative efforts highlighted

Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello highlighted the availability of mental health resources through the Farm Family Resource Initiative while in Carbondale on May 30. He was joined by representatives of SIU Medicine and Josh and Emily Reinhardt, dairy farmers from Red Bud, Illinois.
Kruse & Durbin in Lincoln

Durbin releases plan to address health care workforce shortages in rural Illinois

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin held a news conference with Illinois health care leaders Monday, May 22, to release his “Roadmap to Grow Illinois’ Rural Health Workforce.” The partnership with hospitals, community health centers, medical and nursing schools, community colleges, dentists, physicians, and nurses will organize efforts and provide new funding to address health care workforce shortages and staffing crises in rural Illinois.
Farm family

March events to provide valuable support to farmers and their families

SIU's Farm Family Resource Initiative will host a webinar series for women in agriculture and a community forum on succession planning in March.