2010 Annual Rural Health Conference Update

CSRHA's 10th Annual Rural Health Conference is less than two months away. Are you registered? You do NOT want to miss this year's event, so be sure to register today. Registration scholarships are still available and are now open to any interested party with an expressed financial need on a first-come-first-serve basis. Act fast as there are only 25 scholarships left.

This year's Conference will conclude with two special joint Plenary Concurrent Sessions: The Rural Workforce Summit & Rural eHealth Summit. These interactive Summits will provide practical, real world information to assist rural health providers clinical practice.

Rural Workforce Summit: The purpose of the Rural Workforce Summit is to identify current workforce needs, priorities, challenges and solutions. The issues of existing rural workforce disparities, as well as impact of eHealth and Meaningful Use, federal health care reform and state budget impacts on health care workforce will be addressed. Participants will work directly with workforce experts and their peers to engage not just in dialogue, but action planning that can be applied at the local and state level, including policy and program institutions focused on health care workforce development.

Rural eHealth Summit: The Rural eHealth Summit will provide practical, real world information to assist rural health providers with implementing health information technology applications in their clinical practice. In addition to providing attendees with an opportunity to learn about best practices, the Summit will also provide attendees an opportunity to share their experiences and questions regarding Health IT challenges, needs, priorities and solutions.

Keynote Speaker, Paul D. Moore, D.Ph., Senior Health Policy Advisor, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Rural Health Policy
Legislative Town Hall Meeting
Rural Health Policy Council Meeting
8 educational workshops
And much more!

We want your pictures! CSRHA invites both amateur and experienced photographers to submit their photographs of rural health and rural life for CSRHA's 4th Annual Rural Health Conference Photography Contest.

Rural Health:
Subjects that either demonstrate the provision of healthcare or that demonstrate healthy lifestyles.
Rural Life:
Rural landscapes, communities, animals, people, etc.

The Rural Health category is of particular interest to CSRHA. Photographs in this category demonstrate the goal and mission of CSRHA. (Pictured above, "Three Sisters" taken by Sue Graue.)

CSRHA will print and mount the photos for display at the annual conference. Conference participants will select the winning photographs from each category, and the winners will be announced on the final day of the conference.

All photos must be submitted electronically to Shannon Means by Friday, October 30, 2010.
The photographer must hold all rights to the photograph.
If the subject includes recognizable individuals, the photographer must secure a release from the subject, or, in the case of a minor, the subject's parent or guardian. Click here to download a sample release form.
Scans of non-digital photographs are acceptable.
Digital photographs should be high resolution and submitted in .jpeg, .jpg, or .gif format.
Each photograph should be submitted with a caption that identifies where and when the photo was taken.

By entering the photo contest, entrants grant CSRHA the right to publish and use the submitted photogrpahs in print or electronic format for promotion of CSRHA programs, products and services.

The California State Rural Health Association is requesting nominations for the 2010 Rural Champion Awards. These awards will be presented at the 10th Annual Rural Health Conference during the Awards Luncheon on Thursday, November 11, 2010 from 11:45am-1:00pm.

Rural Champion in Community Leadership: The CSRHA Rural Champion in Community Leadership award recognizes members who have made a significant contribution to advancing rural health at the local or regional level. The recipient is recognized by peers for demonstrated leadership characteristics, commitment, and distinguished service.

Rural Champion in Legislative Service: The CSRHA Rural Champion in Legislative Service award will be made to either public officials, their staff, or state advocates who have demonstrated leadership and commitment to advancing rural health at the state level.

Nominations are due Thursday, September 30, 2010. Please fax the completed forms to (916) 453-0783 or email to: smeans@csrha.org.

Are you interested in expanding your network with the leaders of California’s rural health network statewide? If so, we hope you will join us as a sponsor and exhibitor to share your products and services with our rural health leaders. Each year, more than 30 exhibitors and sponsors participate in our Annual Conference and Trade Show. The proceeds of this Conference go towards making CSRHA's mission of linking rural individuals and organizations together to facilitate information exchange, collaboration, and advocacy to promote healthy rural communities possible. This is your opportunity to be part of our mission and to support healthy rural communities, while also exposing your organization to over 200 rural health leaders from across the state.

Sponsors will receive complimentary premier exhibit space at the conference and many promotional opportunities. And, for each booth space, exhibiting organizations will receive 2-4 complimentary conference registration badges based on sponsorship level ($730-$1460 value!). See attached information for details.

CSRHA has reserved a limited number of rooms at the Hilton Arden West at a special discounted rate. For a single rate, reserve your room now for only $84, and for a double rate only $94! This rate has been reserved for the nights of Tuesday, November 9, 2010; Wednesday, November 10, 2010; and Thursday, November 11, 2010. To reserve your room please call 1-800-344-4321 by Tuesday, October 19, 2010 and identify yourself as a CA State Rural Health Association Conference attendee.

555 Capitol Mall, Ste 750, Sacramento, CA 95814
Telephone: (916) 453-0780 | Fax: (916) 453-0783
www.csrha.org