Nat’l rural health care award goes to Extension leader

SPOKANE – Charlotte Hardt, interim director of Washington State University Extension’s Eastern Washington Area Health Education Center, was recently named the 2006 recipient of the prestigious Louis Gorin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rural Health Care.

Given each year by The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) – a nonprofit organization that provides leadership on rural health issues – the Gorin Award recognizes rural health leaders whose dedication and commitment exemplify the highest standards of rural health care and service to communities. Award recipients are selected by a group of their peers.

Hardt’s nomination recognized her “wisdom, problem solving skills, and her ability to work with a wide range of people,” as exhibited by both her work with a variety of organizations and through a number of other honors she has received during the course of her career.

Since the mid-1970s, Hardt has worked as a nurse, nurse supervisor, hospital administrator, hospital district commissioner, community health systems development leader, as well as in leadership roles in rural health associations at both the state and national level. She is also a Mennonite Disaster Services volunteer, who most recently assisted in the rebuilding effort in Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina.

As a legislative appointee to the Washington State Rural Health Care Commission, Hardt has helped to bring critical services to Washington, including a health professional loan repayment program and rural health systems development grants. She was also a founding board member of the Washington State Rural Health Association – considered one of the most effective state rural health associations in the nation – and a former president of the NRHA.