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NIU’s Melissa Henriksen honored for service to state hospital network

November 18, 2015
ICAHN Executive Director Pat Schou (left) and ICAHN Board President Mark Rossi (right) honor NIU’s Mel Henriksen during the 2015 CAH Conference in Springfield.

ICAHN Executive Director Pat Schou (left) and ICAHN Board President Mark Rossi (right) honor NIU’s Mel Henriksen during the 2015 CAH Conference in Springfield.

Melissa Henriksen, research associate for NIU’s Center for Governmental Studies, was granted the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network’s highest award for service during ceremonies held Nov. 11 and 12 at ICAHN’s Annual CAH Conference at The Crowne Plaza in Springfield.

“There is no one better to tell the critical access hospital story in Illinois than Mel Henriksen, who with her research partner, Dr. Norm Walzer, authored the 2006 and 2010 CAH Impact Study,” said Pat Schou, ICAHN executive director.

“Mel also helped create and author a series on three key issues affecting CAH operations and viability – quality, collaboration and population health – and then topped that work off with a ‘15-Year Evaluation of the Impact of CAHs in Illinois’ publication,” Schou added.

“Mel has presented her work at several state and national conferences, sharing with others the good work of Illinois critical access hospitals. She has become a premier researcher and has made an impact for ICAHN. She clearly has a passion for rural and is one of our future leaders and thinkers for tomorrow.”

ICAHN is a network of 53 Illinois critical access hospitals dedicated to strengthening the operations of its member hospitals through collaboration. Illinois CAHs are small rural hospitals with 25 beds or fewer that provide primary and emergency services to more than 1.2 million rural residents. ICAHN is recognized nationally for its work with rural healthcare and administers several state, federal and private health care programs.

The ICAHN office, located in Princeton, serves critical access hospitals across Illinois.