February 18-24, 2008
| Also online at http://www.vrha.org/weeklies.html | February 18-24, 2008 |
In this Issue...
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Now available on-line! |
| VRHA News |
| Members in the News |
The Carilion Giles Memorial Hospital and the Giles Free Clinic are assisting the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) to prepare osteopathic primary care physicians to serve the rural and medically underserved areas of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Special clinics are held most Fridays at the Giles Free Clinic where VCOM medical students are allowed the opportunity to accompany physicians in direct interaction with the patients.
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| Virginia Rural Health News |
By Christina Rogers - The Roanoke Times In a cramped exam room near the store's pharmacy aisles, a physician assistant peered into her ears and nose, and asked her to open up and say "ah." "I would much rather come here than the emergency room," said her mother, Roxane Sneddon, 50, whose family is uninsured at the moment. She said she was attracted to the medical service's flat fee of $49.50 for treatment, a bargain compared with a hospital visit. "This fills a need for those of us that are unhealthy and uninsured," she added. The low-cost clinic designed for treatment of minor illnesses is among the first of six planned for Kroger stores in the region under the locally owned Redi-Health Clinic brand, said Dr. Murray Joiner, founder and president of the Roanoke-based company. The first one opened in late December at the Cave Spring Corners Kroger on Brambleton Avenue. Although new to the Roanoke Valley, store-based clinics have already begun to alter the health care landscape nationwide. And now Joiner, a physician with practices in Roanoke and Lynchburg, is bringing the medical model to the Roanoke Valley by starting a regional chain.
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| Nurses, Therapists Needed |
By Jim Hall - The Free-Lance Star (Fredericksburg) Probably. But hospital recruiters working at a local health-care job fair this week admit they have their fingers crossed. "Do I worry? Of course I worry. I worry every day about this," said Kathryn Wall, executive vice president of human resources and organizational development for MediCorp Health System. "But I feel confident in our ability to have the staff that we need," Wall added. MediCorp, the parent company of Mary Washington Hospital, expects to open its 100-bed Stafford Hospital Center early next year. HCA, a national chain, is also predicting a 2009 opening for its 126-bed Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center. The two hospital companies will hire about 700 workers. "The ball is in the employee's court. The job's are there," said Regina Falco, nurse recruiter for Potomac Hospital. At the top of everyone's wish list are workers with advanced training and experience, those who can walk into an operating room and be useful from Day One. Read the full article.
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| Healthy People 2020 |
| The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is convening five regional meetings to discuss the development of the framework for Healthy People 2020, the national health goals for the next decade. A sixth meeting is planned in the Washington, DC area (Bethesda, MD) to gain input from national organizations and other interested groups and individuals. Virginia is in Region III - the meeting for Regions III and IV will be held March 17 in Atlanta. Deadline for registration is March 10. The purpose of the regional meetings is to obtain public perspectives on the framework that will be used to organize Healthy People 2020 objectives. Public comment on specific objectives will be sought in 2009. Click here for more information on the Healthy People 2020 development process.
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| National Rural Health News |
| Recent Supply Trends |
The US Government Accountability Office released a report titled: Primary Care Professionals - Recent Supply Trends, Projections and Valuation of Services. The number of U.S. medical school graduates enrolled in primary-care residency programs -- such as family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics -- fell to 22,146 in 2006 from 23,801 in 1995, according to the findings presented at a Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee hearing.
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| New From CMS |
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pleased to announce the availability of the latest Medicare Learning Network provider education product entitled, Guided Pathways to Medicare Resources for Medicare Fee-for-Service Health Care Professionals. Guided Pathways has been developed as an educational tool for fee-for-service (FFS) health care staff who are relatively unfamiliar with the Medicare Program, as well as for those professionals looking for easy access to the many resources on the CMS website. Using a 'road trip' motif, the pathways lead users through nine broad sections of information covering the Medicare Program, with links to further pertinent information. The pathways also provide links to other government resources pertaining to Medicare FFS items.
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Do you have exciting rural health news that needs to be shared? Do you know of an upcoming health-related event which should be on our calendar? E-mail Beth O'Connor at: boconnor@vcom.vt.edu |
Disclaimer: The VRHA circulates state and national news as an information service only. Inclusion of information is not intended as an endorsement. If you prefer to receive email in plain text or rtf format instead of html or if you receive this email more than once, email VRHA. |
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Virginia Rural Health Association The leading voice for rural health in Virginia |
2265 Kraft Drive  Blacksburg Virginia 24060 Ph: 540-231-7923 Fax: 540-231-5338 www.vrha.org |
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