RAC's Five Year Anniversary
For immediate release:
December 10, 2007
RELEASE – FULL VERSION
Rural Assistance Center Celebrates 5-Year Anniversary, 1.5 Million Visits with Release of New Home Page
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – In December 2002, the Rural Assistance Center (RAC) launched its fledgling web site and took its first information request by telephone. Five years and 1.5 million web visits later, RAC’s extensive web site is getting a facelift.
The Rural Assistance Center (RAC) is a national resource designed to meet the substantial rural health and human services information needs of rural communities. RAC provides rural communities with access to a full range of available programs, funding and research that can enable them to provide quality health and human services.
Dr. Elizabeth Duke, the top administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, and Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association, are joining RAC today in celebrating its 5th anniversary and launching its new home page.
“In five short years, the Rural Assistance Center has built a national reputation as a leader in both quality and timeliness of information,” said Kristine Sande, RAC project director.
“The RAC web site has become a premiere site for access to current information on rural health and human services topics. Our new homepage will allow our users even easier access to the wealth of information available on our site.”
Since its launch in December 2002, RAC’s web site has received over 1.5 million visits, with more than half a million coming in the last year. In addition, RAC has responded to almost 5,000 customized assistance requests from people in all 50 states and over 20 foreign countries.
“The Health Resources and Services Administration is delighted to be celebrating a five-year partnership with the Rural Assistance Center, which provides a one-stop location for people seeking information about health and human services in rural America,” said Duke. “The RAC is a key part of HRSA’s efforts to improve the delivery of health and social services in rural areas.”
“The knowledgeable and committed staff, coupled with state-of-the-art technical resources, support and extend rural community access to information and resources needed to improve local health care and human services delivery systems,” said Dr. Mary Wakefield, director of the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota. “This service saves countless hours for rural stakeholders throughout the nation and ensures they don’t miss important information or opportunities.”
Based at the University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health, RAC is a collaboration of the University of North Dakota and the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI). It is funded through HRSA's Office of Rural Health Policy. RAC coordinates and streamlines information and makes it available through the use of a comprehensive web site, www.raconline.org, including an online clearinghouse of news, documents, maps and success stories; a calendar of events; a directory of rural contacts and organizations; state resource pages; and a searchable database of funding opportunities. Also available on the web site are Information Guides, which provide in-depth information focusing on rural aspects of an issue or topic. RAC’s electronic updates on rural health and human services keep more than 5,000 subscribers abreast of new information and resources. RAC also provides free customized assistance on topics related to rural health or human services.
Contact RAC at 1-800-270-1898 or info@raconline.org to request customized assistance from RAC's information specialists.
-30-
Contact:
Kristine Sande, RAC project director, 701-777-6466, ksande@medicine.nodak.edu
Mary Wakefield, Center for Rural Health director, 701-777-3848, mwake@medicine.nodak.edu
An electronic version of this press release and webcast of our press conference on December 10th at 10 a.m. CST is available online at: http://www.raconline.org/anniversary/
12-10-07
