1. The Essentia Institute of Rural Health (EIRH) is
the center for Research and
Education for Essentia Health
 All research conducted at Essentia goes through EIRH
 Key educational experiences & expertise come from EIRH
VISION: The EIRH, through collaborative research, education, discovery, and learning, will support and enhance Essentia Health to improve the patient experience of care, improve population health, and reduce per capita cost of healthcare
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2. Who we are:
A team of scientists, analysts, biostatisticians, healthcare professionals, educators, and support staff.
What we do:
We are responsible for most health professional educational and EH Initiative-related research activities of Essentia Health.

3. EH Initiative-Related Research
Education
We coordinate education programs for:
Medical fellows, residents, and students
Pharmacy, advance practice nursing, physician assistant, and therapy graduate students (Physical, Occupational, & Speech Language)
Nursing and other health science students
EH Initiative-Related Research
Our efforts include:
Collection and analysis of data for grant preparation and scholarly studies
Recruitment of patients for EH Initiatives and Industry-sponsored clinical studies
Assistance in project and grant proposals preparation and scientific paper submission.

4. What we do – Research:
Research-Focused Areas Related to EH Initiatives
* The organization, delivery, quality, safety and cost of health care
* Prevention, treatment and management of illness
* Strategies directed at individuals, patients, families, providers, systems, communities and populations that result in better health outcomes
* Clinical and translational research in areas including cancer, heart and vascular diseases
* Health services research applied to the rural population across Essentia Health's service area
Research Capabilities
* Career scientists
* Institutional Review Board
* Scientific Review Board
* Regulatory personnel
* Biostatisticians / Informaticists / Electronic data warehouse
* Grants management specialists
* Project Staff
  Sponsored Programs Administration
* Proposal and budget development assistance / Proposal review, sign-off and submission
* Grant and contract negotiation and acceptance / Subcontract preparation and administration
* Federal indirect cost rate negotiation
* Financial reporting / Progress reporting / Effort certification / Award close-out
* Clinical trial regulatory documentation
* Identification of funding sources / Developing plans for capacity building / Coordinating proposal submission

5. What we do – Education: Health Sciences Education Library Services
* Physician Residents
* Pharmacy Residents
* Medical Students
* Advanced Practice Nursing Students
* Physician Assistant Students
* Therapy Students (Physical, Occupational, & Speech Language)
* Nursing Students
* Other Health Science Students
  CME/Continuing Professional Development
* Practice improvement
* Evidence-based patient care
* Fulfillment of licensure requirements
* Accredited CME/Continuing Professional Development offerings
Library Services
* E-library with online databases and journals
* Extensive print collection
* Public computer workstations
* Reference assistance / Literature searches
* Interlibrary loans / Document delivery / Library resource training

6. What we don’t do:
Reporting nor data manipulation without scientific analysis
Phase I Clinical Trials
Projects which are QA/QI alone (unless an EH-EIRH initiative)
Non-Accredited CME employee education nor training
Clinical competency training nor tracking
Tasks nor functions more appropriately performed by other Essentia Health divisions or departments and not related to research components of Essentia Health initiatives.
(i.e. Information Management, Population Management, Quality, Process Excellence, Information Services, Decision Support, Clinical Education, Organizational Learning & Development, EPIC Clinical Support, Nursing Education, etc.)

7. How we do what we do:
The Preliminary Study Proposal Form or the Non-research Project Application Form (for EH Initiatives) are the first steps for all projects requesting EIRH resources/support
Determines relevance to Essentia Mission/Vision
Provides approval to move forward with project development
Allows tracking of all projects in development
Is required to gain access to EIRH services
Approval comes from the EIRH Executive Director
Obtaining full funding for a project is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator/Project Director
Nominal start-up support (up to 10 hours) may be provided subject to the approval of the EIRH Executive Director
Proposal/Application Forms and a research overview document are available on the EIRH website at:
Contact Information for EIRH Educational Services leaders who coordinate all medical & health science student clinical & research experiences – and those who coordinate accredited CME offerings to support EH Initiatives – is available on the EIRH website:

8. EIRH Activities Summary