Rural physicians face increasing pressures that can lead to burnout and threaten long-term retention in rural communities. The Retain-Primary Care Provider (Retain-PCP) grant program offers a proactive approach to support rural physicians by strengthening professional fulfillment and connection to the communities they serve.
Through Retain-PCP, participating rural primary care physicians receive 10%–20% protected time to lead a community health project at their hospital. This dedicated time allows physicians to pursue work that is meaningful to them while addressing local health needs.
Retain-PCP Rural Provider Partners
Emily Jewell, DO, is Director of Hospital Medicine at Upland Hills Health in Dodgeville and part of a fourth-generation farm family with deep roots in Southwest Wisconsin. Through Retain-PCP, she is developing an intergenerational community health initiative that brings high school students and older adults together through community gardening, exercise, culinary medicine and chronic disease education. The project aims to strengthen health, connection and personal agency while addressing community health needs in Iowa County. For Jewell, the initiative is an opportunity to bring her clinical expertise into the community she has called home and help build healthier generations together.
“My community project offers the chance to step upstream — to partner directly with community members and young people at the point where knowledge, behavior, and environment intersect to shape health trajectories.”
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