Daniel Nikcevich, MD, saw a boat heading straight for him during a fishing trip in rural Minnesota. Thinking it must be the Department of Natural Resources, the Essentia Health oncologist started to pull out his license. It was not until the boat came up beside him that he recognized who had singled him out. 'It was one of my patients,' Dr.

医学博士丹尼尔·尼科维奇（DanielNikcevich）在明尼苏达州的一次钓鱼旅行中，看到一艘船正朝他直驶而来。认为这一定是自然资源部，这位Essentia健康肿瘤学家开始吊销执照。直到船在他旁边驶来，他才认出是谁把他挑出来的。“那是我的一个病人，”医生说。

Nikcevich said. '[He asked] me when he was scheduled for his next CAT scan.'Dr. Nikcevich was fishing in a place so isolated, he did not have cell service to check on his patient's appointment. Instead, he made a note to ask someone from the office to call the patient the following week.That the serendipitous meeting even occurred is a testament to Essentia's oncology care model and commitment to being present in the areas he serves.Essentia is based in Duluth, the fifth-largest city in Minnesota with a population of approximately 90,000.

尼科维奇说（他问）我什么时候安排他进行下一次CAT扫描。”Nikcevich医生在一个与世隔绝的地方钓鱼，他没有手机服务来检查病人的预约。相反，他留了一张便条，让办公室的人在下周给病人打电话。这次偶然的会面甚至证明了Essentia的肿瘤护理模式以及他在服务领域的承诺。Essentia位于明尼苏达州第五大城市德卢斯，人口约90000。

The system spans across Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota and has a footprint that is about 85% rural, Dr. Nikcevich said.The system's main cancer center is in Duluth, but as part of the care model, each oncologist is required to travel to a rural site to see patients. Dr. Nikcevich has been traveling to Deer River, 100 miles west of Duluth, once a week since 2018.'We've discovered that when you're present in rural areas, people will come to you and they'll seek care,' he said.

Nikcevich博士说，该系统横跨威斯康星州、明尼苏达州和北达科他州，覆盖率约为85%的农村地区。该系统的主要癌症中心位于德卢斯，但作为护理模式的一部分，每位肿瘤学家都需要前往农村看病。自2018年以来，Nikcevich博士每周都会前往德卢斯以西100英里的Deer River。他说：“我们发现，当你身处农村地区时，人们会来找你，他们会寻求照顾。”。

'You think about, 'Where did they go before?' I believe the answer is, most of the time, they didn't go anywhere. They didn't seek care.' Patients in rural areas often live in what is known as a cancer care desert, a challenge with which health systems across the country have been grappling for years.

“你在想，‘他们以前去过哪里？’我相信答案是，大多数时候，他们没有去任何地方。他们没有寻求照顾。”农村地区的患者通常生活在被称为癌症护理沙漠的地方，这是全国卫生系统多年来一直在努力应对的挑战。

Essentia leaders have been focusing on the issue since 1978, though the health system did not establish the Essentia Insti.

自1978年以来，Essentia领导人一直关注这个问题，尽管卫生系统没有建立Essentia Insti。