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The Virginia Small Rural Hospital Conference is coming up soon!

The event will open with the American Heart Association’s award winning Get With The Guidelines Heart Failure program.  Participants will have the opportunity to learn how this evidence-based program for in-hospital quality improvement helps clinicians deliver and track care that is consistent with the most up-to-date scientific guidelines.    

The conference will take place April 13 & 14 at the Williamsburg Woodlands Resort.  Visit the website to register.

Agenda & registration:  http://www.vrha.org/Conference/2010conference/srhc.html

Lodging information: http://www.vrha.org/Conference/2010conference/srhc-lodging.html

By Ida Holyfield - Coalfield Progress

While many folks are making New Year's Resolutions about lifestyle changes they want to make in 2010, Mountain Empire PACE participant Virginia Lovell of Norton and many of her new-found friends are looking forward to the New Year for a different reason.

They're looking forward to spending time in the stae-of-the-art, $3 million facility that houses the nation's first rural Program for the All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly.

Read the full article.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Health Care Pilot Program (Pilot Program) has funded the build-out of an additional 16 broadband telehealth networks that will link hundreds of hospitals regionally in Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.  Collectively, these 16 projects are eligible to receive up to $145 million in reimbursement for the deployment, including engineering and construction, of their regional telehealth networks.  The networks will provide critical, high-speed information links that can save lives and reduce the cost of health care in their rural communities.  This funding announcement is in addition to six projects previously approved for up to $46.2 million in funding, as announced by the FCC on April 16, 2009.

The West Virginia Telehealth Alliance (West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio - $8.4 M) will connect approximately 450 facilities in West Virginia, improving connectivity for rural health centers.  The project is focused on regions of the state with historically high concentrations of poor and elderly individuals suffering from chronic medical conditions.

Read the full press release.

Stepping Up

The Appalachian Community Fund is seeking suggestions of folks from eastern Kentucky, Southwest Virginia and West Virginia who might be interested, willing, energetic, and excited to become ACF board members.

As you may know, ACF's Board of Directors is composed of activists/community leaders from around the four-state region and is the governing and leadership body of the Appalachian Community Fund.

Board members are elected for three year terms and are expected to attend four board meetings a year and participate in grantmaking decisions and in the marketing and development of the organization.  Candidates should have an understanding of social change work, community organizing,  and some knowledge of ACF's purpose The next board terms will begin in June and we will be looking for two representatives from Kentucky, two from Virginia,  and one from West Virginia. 

We are particularly interested in candidates from communities of color, the gay/lesbian community, young people, and people from the rural areas of Central Appalachia.   If you know of anyone who would be interested or appropriate, please send us their name, address, and phone number and we will contact them.  You don't have to ask them if they're willing, we will do that.   We also have a more complete description of expectations and roles of board members that we can provide.

At 10:55 PM, the House of Representatives finished a long and challenging day of voting on health care reform legislation.  The Senate bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, passed by a vote of 219 to 212 and the House reconciliation bill, H.R. 4872, passed by a vote of 220 to 211.  House leadership was unsure it would have the number of yeas necessary to pass the legislation in the hours leading up to the vote.  The health reform legislation includes numerous provisions dedicated to addressing the access crisis in rural America by bolstering the health care workforce and improving rural Medicare reimbursement.  Additionally, the insurance coverage provisions will dramatically affect the lives of the disproportionately large number of rural uninsured.

The President is expected to sign the Senate bill imminently and it will become law.  The Senate must then pass the reconciliation bill, which removes controversial state-specific provisions and makes other compromise changes, before the health reform fight is over.

How did your representative vote? Click here for the House vote on the Senate bill or here for the House reconciliation bill.

A notice from CMS:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will instruct all of its Medicare contractors not to evaluate or enforce the supervision requirements for therapeutic services provided to outpatients in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) for the duration of calendar year (CY) 2010.  The final 2010 hospital outpatient prospective payment system rule had specified that a "direct supervision" standard is required for therapeutic services furnished in hospital outpatient departments.  CMS believed this requirement to be a clarification of longstanding policy, but the rule has generated concern among some rural providers who had previously interpreted the CMS policy to require only "general supervision" and who believe that it may be difficult to meet this requirement.

Will Electronic Personal Health Records Benefit Providers and Patients in Rural America?
The objective of this study was to educate stakeholders (e.g., providers, patients, insurers, government) in the healthcare industry about electronic personal health records (PHRs) and their potential application in rural America.

The Impact of Telemedicine on Quality of Life in Rural Areas: The Extremadura Model of Specialized Care Delivery Referrals from rural health centers to urban hospitals join waiting lists as outpatients for hospital admission and hospital treatment. This influences quality of life (QoL) of the rural population and retired people who require medical attention without traveling, provided no risks are involved. For this reason, a rural region of Spain has adopted a strategy to deliver telemedicine (TM) specialized care (Extremadura model) as a political decision.

Rural Areas Risk Being Overlooked in 2010 Census
Describes how the census is conducted in rural areas, identifies some of the most difficult rural areas to count, and highlights what organizations are doing to ensure an accurate census count in rural America.

Medicare Pays Almost Half of Rural Hospital Stays
Medicare patients accounted for almost half of all stays (45 percent) at rural hospitals in 2007, while the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries who were admitted to urban hospitals was considerably lower (35 percent).

State Dental Policies Fail One in Five Children
Most low-income children nationwide do not receive basic dental care that can prevent the need for higher-cost treatment later. States play a key role in making sure they receive such care.

Rural IT + Quality
Discusses rural hospitals, health information technology, the importance of collaborating with other rural facilities and quality.

Mark your calendar

For more information about these and other events, visit http://www.vrha.org/events.html

April 7-10: Applied Gerontology as Community Engagement - Richmond
April 13 & 14: Virginia Small Rural Hospital Conference - Williamsburg
May 12 & 13: Virginia Community Healthcare Association Annual Leadership and Education Conference - Richmond
May 17 & 18: Statewide Summit on Childhood Obesity - Richmond
May 19 - 21: NRHA's Annual Rural Health Conference - Savannah, GA

Resources

New from the Medicare Learning Network

The New Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) Fact Sheet (March 2010) is now available in downloadable format.  This fact sheet provides general requirements and an overview of the Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) payment system.

The CMS Website Wheel has been revised and can now be ordered through the Medicare Learning Network.  The CMs Website Wheel is an informational resource that provides a variety of CMS Medicare related websites.  To place an order, go to www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts, scroll to the downloads section of the page and select MLN Product Ordering Page, then select the CMS Website Wheel. 

The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Fact Sheet (March 2010)has been revised to include information about the two month zero percent (0%) update to the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) effective for dates of service January 1, 2010 through March 31, 2010. This fact sheet, which also provides information about MPFS payment rates and the MPFS payment rates formula.

The revised Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule Fact Sheet (January 2010), which provides general information about the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, coverage of clinical laboratory services, and how payment rates are set, is now available in downloadable format.

Funding Opportunities

USAC Rural Health Care Service Discounts
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Provides discounts to rural health care providers to obtain Internet and telecommunications access.

Behavioral Health Services Research
The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI) at the University of South Florida (USF) is now accepting applications for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in behavioral health services research. The fellowship is funded through a contract with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, the state’s Medicaid authority. The successful candidate will receive training in policy and services research methods associated with the financing and delivery of services to individuals diagnosed with mental health and addictive disorders. Although the successful candidate will develop an individualized training plan tailored to their specific needs and interests, training will likely include intensive mentorship from a multi-disciplinary team of faculty, didactic courses and lecture series, and guided research activities.

The two-year fellowship will provide both research and academic training.  The salary ranges from $38,000 to $42,000 per year and a benefit package is provided. Click here for a pdf of the flyer describing this postdoctoral fellowship opportunity.

Basic/Core Area Health Education Centers
Application deadline: Apr 12, 2010
Funding to improve the distribution, diversity, and quality of health personnel in the health services delivery system by encouraging the regional organization of health professions schools.

Model State-Supported Area Health Education Centers
Application deadline: Apr 12, 2010
Grants to improve the distribution, diversity, and quality of health personnel in the health services delivery system by encouraging the regional organization of health professions schools.

Rural Health Workforce Development Program
Application deadline: Apr 30, 2010
Grants to support the development of rural health networks that focus on activities relating to the recruitment and retention of primary and allied health care providers in rural communities.

Mattie J. T. Stepanek Caregiving Scholarship
Application deadline: Jun 1, 2010
Financial assistance to family, professional, or paraprofessional caregivers of any age who are seeking training or education in specific skills, procedures and strategies that lead to more effective care.

Brookdale Foundation National Group Respite Program
Application deadline: Jul 1, 2010
Awards consist of seed grants to service providers that offer new, dementia-specific adult day programming to participants, along with support to caregivers, in order to help individuals remain in their homes.

Rosalynn Carter Leadership in Caregiving Award
Application deadline: Jul 1, 2010
Cash award to recognize an individual for leadership and innovation in caregiving.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Local Funding Partnerships
Local Funding Partnerships (LFP), a collaborative program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and local grantmakers, supports innovative, community-based projects throughout the United States. Through LFP, local grantmakers propose a funding partnership with RWJF to provide seed money for a promising, original project that can improve the health of vulnerable people in their communities. Significant program expansions — into new regions or to new populations — may also be considered; however, funds may not be used to maintain existing projects. LFP provides grants of $200,000 to $500,000 per project, which must be matched dollar for dollar by local grantmakers such as community foundations, family foundations, corporate funders, etc. Up to 12 grants will be provided in this funding cycle. Brief proposals are due June 30, 2010. Visit the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website for program details and online application information.