UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has appointed Lisa Davis, director of the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, outreach associate professor of health policy and administration at Penn State, and a Penn State alumna, to serve as a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Rural Affairs.
Established by executive order in 2007, the Governor’s Advisory Council on Rural Affairs fosters inclusive, collaborative partnerships and networks of diverse individuals and organizations to improve the coordination and effectiveness of federal, state and other programs affecting rural areas in Pennsylvania.
The council serves as a liaison to federal, state and local government agencies to ensure that programs affecting rural Pennsylvanians are effectively utilized and that benefits are available to all rural citizens. The council also fosters expanded economic and social opportunities for Pennsylvania’s rural residents.
The council develops, reviews and recommends policies to the governor to promote expanded economic and social opportunities for rural Pennsylvania; serves as a vehicle for collective advocacy on behalf of Pennsylvania’s rural communities and their residents; promotes intergovernmental cooperation and community-based problem-solving strategies; advises the governor, agencies, organizations and other entities on issues affecting rural communities and their residents; and serves as a resource for private and nonprofit organizations on rural issues, programs, and available sources of technical and financial assistance.
Davis serves in leadership capacities on a wide range of advisory committees and boards of directors at the state and national levels focused on rural health, health care policy, economic development, and health care issues such as cancer, nursing, rural health research, community-based models of care, and other issues relevant to the delivery of health care services in rural areas.
“I am honored to be appointed to this council to address rural issues in the state. This service builds on my experience serving on the Pennsylvania Rural Development Council and Pennsylvania Rural Partners. I’m very much looking forward to assisting Gov. Wolf in addressing issues facing rural communities in Pennsylvania,” Davis said. “This is an excellent role for the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health to play in the state and may well inform other efforts in which we are engaged at the state and national levels.”
The Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health formed in 1991 as a joint partnership between the federal government, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Penn State. The office is one of 50 state offices of rural health in the nation funded under a program administered by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is charged with being a source of coordination, technical assistance and networking; partnership development; and assisting in the recruitment and retention of health care providers.
The Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health provides expertise in the areas of rural health, agricultural health and safety, and community and economic development. The Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health is administratively housed in the Department of Health Policy and Administration in the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State's University Park campus.