Being long-term, collaborative partners with shared organizational philosophies and values, the New England Rural Health Association (NERHA) and MCD are pleased to announce they have formed a new strategic and collaborative alliance.

Each organization brings unique synergies and an opportunity to share best practices, experiences, and expertise in moving their shared missions forward.

"MCD has a long history and broad portfolio of work focused on improving access and quality of care in rural areas of Maine, New England, and beyond. This alliance with NERHA is a natural partnership and an extension of our work across public health and health care sectors,” said Danielle Louder (image at left), co-director of MCD’s U.S. Programs and program director of the Northeast Telehealth Resource Center (NETRC).

NERHA remains autonomous and retains its own board, staff, and mission while MCD provides operational support, capacity strengthening, and shared opportunities for both organizations to grow in their missions.

“We at NERHA are at a crossroads in our history. We were looking for a way to acquire the administrative capacity to enable our programmatic growth without having to staff up in HR, IT, Finance, etc.,” said Andy Lowe (image at right), executive director of NERHA. “Given our longstanding relationship with MCD Global Health, and our complementary missions, this is the ideal way to strengthen both of our organizations and ensure continuing, responsible growth.”

NERHA brings together rural health partners for networking and learning and has grown over the years to include member services and become a service provider through contracts and grants. Leveraging its strong ties to the six New England State Offices of Rural Health, NERHA works with employers and educational and training partners to grow the health care workforce to expand access to care.

NERHA partners, funders and clients will see no changes in day-to-day operations; however, they will find that NERHA gains the capacity to take on more, and increasingly, complex projects in emerging areas, such as the intersection of environment, climate, and public health.

Learn more about NERHA