Carritt named director of rural health initiatives

Nicole Carritt has been appointed as the inaugural director of rural health initiatives.

In her new role, Carritt, who holds a master’s of public health degree from UNMC, will work with UNMC’s rural partners to enhance the university’s impact across the state. She also will help oversee and implement UNMC’s Rural Health 2030 Plan, which details how UNMC, its partners, and rural Nebraskans can together shape a new vision for a healthy rural future.

“Our charge is looking not just at what the health care needs are today to make rural Nebraska healthy,” Carritt said. “It’s having a clear understanding of what changes are ahead, what the health landscape might look like in 2030, and how can we prepare and adjust our system to meet that?”

Efforts already underway include the enhancement of UNMC’s rural health pathway programs, such as RHOP and PHEAST, she said.

“We’re developing not just the next ‘health care’ leaders for rural communities, we’re developing the next leaders for rural communities,” Carritt said.

A product of a rural upbringing herself, Carritt said that her work with UNMC’s Area Health Education Centers has given her a good sense of what rural Nebraskans expect from their medical university.

“It’s very clear that Nebraska communities and Nebraskans are proud to have UNMC within the state,” she said. “They know that we’re working for them. But with this new position, enabling me to work with our partners across the state, allows us to be committed to be in those communities more frequently. With our partners, we’ll make sure that we’re aware of what their needs are, and we will adjust as necessary to meet their needs — not just today, but well into the future.”

In her new position, she said, she will work to help rural communities recruit and retain young health professionals, especially those with rural roots who may want to return to their own communities.

“This new position gives me an opportunity to help UNMC leadership take the good work that’s been happening already across the state and elevate it to the next level,” she said. “We want to make UNMC a leader in rural health in the country. And that will involve listening to our various stakeholders, hearing what their needs are, and modifying our programming and initiatives to match that so we can provide the best available care as close to home as possible for our residents all across the state.”

“Nikki Carritt has been intimately involved with rural Nebraska for several years as the deputy director of the UNMC Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) program, and prior to that as administrator of the Harrison County Hope and Public Health Department,” said Dele Davies, M.D., senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. “She has also been a key member of the team that helped develop the Rural Health 2030 program for UNMC under the leadership of Bob Bartee, vice chancellor for external affairs.

“We are delighted that in her new role, Nikki will help provide leadership and strategic oversight for implementation of the Rural Health 2030 plan while also supporting the important relationships between UNMC and our rural community partners.”