Dr. Deborah Erickson Earns Two Statewide Honors on the 10th Annual National Rural Health Day

Warroad, M.N. – Dr. Deborah Erickson, a Family Medicine/OB physician at the Altru Clinic in Warroad, earned two statewide honors: the Minnesota Community Star and Minnesota Rural Health Lifetime Achievement Award.

On the third Thursday of November every year, the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) leads National Rural Health Day, an annual day of celebration that shines a light on those serving the vital health needs of an estimated 57 million people living in rural America. NOSORH is the member association serving all 50 State Offices of Rural Health (SORH).

Dr. Deborah Erickson appeared in the 2020 edition of the book Community Stars, published on the official NHRD website, powerofrural.org, the morning of November 19, 2020.

“We as a community are undoubtedly grateful and blessed for the wonderful care Dr. Erickson has given to our loved ones for the last 30+ years,” said Brittany Cole, Supervisor of the Altru Clinic in Warroad.

The Minnesota Rural Health Association and National Rural Health Resource Center are joining the Minnesota Department of Health to recognize Dr. Erickson with the 2020 Rural Health Lifetime Achievement Award.

Born and raised in Warroad, Dr. Erickson saw firsthand her community’s overwhelming healthcare needs and challenges and returned to her hometown after medical school to serve as the single longest-term physician in Warroad. Dr. Erickson exemplifies what it means to be in family medicine by providing a wide array of services for a diverse community, through generations of patients of all ages.

Our team at the Altru Clinic in Warroad will be celebrating Dr. Erickson’s decades of commitment to her community.

“Dr. Erickson is one of the brightest stars in Minnesota,” said Heather Strandell, Director of Primary Care Operations at Altru. “We’re grateful for all of the amazing work she does with our patients in Warroad.”

SORHs provide support to rural hospitals, clinics, and other rural stakeholders in several ways, including technical assistance, funding that supports workforce development, population health management, quality improvement initiatives, and more.

In 2015, NOSORH put out a nationwide call to nominate individuals, organizations, and coalitions making a positive impact in rural communities. Soon after the stories started coming, the book of National Rural Health Day Community Stars was created. This year, nominations came in from 48 states, a record for this annual inspiring recognition program.

About Altru Health System

Based in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Altru Health System is a physician-led, multispecialty group practice with an acute care hospital, Level II trauma center, specialty hospital, more than two dozen Grand Forks, and regional practice locations, and a large home care network. Altru Health System was the first member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, extending Mayo Clinic knowledge and expertise to the patients we serve. For more information, visit altru.org.