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Rural health care news items from previous years. Note: Because these are archived news items, external links may be obsolete.
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2007:
- NE Telehealth Consortium Wins Top FCC Funding: Two NE organizations - the NE Telehealth Consortium, headquartered in Bangor, ME and the Rural & Central Maine Broadband Initiative, Farmington, ME - will each receive funding from the FCC for construction of a broadband telehealth network, under the Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP). The Consortium is eligible to receive up to 85% of maximum support of $24+ million (largest of any of the awards) and the Broadband Initiative will receive up to 85% of maximum support of $3.6 million, both over a three-year period.
- NERHRT Announces New Membership Option: Starting October 2007, the RoundTable is offering Corporate Membership (PDF/23KB) that entitles every employee of a member organization to discounts at our highly successful conferences and other educational opportunities.
- View NPR series on rural medicine
September 4, 2007: Rural Health Series Pt I: Rural Surgery Crisis
September 5, 2007: The Making of a Rural Doc
September 6, 2007: Not Crazy, Just a Little Unwell
- WICHE Mental Health Report Read the August 2007 issue of Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) Newsletter. In this issue: InFocus: Accessibility of Mental Health Services in Rural Areas.
- New Study: Boosting Five Preventive Services Would Save 100,000 Lives Each Year Increasing the use of just five preventive services would save more than 100,000 lives every year in the U.S., according to a new study released Aug 7, 2007 by Partnership for Prevention. That includes 45,000 lives that would be saved each year if more adults took a daily low-dose aspirin to prevent heart disease.
- Finerfrock Reviews RH Legislation via Conference Call On a July 19 telephone conference call, Bill Finerfrock, Executive Director of the National Association of Rural Health Clinics, gave NERHRT members a crisp overview of the current healthcare scene in Washington. Tops in everyone's mind was the reauthorization of SCHIP and as it turned out, on the very day of the call, the Senate Finance Committee approved a bi-partisan proposal to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program by a 17 to 4 vote. The House will consider legislation soon.
- 9 NH Health-Related Nonprofits Receive More than $2 Million in Grants The Endowment for Health, New Hampshire's largest health foundation, recently awarded more than $2 million to nine organizations throughout the state to address a variety of health and health care issues.
- 10th Annual NERHRT Symposium to be held October 18 & 19, 2007 in Nashua, NH This year the NERHRT will celebrate ten years of collective accomplishments as it looks forward to renewed and future collaborations. The NERHRT is currently seeking abstracts for workshops that support this year's themes, and Symposium Sponsors.
- Charting New Frontiers in Rural Women's Health Conference to be held August 13-15, 2007 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC. Sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health, the purpose of the conference is to share information and best practices to increase awareness of the needs of women and families living in rural and frontier areas and gain hands-on experience with programs that work.
- "Protecting Health in New England" was held June 7, 2007 at the Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock, Mass. The one-day conference organized by Berkshire Health Systems, Pittsfield, MA, focused on key issues of childhood health and fitness and children's environmental health. Attendees outlined a sobering picture of increasing incidence of obesity, asthma, and autism in today's children. As NERHRT President Ed Perlak noted in his opening remarks, "the lifespan of a baby born today is now shorter than its parents and we can't start too soon" in addressing lifestyle issues. Sponsors include the NERHRT.
- Two NE Dental Clinics Receive Tom's of Maine Grants April 26 - Dental clinics in Rhode Island and Vermont each received $15,000 in grant support from Tom's of Maine, maker of natural personal care products, as part of the company's Dental Health for All program.
- Comprehensive Community Action, Inc., Cranston, RI, will open dental clinics in Cranston and Warwick, as part of existing community-based health centers. The Tom's of Maine grant will be used to help equip an operatory.
- Vermont Dental Care Programs, Winooski, VT, is a 34-year-old nonprofit agency with over 12,000 active patients. The Tom's of Maine grant will be used to help a clinic relocation project. Money will be utilized for overall construction and equipment costs.
- VT Newspaper Predicts Physician Shortfall for NH/VT Region A three-part series in the Valley News (VT) daily paper highlights a predicted physician shortfall for the Upper Valley (NH/VT) area and outlines some scenarios for the future of health care in the region. Several NERHRT members are quoted in the series, including Board Member Gail Strohl, executive director of Little Rivers Health Care, Hunt Blair, Bi-State Primary Care Association, and Sharon Moffatt, Vermont's acting health commissioner.
- 2007 National Health Literacy Institutes to be held in Maine The 2007 National Health Literacy Institutes will be held in Freeport, Maine. Sponsored by the University of New England in Maine for the past 15 years, the Institute provides the premier opportunity to learn plain language skills to plan, write, and design effective, accessible information for print and web. The 2007 Summer Institute will be held June 10-13, and repeated October 28-31. Each Institute is limited to 30 participants, so register early to hold your place.
- Gifford Medical Center Launches "Lean Healthcare" Project Gifford Medical Center, Randolph, VT, will soon begin a pilot project to apply to the delivery of healthcare the same process improvement techniques used by world class manufacturers. Through a new program called the Vermont Lean Healthcare Transformation Project, Gifford will work with the Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC) Process Strategies Group, a not-for-profit process improvement organization hosted at Vermont Technical College, to learn and practice the "lean" methods used in industry to identify and eliminate operational waste, with the goal of improving the value and delivery of services to patients.
- Behavioral Health Center for Kids to Open on Cape Cod A new agency to provide access to mental health care for children and teens on Cape Cod is to open in Hyannis in the spring. The Kids & Teens Behavioral Health Assessment Center of Cape Cod and the Islands will offer diagnostic and referral services for children ages 3 to 19. Margaret Meenan is director of the new center, which is the result of a collaboration among five Cape Cod non-profit organizations.
- VT Researchers Named 2007 Rural Health Fellows Drs. Amy E. Wallace and William B. Weeks, who are associated with the White River Junction (VT) VA Medical Center and Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH, were recently accepted into the National Rural Health Association's Rural Health Fellows Program. Of the 15 recipients, Drs. Weeks and Wallace are the only Fellows from the New England area. This is a new program from NRHA, designed to develop leaders who can articulate a clear and compelling vision for health care in rural America. Drs. Wallace and Weeks have done extensive research in the field of rural health and have published on health disparities among the rural veteran population.
- Massachusetts Examines Health of American Indians/Native Americans In November 2006, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued the first report ever on the health status of the approximately 20,000 American Indians in Massachusetts. This is also a "first in the nation" comprehensive state report on the health of this population. The authors say that there is no systematic surveillance of the health of American Indians by states or the U.S. so there is no external data with which to compare findings. The report integrates information from federal, state and tribal data collection and was prepared in collaboration with Native Americans. The findings provide a benchmark by which Massachusetts can track improvement in American Indian health.
-- Learn more (See "American Indians/Native Americans")
- New England States Rank High in Health Minnesota tops the list as the healthiest state but New England is not far behind in overall ratings. In the 2006 edition of America's Health Rankings, Vermont is ranked as the second healthiest, New Hampshire is third, Connecticut is in fifth place, Massachusetts in seventh, Maine in ninth, and Rhode Island is 13th. The United Health Foundation in collaboration with the American Public Health Association and Partners for Prevention prepares the annual report. Components which go into the rankings include Determinants, such as personal behaviors community environment, public & health policies and health services and Outcomes (infant mortality, cancer and cardiovascular deaths, poor physical and mental health days.) Vermont's snapshot shows a low rate of violent crime and motor vehicle deaths, and a low percentage of children in poverty, among other favorable measures. Note: the report does not distinguish between urban and rural populations.
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NH Wins Public Health Study Grant New Hampshire is one of ten states selected to receive funds from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to lead a national collaborative effort to explore quality improvement strategies in public health. The program, called the Multistate Learning Collaborative II, is managed by the National Network of Public Health Institutes and the Public Health Leadership Society. The NH grant, in the amount of $150,000, was awarded to the Community Health Institute (CHI) of Bow, NH. CHI will partner with the NH Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services; the Manchester Health Department; the City of Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services and the Town of Derry Bureau of Public Health to carry out the project. New Hampshire will further its work in quality improvement by measuring its progress in building public health infrastructure and capacity, developing automated data collection processes for performance measures and moving towards a tiered approach to credentialing and accreditation of public health professionals and agencies. For more information contact Joan H. Ascheim, NH Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services at 1-800-852-3345 ext 4110 or jascheim@dhhs.state.nh.us
- IHI Launches 5 Million Lives Campaign Building on the success of its recently completed 100,000 lives campaign, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement is now shooting for an even more ambitious target: The 5 Million Lives Campaign will ask hospitals to improve more rapidly than before the care they provide in order to protect patients from five million incidents of medical harm over a 24-month period, ending Dec. 9, 2008. IHI President and CEO Donald Berwick, MD, MPP, announced the campaign at the organization's 18th National Forum in Orlando, in December 2006. The campaign will promote the adoption of 12 improvements in care that can save lives and reduce patient injuries. Goal is to enlist 4,000 hospitals.
2006:
- TAP 28: The National Rural Alcohol and Drug Abuse Network Awards for Excellence 2004 Available 12/7/2006 This TAP presents seven papers submitted to the 2004 National Rural Alcohol and Drug Abuse Network (NRADAN) Awards for Excellence. Each paper describes effective and innovative models of treatment and prevention services in rural populations. This publication seeks to promote and showcase research addressing the unique and special challenges of providing treatment services to individual in rural areas and their families.
- MedPAC Releases December 2006 Report to Congress: Rural Payment Provisions in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003.
- New Immigrant Settlements in Rural America: Problems, Prospects, and Policies A new report in a series issued by the Carsey Institute examines recent immigrants in rural and small town America through analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
- Operating in the Rural Health Care Environment: Financial Survival Strategies More than 100 attended this conference January 16-18, 2007 at the Radisson Hotel, Manchester, New Hampshire. Presented by: Bi-State Primary Care Association, New England Rural Health Roundtable and New Hampshire-Vermont Chapter Healthcare Financial Management Association. Providing education that you can use in daily operations and in the future!
- Highest Attendance Ever for 2006 Annual Symposium The RoundTable's 9th Annual Symposium, "Addressing the Crisis in Rural Health Care: Creative Workforce Solutions," attracted some 170 attendees from the six states, clear evidence that workforce is a topic of highest priority for the health care professionals, legislators, health education leaders and other stakeholders who gathered at the Sheraton South Portland Hotel in Portland, Maine, Oct. 18-19.
- Fall 2006: CAH Findings and Studies Published The Implementation of Pay-For Performance in Rural Hospitals: Lessons from the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration Project is a recently completed study by the Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center. Rural Hospitals and Spanish Speaking Patients with Limited English Proficiency is a new findings brief by the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center.
- Oral Health Report Released On October 16 the Massachusetts Oral Health Collaborative released the 2006 Massachusetts Oral Health Report, "Mapping Access to Oral Health Care in Massachusetts." The Massachusetts Oral Health Collaborative is a partnership of public and private sector organizations promoting information based solutions to oral health issues in the state.
- Huge Turnout for Rural Oral Health Conference Oral health professionals and advocates for better access to dental care in rural areas came out in droves for the First Annual Rural Oral Health Conference in Hampton, NH on Sept. 19. A "first" for the RoundTable, the meeting brought together an impressive array of spokespersons, on both federal and state levels.
- Use RAC's Am I Rural? service to help determine whether a specific location is considered rural based on various definitions of rural, including definitions that are used as eligibility criteria for federal programs. Definitions covered include Rural Urban Commuting Areas (RUCAs), Core Based Statistical Areas, Rural Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Urban Influence Codes (UICs).
- Mental Health Conference Call: Another in the series of RoundTable conference calls took place on July 12, this time focusing on rural mental health services. Some 20 interested callers participated in the call, facilitated by John Gale and David Lambert, from the Maine Rural Health Research Center at the Muskie School of Public Service.
- New HRSA Grant Opportunity: The new, competing FY07 HRSA Office of Rural Health Policy Outreach Grant opportunity has been posted on Grants.gov. Applications are due on October 18, 2006 at 8pm EST, must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. This is for the project period from May 1, 2007-April 30, 2010.
- 22nd Annual Berkshire Medical Conference, "Update on Infectious Disease", will be held July 13-14, 2006 at the Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort & Conference Center, Hancock, MA. Sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Berkshire AHEC and Berkshire Medical Center.
- Drug Endangered Children conference will be held June 29-30, 2006 in Portland, Maine. Sponsored by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine in partnership with the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children and all six New England U.S. Attorney's Offices.
- HIT: A Rural Provider's Roadmap to Quality Federal Office of Rural Health Policy/HRSA national meeting focused on rural health information technology will be held September 20-22, 2006 in Kansas City, MO.
- Presentations Available from the 2nd Annual New England Small Rural Hospital Performance Improvement Summit, "Building on Success", held April 19, 2005 in Concord, NH.
2005:
- RCAP is pleased to announce the publication of its latest monograph, "The Special Sixth Issue on HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention in Rural Communities," The Health Education Monograph, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2005.
- Congress is Gutting Rural Health Funding -- Call Immediately to Urge a "NO" Vote on HHS Bill -- The final version of the FY06 Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations bill (HR3010) guts funding for rural health. NRHA opposes this bill and we urge you to immediately contact Congress and make it clear: A VOTE FOR THIS BILL IS A VOTE AGAINST RURAL AMERICA!
- Rural Residents More Dependent on Food Stamps: An analysis by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.
- NRHA Rural Health Career Center: The National Rural Health Association is proud to announce the debut of a new feature-rich Rural Health Career Center. Jobs on this site will be fully searchable by location, job title or industry segment.
- SAMHSA Awards Grants to CT, MA, and VT: Three New England states are among the 16 states awarded a total of $19 million in grants over three years to provide substance abuse treatment for youth and their families from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
- New Rural Physician Tax Credit Bill Applauded by the National Rural Health Association: The NRHA announced the endorsement and support for legislation unveiled today by Congressman Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.), offering tax credits to encourage physicians to practice in rural America.
- New Hampshire Moves Back Toward Community Rating for Premiums: New Hampshire's governor signed Senate Bill 125, enacted to remove provisions of earlier legislation (S.B.110) which had abandoned the concept of "Community Rating" in the regulations governing small group insurance premiums.
- AMA announces physician shortage: Today the American Medical Association (AMA) recognized that there is now a shortage of physicians, at least in some regions and specialties, and that evidence exists for additional shortages in the future.
- Rural Ambulance Bill Introduced in Congress -- Supports Recommendations of the Institute of Medicine: The "Rural Access to Emergency Services Act of 2005" (RAES Act) was introduced in the US Senate and US House this week. The bill contains a number of provisions to maintain and improve EMS in rural areas.
- NRHA Launches National Quality Initiative: Today, the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) launched a five year effort, "Quality Through Collaboration: The NRHA Quality Initiative", to promote access to coordinated, high quality care in every rural community.
- NRHA Awards Grants to Focus on Rural Health Care Quality: The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) today announced $76,000 in grants to be awarded to state rural health associations to focus on promoting health care quality in rural America.
- Tide of Child Obesity Rising in Rural U.S.: Health officials say the tide of obesity is rising faster in rural communities than anywhere else. An Associated Press article published in Newsday.
- Impacts of the Medicare Modernization Act On Rural Health Systems and Beneficiaries: An analysis by the Rural Policy Research Institute's (RUPRI) Rural Health Panel of the MMA and accompanying regulations.
- Moving to a New "Rural" Address: Forrest Calico, who recently retired from an advisory role at HHS' Office of Rural Health Policy, will now be working part-time in the Washington office of the National Rural Health Association. Calico will head a five year initiative to disseminate some of the best practices developed from the Institute of Medicine's new report, "Quality Through Collaboration: The Future of Rural Health Care."
2004:
- FCC Changes the Definition of "Rural": On December 15, 2004, the Federal Communications Commission released a final order that changed the definition of "Rural," a change that could make additional rural areas eligible to apply for and receive access to the Internet and current communications technology through universal service support.
- Hospital Choice of Rural Medicare Beneficiaries: Rural hospitals are in a constant struggle to remain financially viable in a market environment characterized by declining patient volume and revenue. If rural hospitals cannot offer specialized services and advanced technologies, rural residents may be referred to urban hospitals.
- 15th Annual Report About Nation's Health: Once again New Hampshire and Vermont hold the number two and number three spots, respectively, as the nation's healthiest states, as revealed in the recently issued report "America's Health: State Health Rankings."
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