SAVE THE DATE
June 28, 2010
eHealth Webinar: Vendor Selection
September 9, 2010
CSRHA Board of Directors Meeting, Fresno, CA
September 10, 2010
Rural HIT Roundtable, Fresno, CA
November 10-12, 2010
10th Annual Rural Health Conference and Trade Show, Hilton Arden West, Sacramento, CA
View Calendar of all Rural Related Events
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Find recently published news articles on rural health.
Health Care Reform: Changes that Kick In Now, Huffington Post, June 2010
Medical schools try to address critical lack of primary care doctors, Sacramento Bee, June 2010
Telemedicine Struggles in Central Valley Amid Hope, Hardship, California HealthLine, June 2010
Tulare County Awarded Recovery Act Funds, The Business Journal, June 2010
Telemedicine Struggles in Central Valley Amid Hope, Hardship, California Healthline, June 2010
Low Income Californians Especially Vulnerable to Obesity Epidemic, CA Indepent Voter Network, June 2010
UCD Health Official Hailed for Telemedicine, Sacramento Bee, May 2010
The Doctor Will See You Now. Please Log On. The New York Times, May 2010
RURAL REPEATS
Find important rural related research publications.
HITECH Revisited, Manatt Health Solutions, June 2010
A Financial Comparison of Rural Hospitals With Special Medicare
Payment Provisions to Hospitals Paid Under Prospective Payment, NC Rural Research and Policy Analysis Center, April 2010
Annual Quality and Disparities Report, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, April 2010
Summay of Medicaid, CHIP and Low Income Provisions in Health Care Reform, Center for Children and Families, March 2010
CSRHA would like to thank our Organizational Sponsors:
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CSRHA BULLETINS
Up-to-date articles written by CSRHA staff on an array of topics.
CSRHA is looking forward to a year of unusually rapid growth in advanced HIT services to benefit our California rural communities. We expect that about 10% of HITECH funds will be used to support rural communities. For example, CMS (Medicare) and Medi-Cal will oversee expected payments of nearly $200Mto rural hospitals and $100M to rural physicians and other eligible professionals. Our vision is for continued growth of CSRHA and its role in collaborative projects to facilitate implementation of advanced HIT services in underserved rural and frontier areas. Click here for more!
The CSRHA staff and Board extend its deepest gratitude to Deborah Riordan, MPH for her strong leadership over the past year as Board President. Deborah’s leadership was instrumental in providing the foundation necessary for rapid growth and expansion of CSRHA’s programs, services and elevated visibility. We are forever grateful for her fierce dedication to the organization’s well being. We are very much looking forward to her continued service on the Board as CSRHA Immediate Past-President.
California is facing an unprecedented state budget dilemma. This year’s budget deficit of $19.1 billion represents nearly a quarter of the entire size of the state budget. There are a number of specific rural health care issues at stake in this year’s state budget dance. So far the most harmful proposals have been rejected by the Legislature’s budget committees, but will most likely be revisited in a protracted budget standoff. Click here for more!
The California State Rural Health Association is pleased to welcome Derrick Gruen, Sheilamarie Racicot, LMFT, and Judith Shaplin to the CSRHA Board of Directors for the 2010 – 2013 term. All three have extensive experience working in rural communities in the health care setting and we are looking forward to their leadership on the CSRHA Board over the next 3 years. Click here for more!
The California State Rural Health Association, in association with the Legislature’s Rural Caucus hosted the second of three informational hearings at the State Capitol on Rural Health in California. The hearing titled “Health Information Technology Issues & Impact on Rural Health in California” took place on June 9th and was a great success! Click here for more!
This year's Conference is one you cannot miss! In the midst National Health Reform, emerging technologies, opportunities for partnerships, and evidence-based research around public health ’s most prominent issues, rural Californians require leadership and guidance in maximizing their opportunities for advancing the health of their communities. This year's conference will tailored to meet your needs! We would like to invite you to attend our 10th Annual Rural Health Conference, titled Collaboration in Challenging Times: The Rural Advantage to be held November 10-11, 2010 at the Hilton Arden West in Sacramento, CA. Click here for more!
In an effort to grow CSRHA’s diverse membership body in 2010, the Membership Committee introduced a new campaign where existing members were encouraged to recruit a brand new member, and in return receive a $20 discount on their next membership invoice as well as entry into a $250 visa gift card raffle! The campaign began on October 1, 2009 and ended May 31, 2010 and proved to be very successful at spreading the word about CSRHA and the rural community. Click here for more!
GUEST ARTICLES
Guest articles have been submitted to CSRHA by individuals who have a particular expertise in a certain issue area.
Written by: Allyne Brown, Director of Philanthropy, Ukiah Valley Medical Center
As a hospital in a rural county, many of Ukiah Valley Medical Center’s (UVMC) patient population struggle with geographic isolation; language barriers; lack of health insurance; and/or lack of access to prevention and wellness services. During this past year, UVMC has been actively working with its local community partners to plan a community-based preventative health and wellness program, including health screening and education. UVMC’s plan is to continue to maintain its core prevention programs at its hospital in Ukiah, while working with its health care partners on this expanded focus for prevention education and community wellness. Click here for more!
Written by: Carrie Monohan, PhD., The Sierra Fund
On a warm afternoon in May, a local geologist and volunteer survey administrator approached a group of Hmong men and women fishing at the dam of a low elevation Sierra Foothills reservoir. The Hmong anglers had a stringer of impressive sized largemouth bass that they indicated they were going to take home and eat. One man agreed to participate in the ten minute survey, and answered a series of questions about where he fished, what he caught, and how much fish he ate. Later, based on his answers, his mercury exposure was calculated to be 21.94 micrograms of methylmercury per day, above California’s safe consumption levels even for adult men. Click here for more!
Written by: Heather Bonser-Bishop
In May, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) published a proposal to engage in a Negotiated Rulemaking process for the purposes of revising the methodology for creating Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) and Medically Underserved Populations (MUPs). Any change to the current system has the potential to impact California's rural health system. Click here for more!
Written by: Judy Cervantes-Connell, Health Outreach Partners
Health Outreach Partners (HOP) is pleased to announce the release of its fourth national needs assessment about farmworker health outreach. This report, published in May 2010 and titled Breaking Down the Barriers: A National Needs Assessment on Farmworker Health Outreach, provides a compelling summary of national data focused solely on farmworker outreach programs and the farmworker communities they serve. This is the only project of its kind that provides a national snapshot on the needs of farmworker health outreach programs. Click here for more!
Written by: Sara Clarenbach, J.D., Salud Para La GenteBetween the submittal of the captioned article on ADHC/Elderday and its publication in the spring edition of "The Rural Health Advocate," several developments occurred which appear to have improved the chances of continued survival of ADHCs, at least for the present. Click here for more!
POINT OF VIEW: OpEds from the field
Point of view articles do not reflect the views of CSRHA but reflect the view of the author.
Written by: Gary Boyd, MPH
At the Southern Mono Healthcare District we have adopted the Studer leadership model. One of the key “must haves” in this program is “Rounding for Outcomes” in which a leader spends regular time rounding in various departments, talking with staff, and addressing problems on the spot. I have been rounding for about a year and a half but found something was missing. By spending only a few minutes I was just not connecting with staff and physicians as mush as I would like. So, I tried something different, spending a whole day in a department once a month and I’ll have to say, I’m loving it! Click here for more!
Written by: Arlyn R Duval, MSN FNP-BC,
Family Nurse Practitioner
It is wonderful to think of rural health as a "calling” and that is frequently the truth. But to focus on this perspective ignores the underlying reason for the need for rural health care. Ethics, generosity, care of the indigent and elderly and those unable to care for themselves are all excellent reasons for doing what we do. But none of these perceived platitudes will stop an economics discussion that begins with "We must balance the budget, and rural health is too expensive.”Click here for more!
Written by: John Williams, CEO Barton Health
How is America’s health care reform going to affect the health care marketplace? That’s the big question being asked by hundreds of health care providers across the nation just like Barton Health. I would like to focus on one specific issue health care reformers need to keep in their sights and that is critical to local rural health care. Click here for more!
Written by: Ken Freeman
In the spring edition of The Rural Health Advocate, there was an article about the value of Small Business Development Centers in helping both existing and start-up rural health providers with free and low cost business assistance. The article disclosed that this valuable program could be closed due to funding issues statewide. The following information is to give you an updated status and our hopes for continued funding. Click here for more!
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Message from the CSRHA President: Rural Health Information Technology Opportunities
A Special Thanks to Deborah Riordan, CSRHA Immediate-Past President for Her Fierce Commitment and Strong Organizational Leadership