The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
UMRHN is uniquely experienced in bringing together various community agencies and organizations to address the full picture of health. As opposed to community coalitions, which consist primarily of case-level staff sharing information, the UMRHN Board is made up of the top executives and decision makers who can see the full picture of population health, forge new working relationships among agencies, and implement targeted changes accordingly. For years, the Network has had a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in place which is updated periodically to reflect changes in membership, industry trends, and new priorities. UMRHN is the only organization of its kind in this region, focused on improving health by engaging and connecting leaders to align resources and strategies. The members have demonstrated commitment to the Network vision and mission for over 15 years. Projects and activities are identified that will not only benefit the Network members but also the local community to improve health and well-being. Since the pandemic began, UMRHN has been monitoring the rapidly changing information regarding COVID-19 and disseminates the facts to the public, local coalitions, and our Board members. UMRHN addresses a variety of topics related to the virus, such as mental health during the pandemic, testing locations, available PPE, and food insecurity. As a community-based organization, UMRHN understands the barriers and challenges as well as the importance of providing culturally relevant information from trusted sources. UMRHN is well-equipped in understanding how health is impacted by nutrition, access to care, physical activity, and also the role vaccinations and herd immunity play in the wellbeing of a community. In addition, it is important to effectively dispel any myths pertaining to vaccines.