Klamath — Rural Health Network in Community

Last week, Steve Ryman, Teresa Posakony, and I teamed up to work again with a growing network in Klamath county. Steve and I hosted on site with our friend and colleague Bob Marsalli.

There is a movement beginning in Klamath County. A movement of citizens. Of community leaders. Of health care professionals. People committed to exploring a next level community and inquiry-based approach to sustainable health in the county. What began as one individual, Bob Marsalli (CEO, Klamath Health Partnership) wanting to connect health care leaders into a different way of collaborating, grew into a collaboration that included local colleague Wendy Warren, process design support from Steve, Teresa Posakony, and myself, grant resources through the Office of Rural Health Policy, a core leadership team of eight, and later fourteen, supporting the approach.

We work from a Berkana principle, “whatever the problem, community is the answer.” June 24, 2010 was a day dedicated to working as community with 34 people from Klamath County. To improve health and access to health services in the county. To be a community learning together, building relationships, and taking on projects. To work together using tested social technologies on key questions with community stakeholders.

We worked as a group on eight areas of this rural network development, including next steps for the core team.

  1. Welcome and Context
  2. Need and Purpose — What is the curiosity that brought you here?
  3. Community Strengths — What is already working well?
  4. Strategic Assessing — What needs to change?
  5. Working Groups — What needs to be explored and offered for the network to thrive?
  6. Commitments — What do you feel passion about doing with / for this network?
  7. Expanding the Community — Who needs to join us at the next level for this to be successful?
  8. Steps for Core Team (next six months) — What is next? How can we build on today to further support the emergence of Klamath County’s rural health network?

What I like most about this is that it is growing into a network seeing itself. The sparks of possibility are being seen together. People want to work together. They want to find ways to pioneer together. Add to this an architecture for change, which we are offering, and the possible grows from a dream into the absolute practical.

Invitation — Thanks Bob Marsalli
A few photos from the day.
Klamath Herald and News Forum Page
Executive Summary
Report

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