Dr. Mueller receives award for service to rural health

Keith Mueller, Ph.D., with NeRHA President Jolene Huneke, at the NeRHA annual meeting earlier this month. At the meeting, NeRHA presented Dr. Mueller with its President’s Award for his dedication to rural health.

Keith Mueller, Ph.D., associate dean for academic affairs in the UNMC College of Public Health, received the prestigious President’s Award from the Nebraska Rural Health Association’s (NeRHA) for his distinguished service to rural health.

Dr. Mueller, who was given the award during the group’s annual meeting this month, was recognized as a key national figure in developing rural health policy.

“He has helped us in rural health by guiding policy and being an advocate,” said Joleen Huneke, president of the NeRHA. “The president’s award is not given every year, but is reserved for those whose dedication has uplifted the rural health of Nebraskans.”

The award came as a surprise to Dr. Mueller.

“Any effectiveness I have in offering suggestions for national policy is in large part a reflection of what I learn from the innovative and effective approaches taken in Nebraska to sustain high quality health care services in rural areas,” he said. “So it is especially meaningful to receive this recognition from the Nebraska Rural Health Association.”

Dr. Mueller serves as director of the Nebraska Center for Rural Health Research as well as the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis.

He was appointed to the state’s newly formed eHealth Council, on which he serves as one of three co-chairs.

Roxanna Jokela at the NeRHA annual meeting earlier this month. During the meeting, the group recognized Jokela for her continued dedication to improving rural health.

Dr. Mueller has served as president of the National Rural Health Association and currently serves on the NRHA’s Quality Steering Committee. For the past four years, he has been a member of the Research Council for RUPRI. From 2000-04, he was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services, which reports to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In addition to his rural health expertise, Dr. Mueller also is well versed in national health policy. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Advisory Panel on Medicare Education for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last year, Dr. Mueller was among 25 investigators named UNMC Distinguished Scientists for 2006. His research focuses on the development of public policies that improve health care delivery to vulnerable populations, with special attention to rural areas. He examines the impact of policies on local health care providers, such as how changes in Medicare payment policy influence the mix of services offered in rural communities. His research led to a change in the regulation implementing access standards in the Medicare Part D drug benefit.

“Dr. Mueller’s work is well-respected by policymakers in Washington,” Huneke said. “A couple of years ago, when I was in D.C. attending the National Rural Health Policy Institute a senator’s aide from Texas told me that if an issue dealt with rural health policy the senator wouldn’t do anything without talking to Keith first.”

The NeRHA also recognized Roxanna Jokela, director of the Rural Health Education Network and deputy director of the Nebraska AHEC Program Office at UNMC, with an award for her years of service on the board and her continued work in rural health.