Session Descriptions

2008 Virginia Rural Health Association Annual Conference

Thursday, November 6

Welcome and Overview of Virginia's State Rural Health Plan

Rural Models for OB Care
Juliana van Olphen Fehr, Shirley McAdoo, and Jessica Jordan will share information on how you can set up a pilot birthing center in your community. This session will include the history of Virginia's midwives, the legislative process, and funding and regulatory issues. They will provide a description of birth centers and certified nurse-midwives as practitioners within the health care team and discuss the birth center model and collaborative approach to caring for low risk women.

Continental Breakfast & Interest Group Discussions

U.S. Health Care: The Current Landscape and Opportunities for Reform
Dr. Arthur Garson and Carolyn L. Engelhard will talk about the current state of the health care system, using their book, Health Care Half-Truths: Too Many Myths, Not Enough Realities, as a guide.
They will then analyze the most pressing issues within our health care system in relation to the health care platform of the newly elected President.

An opportunity to purchase the book and have it signed by the authors will follow the lecture.

VA Rural Health Plan Legislative Roundtable
Moving from Plan to Action is the theme of this conference and an integral part of improving the health of rural Virginia. Virginia's State Rural Health Plan (VA-SRHP) is a 3-5 year strategic plan designed to strengthen the health care infrastructure in rural areas. Two critical factors for the success of the Plan are political will, and a will on the part of the communities themselves, together with local healthcare providers, government and grassroots organizations and agencies.

Stephen Bowman - Joint Commission on Health Care, Del. Dave Nutter, and Kathy Wibberly - State Office of Rural Health will discuss the steps necessary to implement some of the policy changes recommended by the State Rural Health Plan.

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	2008 Virginia Rural Health Association Annual Conference
	Moving from Plan to Action
	Session Descriptions
	Thursday, November 6
	9:00 - 9:15	Welcome and Overview of Virginia's State Rural Health Plan
	9:15-10:30	Panel Discussion: Improving Dental Health Access Terry Dickinson, Sandy Reen and Kelly Williams will discuss oral health workforce issues and the possibility of using of mid-level providers to expand and address the issues of access to dental care. Different types of mid-level providers will be discussed with the pros and cons of those positions.
	11:00-12:30	Innovations in Mid-level Providers Issues related to utilization of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in addressing access to health care in rural areas will be discussed. Thomas Gaskins with Virginia Community Healthcare Association will describe efforts to place mid-level providers in community health centers for education and employment. Aileen Edwards Harris with VDH Office of Minority Health and Public Health Policy will discuss scholarships available to educate nurse practitioners, midwives, and nurse educators to address rural health needs. Dr. Janet McDaniel, FNP-C, Radford University School of Nursing, will discuss the benefits/barriers nurses face in obtaining advance practice degrees and practicing in rural areas, as well as the impact of the recommended requirement for a clinical doctorate (DNP) for certification of NPs by 2015. Dr. Wilton Kennedy, PA-C, Jefferson College of Health Sciences, will outline educational requirements and practice issues for physician assistants. Laura LaRue, MSN, FNP-C, who combines rural health practice with nursing education and enrollment in a DNP Program, and Sherry Secrest, MS, PA-C, Free Clinic of the NRV serving in Giles County, will describe their rewards and challenges in addressing access to health care for rural clients in Virginia.
		Rural Models for OB Care Juliana van Olphen Fehr, Shirley McAdoo, and Jessica Jordan will share information on how you can set up a pilot birthing center in your community. This session will include the history of Virginia's midwives, the legislative process, and funding and regulatory issues. They will provide a description of birth centers and certified nurse-midwives as practitioners within the health care team and discuss the birth center model and collaborative approach to caring for low risk women.
		EMR Systems in Rural Health Howard Chapman will focus on information from a statewide prospective on the evaluation, selection, and implementation of an Electronic Medical Record and Practice Management System. There will also be discussion on the operational change for the organization with the implementation of the EMR, plus the trends that we anticipate in the future (i.e., pay for performance, clinical outcomes data, Health Information Exchange (HIE) and Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIO), etc.). The modern age of technology is changing the way we deliver health care, even in rural Virginia and America. This will be followed by some statewide Clinical Quality Standards that will be presented by Colleen Lynch (also presenting from Community Care Network of Virginia) and will include clinical information from Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems, Inc.
	2:30-4:00	Technology in Rural Areas Cynthia Barrigan will discuss how health information technologies are being used to expedite the exchange of health information between Bath Community Hospital and stroke specialists in the region. Terry Saunders and Joyce Green Pastors will share the Virginia Center for Diabetes Professional Education was able to use FLEX grant funding to continue its effort to bring high quality diabetes education programs to rural and high risk areas of the state. Using basic telehealth technology in the classroom, patient classes from the University of Virginia Diabetes Education and Management Program were broadcast live to sites in the LENOWISCO and Eastern Shore health districts, as well as sites in Buchanan, Dickenson, and Russell Counties, and Petersburg and Newport News. This presentation will briefly present the methods used, challenges encountered, progress to date, and the promise that this new approach holds
		Rural PACE Tony Lawson will introduce the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). PACE enrolls frail seniors in a program of health and social services so they can live safely at home. Under the guidance of an interdisciplinary team, elders receive medical, nursing, pharmacy, nutrition, recreation, rehab, transportation, personal care, and social services in a variety of settings. PACE is a prepaid health plan financed largely by Medicare and Medicaid. The PACE model was developed in San Francisco during the 1970s and replicated in other cities through Medicare waivers. In 2006, CMS awarded 15 grants to create PACE organizations in rural areas. Mountain Empire PACE is the first rural program in Virginia and one of the first two rural PACE organizations in the United States.
		Mapping in Virginia You may know what a road map is, but what about a data map? Chris Delcher of Virginia Health Information will provide an outline about how data can be used to tell a story that supports grant writing, policy development, community planning and more. This will include practical information about where to find good data, how to interpret it and software that can be use to create data maps. He will also provide an overview of health-related mapping with examples based on indicators specified by the Virginia Rural Health Data Coordination Council and other data sources in Virginia.

	Friday, November 7
	8:00-9:00	Continental Breakfast & Interest Group Discussions
		With your breakfast you will have the chance to network with your collegues on issues regarding the State Rural Health Plan. Each table will be labeled with an area of the Plan: Data, Quality, Workforce, and the sub-groups of Access - General, OB/GYN, Dental Health, EMS, Behavioral Health and Telehealth. Choose a table and let the networking begin!
	9:00-10:00	U.S. Health Care: The Current Landscape and Opportunities for Reform Dr. Arthur Garson and Carolyn L. Engelhard will talk about the current state of the health care system, using their book, Health Care Half-Truths: Too Many Myths, Not Enough Realities, as a guide. They will then analyze the most pressing issues within our health care system in relation to the health care platform of the newly elected President. An opportunity to purchase the book and have it signed by the authors will follow the lecture.
	10:30-11:30	VA Rural Health Plan Legislative Roundtable Moving from Plan to Action is the theme of this conference and an integral part of improving the health of rural Virginia. Virginia's State Rural Health Plan (VA-SRHP) is a 3-5 year strategic plan designed to strengthen the health care infrastructure in rural areas. Two critical factors for the success of the Plan are political will, and a will on the part of the communities themselves, together with local healthcare providers, government and grassroots organizations and agencies. Stephen Bowman - Joint Commission on Health Care, Del. Dave Nutter, and Kathy Wibberly - State Office of Rural Health will discuss the steps necessary to implement some of the policy changes recommended by the State Rural Health Plan.
	11:30-12:00	Closing Remarks, Box Lunch

	Conference Information
		Agenda: Small Rural Hospital Conference
		Agenda: VRHA Conference
		Agenda:Planning & Evaluation Workshop
		VRHA Awards