CentraCare Health Physician Recognized With Minnesota Rural Health Lifetime Achievement Award

CentraCare Health – Long Prairie announces that Paul Van Gorp, MD, received the 2016 Minnesota Rural Health Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Minnesota Rural Health Conference on June 21, 2016, in Duluth, MN. For over 40 years as a family practice provider, Dr. Van Gorp has brought passion, wisdom and humanity to his work as a clinician, teacher and rural health advocate. 

Further, he has imparted these same qualities to his colleagues, fellow community members and students. Dr. Van Gorp’s work has far exceeded his duties as a family physician and he has spearheaded many widely endorsed rural medicine programs to improve the quality of life for both his patients and for residents of rural communities, worldwide. He is a well-respected and influential leader in the Long Prairie community and is extremely committed to his patients and to the well-being of the community of Long Prairie.

It’s difficult to measure the extent of impact Dr. Van Gorp has had on rural health both at home and abroad. From his continuous efforts to improve the quality of care close to home for rural Minnesotans, to his personal impact on scores of family providers, to his cycle of life care for his individual patients and finally to his development of CALS training that has been utilized worldwide, Dr. Van Gorp is both an exceptional physician and extraordinary human being.

With Dr. Van Gorp’s strong “See one, do one, teach many” philosophy, more than 150 of today's practicing providers are recipients of Dr. Van Gorp's preceptor position with the Rural Medical Scholars and Rural Physician Associates programs. He continues to teach and influence the providers of tomorrow. His thorough mentoring and passion for the improvement of rural health care has set many medical students down the path of rural family practice. Beginning in 1993, Van Gorp was instrumental in developing the Comprehensive Advanced Life Support (CALS) program. This training program prepared organizations and individuals around the world to confidently treat patients in trauma situations not often encountered in rural settings. Van Gorp also volunteers at Project H.E.A.L (Health, Education, Access, Link) to provide free health screenings and basic care for those with little or no insurance. About 90 percent of his Project H.E.A.L. patients are members of Todd County’s large Amish community, for whom he has become a trusted advocate.

For over 40 years Dr. Van Gorp has embodied the ideal of a rural family medicine physician to a growing, loyal and devoted patient base. He has performed an impressive breadth of inpatient and outpatient procedures that would otherwise be unattainable within our small rural community.

“A high priority in my life has been to strengthen and improve the quality of life in rural communities. First-rate health care is one of the important resources necessary to maintain this goal,” said Dr. Van Gorp.

Others have recognized Dr. Van Gorp's impressive impact and achievements. In 2014 he was awarded the CentraCare Health Foundation Caduceus Award for his outstanding leadership, humanitarian and charitable medical efforts within the community and around the world.

In 2013 Dr. Van Gorp was awarded the Exemplary Teaching Award from the American Academy of Family Physicians, the 2012 Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians Teacher of the Year award, the 2004 Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians Merit Award and he was named the 2003 Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians Family Physician of the Year.

Learn more about Dr. Van Gorp and his award from the Minnesota Department of Health website.