Student Scholarships
VRHA has funds available to assist students who wish to attend the VRHA 2011 Annual Conference. Any full-time student studying a health related profession may apply. Funds will only cover conference registration fees, not travel or lodging expenses.
Click here to download the scholarship request form. Completed forms must be submitted on or before October 21st. Winners will be announced on October 28th.
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Members in the News
Several Virginia entities received $80,000 Health Center Planning Grant Awards, including VRHA members Alleghany Highlands Free Clinic, Giles Free Clinic and Rockbridge Area Free Clinic.
A total of $10 million was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to aid 129 organizations across the country that would like to become community health centers. The other Virginia grantees are Carilion Medical Center and St. Mary's Health Wagon, Inc.
Read the full press release.
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Maternity Center to Suspend Services
By Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi - Rappahannock Record
The birthing center in Lancaster County suspended its prenatal and delivery services September 1 and is in need of $250,000 to reopen, according to medical director Dr. James Hamilton. Since opening 14 months ago, the center has provided prenatal care to over 100 women and has had 20 births.
“Medically speaking, this place works great,” said Dr. Hamilton. “Financially, we’ve slowly been bled out and that’s where we are.”
According to Dr. Hamilton, the necessary contracts for reimbursement with Medicaid, Medicaid HMOs and private insurance companies were not finalized in a timely manner. In fact, those contract negotiations started in February and are still ongoing.
The average cost of prenatal care and labor and delivery in a traditional hospital setting is $10,000, he said. The cost at the maternity center is about $5,000. However, the insurance and Medicaid reimbursements were considerably less than that. And about 35% of the patients seen at FMCNN were Hispanic. Most of those did not have insurance or Medicaid assistance and were self-pay.
Read the full article.
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Returning to Their Roots
By Rob Marty - the Flat Hat
Say the names Mary and J.R. White in Clinchco, Virginia, and a warm spark of recognition will spread through many of the residents of the mountainous southwestern Virginia town. Twelve students at the College of William and Mary also got to know the Whites this past spring break on a Branch Out National service trip to Clinchco as they worked with health related issues in the town.
The name of the service trip to Clinchco, “First world country, third world clinic,” highlights the poverty as well as the health issues that many in southwestern Virginia face. In Dickinson County, where Clinchco is located, a third of the residents live in trailers or mobile homes, and due to both the poverty and a shortage of healthcare providers, healthcare is severely limited in the region. These factors, combined with a high prevalence of diseases such as diabetes, creates a region with lower-than-average life expectancies.
Read the full article.
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King School of Medicine Moving Forward
By Debra McCown - TriCities.com
Medical students will likely begin attending classes here in 2013 or 2014, King College President Greg Jordan said Friday. That’s when the new King School of Medicine and Health Sciences Center is expected to open in the Stone Mill business park off Interstate 81’s Exit 14 in Abingdon.
Officials from the college, Washington County and the town of Abingdon gathered Friday to sign an agreement detailing their commitment to the project, which, according to the college, could ultimately have an annual economic impact of $1 billion.
Read the full article.
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Paramedics Filling the Gap
By Steven K. Paulson - Associated Press
A select group of paramedics in several states is helping to provide primary health care by making house calls — an initiative encouraged by the federal health care law to address shortages in primary care and cut down on expensive visits to doctors and emergency rooms.
In Colorado's Eagle County, paramedic Kevin Creek makes house calls to take electrocardiograms, check patient prescriptions, check blood pressure, change dressings, draw blood and make other observations that used to require a doctor's visit.
Colorado approved the five-year pilot program to determine how much money the state and federal government might save in Medicare and Medicaid spending in the county, which has a population of about 52,000, many of them in rural areas.
"We are so far away from a hospital and it's always hard to make that decision about whether to go," said Dr. Angela Ammon, one of the doctors who refers patients to the program.
Read the full article.
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Rural Medical Program Attracts Young Scholars
By Bonnie Coblentz - Mississippi State University
When freshman Mitchell McCloud walked onto campus at Mississippi State University on Aug. 17, he already had two classes behind him and a clear idea of where his intended major could take him.
"Through the Rural Medical Scholars program, I was simultaneously introduced to Mississippi State University's outstanding campus and the different aspects of the path to medical school," McCloud said.
McCloud, 18, is studying chemical engineering at MSU. Between his junior and senior years of high school, the Silver Creek resident took part in the Rural Medical Scholars program offered through the MSU Extension Service.
"Rural Medical Scholars helped in my decision to become a Bulldog. My major, chemical engineering, is one that allows flexibility after graduation," McCloud said. "I can easily apply to medical school if I want to, or I can decide to continue on an engineer's path."
Read the full article.
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Task Force to Expand Health IT
By Bernie Monegain - Healthcare IT News
The Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture have signed a memorandum of understanding linking rural hospitals and clinicians to capital loan programs to help them purchase software and hardware needed to implement health IT.
HHS' Rural Health Information Technology Task Force, has been working with the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure that rural healthcare providers can use USDA's Rural Development grants and loans to support the acquisition of health IT.
Read the full article.
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Testimony on Expiring Medicare Provider Payment
By Erin Mahn - National Rural Health Association
NRHA submitted testimony to the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health concerning expiring Medicare provider payments for rural facilities:
Several of these payment provisions were created by Congress to improve access to care in rural America, and have been successful in meeting that goal. Continuation of these payment provisions is crucial, and NRHA has long sought legislation to make the payments permanent. However, NRHA certainly recognizes the importance of examining these Medicare provider payment policies, many of which expire on or before December 31, 2011. We agree with Chairman Herger that it is important to reexamine the impact of Medicare payment policies to ensure that they continue to improve access to care, especially for rural patients.
Read the full testimony.
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For more information about these and other events, visit the VRHA Calendar.
September 27-28: NRHA Rural Health Clinic Conference - Kansas City, MO
September 28-30: NRHA Critical Access Hospital Conference - Kansas City, MO
October 4: Creating Better Grant Budgets - webinar
October 4-5: Weight of the State Conference - Richmond
October 5-7: International Rural Nursing & Rural Health Conference - Binghamton, NY
October 11-12: Rural Broadband Summit & Hearing - Whitesburg, KY
October 14-15 - Choose Virginia Recruitment Conference, Richmond
October 21: Virginia Oral Health Summit - Richmond
November 3: Best Practices for Tobacco Control & Prevention, Richmond
November 9: Best Business Practices for the Dental Safety Net, Henrico
November 13-15: Virginia Association of Free Clinics Annual Conference - Staunton
December 7-9: Virginia Rural Health Association Annual Conference - Staunton
December 7-9: NRHA Rural Multiracial and Multicultural Health Conference - Daytona Beach, FL
National Rural Health Day is November 17th!
Rural health care is constantly evolving; it continues to tackle accessibility and health workforce issues while meeting the unique needs of aging and un-/underinsured citizens.
Healthcare needs can’t be addressed through a “one size fits all” approach – because each community is different, programs and policies must be flexible enough to enable rural communities to identify and address the unique needs of their residents.
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Helping Older Adults See Well for a Lifetime
The National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) of the National Eye Institute (NEI) recently launched a new resource, See Well for a Lifetime: An Educational Series on Vision and Aging. This educational series was developed for professionals who work with older adults to help convey science-based, easy-to-understand information about maintaining eye health as part of healthy aging.
The See Well for a Lifetime Toolkit is an online resource that contains three modules:
- Making Vision a Health Priority
- Age-Related Eye Diseases and Conditions
- Low Vision
From the Medicare Learning Network:
Medicare Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Medical Documentation
Provides information about Medicare’s Electronic Submission of Medical Documentation pilot project. The esMD project is designed to reduce provider costs and cycle time by minimizing and eventually eliminating paper processing and mailing of medical documentation to review contractors.
Contractor Entities at a Glance
Describes the current Medicare contracting environment and lists the entities responsible for CMS activities. This article also explains why certain entities may contact providers and announces the availability of a new Medicare Learning Network® publication titled “Entities At A Glance: Who May Contact You About Specific CMS Activities.”
Contractor Entities At A Glance Educational Tool
Provides education about the definitions and responsibilities of entities involved in various claims adjudication activities. Includes a chart that outlines each entity by type, definitions, responsibilities, and reasons for contacting providers.
Overview of Medicare Policy Regarding Chiropractic Services
Intended to help affected providers comply with Medicare coverage, coding, and documentation requirements related to chiropractic services, was revised to provide additional clarification. No changes in policy are reflected by these revisions.
Preventive Immunizations
This brochure is designed to provide education on Medicare's Influenza Vaccine, Pneumococcal Vaccine, and Hepatitis B Vaccine benefits.
Diabetes-Related Services
This fact sheet is designed to provide education on diabetes-related services. It includes information on diabetes screening tests, diabetes self-management training, medical nutrition therapy, and covered supplies and other services for beneficiaries with diabetes.
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The Comer Foundation
The Comer Foundation seeks to enhance the collaboration between organizations and communities committed to creating and maintaining health throughout the U.S. Grants are offered to nonprofit organizations that provide syringe needle exchange and other direct services addressing health related to drug use; are grounded in harm reduction principle and practice; and are actively developing community, financial, and local political support. Grants generally range from $5,000 to $30,000. The upcoming application deadline is November 1, 2011
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