One Summit, Several Paths

Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Health Summit connects across disciplines, reflecting a growing approach to health care for youth in rural areas. 

By Joe Tougas  ‘86

Nearly 200 MSU students have been reading a book titled “Loving Someone with a Mental Illness or History of Trauma” in preparation for the 2026 Health Summit, titled Rooted in Wellness: Advancing Rural Youth Health, taking place at MSU on March 25.

The authors of the book, clinical psychologist Michelle Sherman and her mother DeAnne Sherman, will give one of two keynote talks at the Summit, which is focused on improving the health and wellness of rural youth. 

Brooke Burk, chair of the social work department and an organizer of the Health Summit, said that students across departments in the College of Allied Health and Nursing are reading the book. A similar “community read” took place ahead of a previous conference and worked well, Burk said. She expects this experience will be positive as well.

“It was a really great way to connect students from across disciplines, to be able to read the book and have conversations and think about it from their disciplinary perspective,” Burk said. “Then we’ll all get together at the Summit and be able to have those inter-professional conversations.”

Mental health is one aspect of the overall topic, and the inter-disciplinary nature of the Summit is precisely what’s needed in rural healthcare because it connects different moving parts.

“We recognize, specifically in rural youth, that a lot of our resources are so disconnected because they’re spread out and aren’t necessarily communicating with one another,” Burk said. 

“We know that in order for our communities to be healthy, it’s not just one entity. It’s not just our education system or our food system or our health care system or access to clean places and safe places for people to play … it’s all of those things together,” she explained. The Summit, she said, is an opportunity to think more holistically about how to support youth health as well as how health professionals and community members can better work together to support health from the very beginning.

The Summit, while designed to appeal to a general audience, also gives students from different areas of study the opportunity to see a collaborative approach in action.

“We are seeing health care, particularly in rural areas and community care, becoming more inter-professional,” Burk said. “Students are getting some real experience in how professionals across disciplines are working together and what that team-based care can really looks like. And also a recognition of whose voice isn’t at the table that would help provide us with some insight in terms of care and resources we could use to support people.”

For more information:

2026 Health Summit (webpage)