Institute for Rural Health Development & Research
The Institute for Rural Health Development & Research (IRHDR) is housed within the College of Health and Human Services at Western Kentucky University. Most people know us for our two Mobile Units: The Mobile Health and Wellness Unit and the Mobile Dental Health Unit. However, there is more to us than meets the eye.
Services currently provided by the Mobile Health and Wellness Unit include health care screenings for cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure and bone density; and health education in the areas of heart health, diabetes prevention and control, hypertension, stress management, menopause, child development, and illness avoidance. The unit will also begin to provide clinical services performed by Family Nurse Practitioner, Mary Kovar and Registered Nurse, Chandra Ellis-Griffith.
Services currently provided on the Mobile Dental Health Unit by Daniel Carter, DMD, and Bonny Petty, RDH, include the Dental Sealant Program, a service offered to 2nd and 7th grade students in our service area. The appointments are made with the help of the school in which the service is provided. Other programs currently offered by the Mobile Dental Health Unit are the fluoride varnish program and the Comprehensive Dental Program. The fluoride varnish program is offered to Head Start Programs in the Warren County area. Appointments are made in advance with the help of the Head Start Program Coordinators at the school in which the service is being provided. The Comprehensive Dental Program is offered to various community agencies including Housing Authority locations, Salvation Army locations and other communities in the 27-county regional service area. Appointments for this program are made in advance with a liaison at the collaborating agency.
In addition to providing health and dental care in our regional service area, the staff at IRHDR work daily on research projects, community outreach projects, and grant opportunities. The IRHDR works in constant collaboration with several departments on campus and within the college including Public Health, Dental Hygiene, Nursing, Biology, Women’s Studies and many other departments. All of the staff at the Institute for Rural Health Development & Research are very dedicated to providing quality health care and health education across the state.
Our first Mobile Unit was acquired in 2001 through federal funding attained through Senator Mitch McConnell. This unit served a duel purpose and housed both our Health and Wellness services and our Dental Health Services.
Upon arrival at WKU, the Mobile Unit looked like this:
After a renovation to make the unit fully compatible for a multitude of dental services, it currently looks like this:
In 2008, Anthem gave a very generous donation that allowed the purchase of a second unit that would be used for Health and Wellness purposes. That unit looks like this:
