THE RURBAN FRINGE

Rural Doctor Attraction Requires Creativity, Tenacity

In Canada and the US, recruiting and retaining physicans in rural areas is a major, ongoing challenge.
With factors such as population growth, aging, and other issues affecting physician numbers, simply educating more doctors won’t fill this widening gap, complex changes (such as improving health care delivery models and systems) are needed, as are creative strategies which [...]

Lest We Forget

Tapping Into Rural Tourism and Retail Opportunities: Guest Post at Small Biz Survival

A few weeks ago, I connected with Becky McCray over at Small Biz Survival - which, if you haven’t been, is a tremendous resource and sounding board for small businesses and related rural issues.
As ’rurban’ development is the name of the game over here at the ‘Fringe, we quickly found common ground and she invited me to do [...]

‘Tidy Towns’ Initiative Encourages More Than Neatness

In an effort to foster environmental responsibility, civic pride, and community beautification, Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador (MNL) developed a unique initiative for communities large and small:  Tidy Towns.
Tidy Towns is a competition.  Yet whether a community wins or loses, the benefits of being involved far outweigh any short-term glory. 
“By promoting clean, ecologically sound, heritage-aware communities, Tidy Towns [...]

Making A Case for A New Definition of ‘Rural’

A recent editorial in the Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine reminded me why I began this blog, and makes a case for a new definition of ‘rural’ to aid policy planning, most notably for health and medical services.
“Since 1994, Australia has had five levels of “rural” that have been defined for purposes of policy planning.  In Canada, we don’t [...]

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