2015 Moskol Award Recipient: Jan Hurst

The Fredric Moskol 3RNet Leadership Award is presented at 3RNet’s annual conference to a person who possesses outstanding leadership abilities, supports the mission of 3RNet, responds compassionately to the healthcare needs of rural and underserved populations, and does so with a collaborative and compassionate spirit. 3RNet’s Board of Directors selects the Moskol Leadership Award recipient. The first Moskol Leadership Award was presented in 2013.

Jan Hurst, this year’s Moskol Award recipient, was 3RNet’s member in Kentucky from before 3RNet was incorporated into an association until her retirement in January 2014, while she was still a member of 3RNet’s board of directors. Jan’s work was pivotal in getting 3RNet established as an independent organization. She worked with Fred, and many others, to move forward discussions around the idea of 3RNet after other meetings.

“We would call a meeting for NRHA or something and after the main agenda was over we would talk about this. We also went to Kansas City and tried to tell people what our idea was all about,” Jan shared with us. “When we finally got started, then our work really began. We said we could do it, so we had to prove to everybody that we actually could. There was no staff, so if anything was going to be done, it was all volunteers. And, everything had to be decided; everything had to be done. Every policy and procedure, every idea.”

When things needed to be done, she just did them. She doesn’t have an exact count, but figures she was a member of 3RNet’s board of directors more than she was not throughout her 3RNet tenure. She was 3RNet’s first secretary, served multiple times as treasurer, and was part of 3RNet’s bylaws committee, which she admits was not the most riveting of work, but “needed someone, so I just did it.”

Her commitment to 3RNet didn’t stop there—Jan was also the steam behind getting 3RNet’s very first Recruiting for Retention manual compiled. Regarding that project Jan recalls, “I’m sure after it came to be it doesn’t sound like much work, but it was a lot of work! We had this idea that if we were going to teach or train, we wanted our annual conference as an educational opportunity, but that was not enough. So, we wanted to give everybody something they could use on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. That was the idea: to create a reference, because no reference existed. Now it sounds like an obvious thing to do, but at the time it wasn’t.”

Jan ran a successful fee-based program in Kentucky for many years. She shared, “My program was written into legislation and was always fee-based. It never increased and we were self supporting through all those years. That made it tougher, but it made it real, too. You had to produce or you didn’t exist.” She laughingly recalled that as ‘our own incentive program’.

Jan also added some words of encouragement for current 3RNet members: “I know things are different now, states are struggling for money, things have been cut and condensed, but this is not new. It’s going to keep happening but you just go with it and do what you can. You’re going to get a lot more out of this than you can hope to put in. It’s beyond worth it. It’s a real, good, warm feeling.”

Jan contributed more hours, ideas, and more dedication to 3RNet—both in Kentucky and across the country—than could ever truly be accounted for. Without her hard work, it’s safe to say that 3RNet may not be where it is today. When she thinks of 3RNet, this is what she says comes to mind: “I think 3RNet has a bright future. I think it’s in a very advantageous position. When everyone is mining gold, it’s good to be in the pick selling business. It’s a good time to be the ones finding the health professionals. It’s a challenge. It takes time. But, it’s rewarding. And, you can’t beat the people! We’ve got a great history and a great future.”