Rural Health Briefing
Volume XIII November 15, 2007
Rural Health Office
UA Zuckerman College of Public Health
in conjunction with the Arizona Rural Health Association, Inc.
National News
- President Vetoes Rural Health Safety Net Program Funding
- State-Specific Medicare Drug Plan Information Now Available
- Medicaid Enrollment Declines for First Time in Nearly a Decade
- FCC Chairman Announces Rural Health Care Pilot Program
- Rural Route
Across Arizona
- New Rural Health Clinic Opens in Palominas/Hereford Area
- Copper Queen Community Hospital Receives Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant for Home Health Services
- Sage Memorial Hospital Projects Breakeven For FY2007
- AZ State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Program Application Deadline Nov. 30th
- AZ Critical Access Hospital News
- November is American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month
Grants and Opportunities
- The Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program
- Rural Emergency Responders Initiative
- Rural Health Care Service Discounts – USAC
- Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP)
Calendar 2007
Nov 19, NOSORH HIT Webinar-Opportunities & Challenges in Forming a Rural RHIO
Nov 26, NOSORH Webinar-Making Your State Rural Health Plan Work For You
Nov 27-29, 2007 Nat’l Prevention & Health Promotion Summit, Washington, D.C.
Nov 28, WebEXpert Call: Essential Info a CEO Needs to know About the Facility
Mark Your Calendar 2008
Jan 17-18, 7th International Conference on Health Policy Statistics, Philadelphia, PA
Jan 27-30, 21st Annual Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, San Diego, CA
Jan 28-30, NRHA Rural Health Policy Institute, Capitol Hilton, Washington, D.C.
Jan 30, WebEXpert Call: Being Ready for a Medicare CoP Survey
Feb 4-5, National Health Policy Conference, Washington, D.C.
Feb 19-22, Local, State, Federal Public Health Preparedness Summit, Atlanta, GA
March 17-19, NARHC 2008 Spring Institute, San Antonio, TX
May 5-6, Rural Medical Educators Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA
May 7-10, NRHA 2008 Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA
June 22-25, NEHA 72nd Annual Educational Conference, Tucson, AZ
July 1-2, National Conference of State FLEX Programs, Kansas City, MO
July 23-25, Public Health Congress, Washington, D.C.
National News
1. President Vetoes Rural Health Safety Net Program Funding
According to a November 13th, 2007 FY2008 Budget Activities announcement on the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) website, the President vetoed the Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill Conference Report that funds the programs that make up the "rural health safety net" programs. As mentioned on NRHA’s site, the President stated that the entire bill was $10 billion over his FY08 request. This money is less than a percent of the overall bill amount. The funding would have provided substantial increases for many rural health programs including Rural Health Research and Policy, National Health Services Corp and Community Health Centers. In addition, the President did sign the Defense Appropriations bill which will fund the government through mid-December.
Click here for full announcement.
2. State-Specific Medicare Drug Plan Information Now Available
Recently, the Kaiser Family Foundation issued a new summary of the stand-alone Medicare Part D drug plans that will be available in each state in 2008. The two-page fact sheet shows the number of plans available in each state, as well as the number of plans offering some relief in the benefit's coverage gap and the number available at no cost to low-income beneficiaries who receive additional assistance. Also listed is the range of premiums available for plans in each state.
Click here to for more information.
3. Medicaid Enrollment Declines for First Time in Nearly a Decade
According to a press release dated October 10, 2007, a new 50-state study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) shows that enrollment in Medicaid declined for the first time in nearly a decade. However, faced with an improving economy, 42 states expect to expand coverage to the uninsured in the coming year. The 0.5 percent enrollment decline in fiscal year 2007 was driven primarily by two factors. States reported that the new citizenship documentation requirements were causing significant delays in processing applications, affecting mostly individuals already eligible for the program. State officials also cited the good economy and lower unemployment for reducing enrollment.
Click here for full announcement.
4. FCC Chairman Announces Rural Health Care Pilot Program
According to a press release dated November 13, 2007, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin announced a comprehensive proposal to fund a $400 million Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP) that would expand access to health care to America’s rural and underserved communities through the creation of broadband telehealth networks in 42 states and three U.S. territories. Chairman Martin stated, “With this pilot program, the Commission will be taking a major step toward the goal of connecting health care facilities across the nation with one another through broadband telehealth networks for the benefit of patients. We look forward to working with Secretary Leavitt and HHS to advance initiatives that improve access to health care for patients through telemedicine and support the creation of a national system for interoperable electronic health records well into the future.”
Click here for links to full announcement and additional RHCPP details.
5. Rural Route
Rural Route is the bi-weekly electronic resource list from the Rural Health Resource Center’s Technical Assistance and Services Center for Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program. The recent issue of Rural Route contains information on the new TASC Web site at www.ruralcenter.org/tasc, a rural health bookmark that is now available through CMS. The issue also covers how to obtain passwords for the Flex Monitoring Teams Financial Indicators, as well as lots of other information!
Click here for more details.
Across Arizona
1. New Rural Health Clinic Opens in Palominas/Hereford Area
According to an October 12th, 2007 news story by Sierra Vista Herald/Review writer Dana Cole, a new rural health clinic in the Palominas/Hereford area of Arizona, recently celebrated its opening. This hospital-based facility is one of three rural health clinics belonging to Bisbee-based Copper Queen Community Hospital. With rural health clinics in Bisbee, Douglas, and now Palominas, the hospital is striving to provide southern Cochise County with access to primary health care. The clinic accommodates two physicians’ offices and six exam rooms. Jim Dickson, CEO of Copper Queen Community Hospital said, “This is a federally funded clinic. We’ll see patients on a sliding fee scale, bringing health care where you normally wouldn’t find it."
Click here for full announcement.
2. Copper Queen Community Hospital Receives Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant for Home Health Services
Recently, Copper Queen Community Hospital in Bisbee, AZ was selected to receive a $183,108 grant to implement Electronic Medical Record and Tele-health services for its home health company Copper Valley Home Health. The full press announcement featured on their website stated that the hospital’s proposal was among 165 eligible applications. From that group there were 78 grant recipients selected, three awards were given in the state of Arizona, and 31 states were represented in the $22.3 million dollar grant program. The grant is being funded under the USDA’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program administered by the USDA. According to Jim Dickson, the hospital’s CEO, “Rural communities need assistance from the federal government to implement information technology infrastructure. The new EMR will interface with the hospital’s computers. It will also allow physicians to view their patient’s current medical condition from their offices.”
Click here for full announcement.
3. Sage Memorial Hospital Projects Breakeven For FY2007
A press release dated October 16, 2007 and featured in Yahoo! Finance announced that Sage Memorial Hospital expects its profitability to be near breakeven for FY2007. The breakeven results are attributed to Morgan and Associates' design and implementation of a turnaround plan, which offsets the $1.8 million loss projected earlier this year. The initial phase of the turnaround plan focused on realigning the management and administration functions to improve the operational efficiencies of the hospital and its clinics. As a part of the turnaround strategy, Morgan and Associates successfully negotiated a number of agreements including a three-year agreement with Indian Health Services to provide healthcare services. According to the announcement, "While the final results for the year are still pending, early indications suggest that Sage Memorial Hospital may breakeven this year," commented Mr. Ahmad R. Razaghi, CEO of Morgan and Associates. He continued by stating, "Our goal [for Sage Memorial] is to establish a stable and sustainable platform for the operations of the facilities that will allow for the long-term success of this organization.”
Click here for full announcement.
4. AZ State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Program Application Deadline Nov. 30th
Just a reminder that the deadline for submission of all applications for the 2008 Arizona State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Program is rapidly approaching! All applications must be post-marked no later than November 30, 2007 to be considered for a letter of support. A decision for a letter of support typically takes about six to eight weeks upon receipt of complete applications or receipt of missing items in order to complete applications.
Click here for more details.
5. AZ Critical Access Hospital News
Changes in leadership have occurred in three hospitals lately. New CEO’s or Acting CEO’s have been appointed as follows:
HuHuKam Memorial Hospital, Gila River: Acting CEO, Noel Habib, ndhabib@GRHC.ORG
White Mountain Regional Medical Center, Springerville, CEO, Michael Zimmerman michael.zimmerman@wmrmc.com
Sage Memorial Hospital, Ganado is under management by Morgan Associates. Contact is Kory Razaghi kory@mmanda-inc.com
Arizona Flex Program Is Refunded
The Arizona Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (popularly called the Flex Program) serves Arizona’s critical access hospitals (CAHs) and EMS systems serving the CAH geographic areas. Funding continues for the 07-08 year in the amount of $500,000. The Program is one of the activities of the Rural Health Office located in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and is funded by the Office of Rural Health Policy at HRSA.
Alison Hughes, a faculty member in Public Health Policy and Management, has been the director of the program since its inception over seven years ago. She designs the program activities each year in collaboration with the CAH chief executive officers and other collaborators.
The program assists small hospitals in Arizona to apply for critical access designation. The designation allows the hospitals to be reimbursed by the CMS Medicare for 101 percent of their costs. The Flex program also supports performance improvement initiatives among the CAHs, and provides trainings for CAH and EMS personnel that are directed toward quality improvement throughout the health care system. For further information about the Flex Program contact Alison Hughes as 520-626-6253 and check the website at:
http://cah.arizona.edu/
Arizona Small Hospital Improvement Program is Refunded
The Arizona Small Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) received an announcement that $125,230 will be awarded for the 07-08 year by the Office of Rural Health Policy. The program is administered through the Rural Health Office and is, in effect, a “pass through” grant which divides the funding among all small hospitals in Arizona with under 50 beds. The program manager is Joyce Hospodar. The Director is Alison Hughes. For information contact either as follows:
Hospodar@u.arizona.edu
ahughes@u.arizona.edu
6. November is American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month
San Carlos Apache Leadership Votes to Apply for 638
The Tribal leaders of the San Carlos Apache nation voted recently to seek approval under Section 638 of the Indian Self-Determination Act to govern their own hospital. The San Carlos hospital is now managed by the Indian Health Service. Transition plans are currently under way. The Gila River Indian Community was the first tribal nation in Arizona to assume leadership of HuHuKam Memorial Hospital under Section 638. The Navajo Nation also voted for a partial 638 program, beginning with the health care services in Winslow and Tuba City, Arizona, and a third hospital in Utah. Transition to 638 has been working well.
Written by Alison Hughes
Leading links to tribal information in Arizona:
American Indian Tribes and Nations in Arizona: http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/az/azmap.html
Upcoming Tribal Events: https://www.azserc.org/GateKeeperNewsletter/TribalNews/tabid/147/Default.aspx
Grants and Opportunities
Note: Technical assistance is available for the development of grant proposals and other funding applications from the professional staff of the Rural Health Office and the State Office of Rural Health Program. Please contact Jennifer Peters.
1. The Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program
Application deadline: Ongoing
The Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program is designed to provide loans for funding, on a technology neutral basis, the costs of construction, improvement and acquisition of facilities and equipment to provide broadband services to eligible rural communities. The Programs’ goal is to ensure that rural consumers enjoy the same quality and range of telecommunications services that are available in urban and suburban communities. The project is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. The brief announcement is available here.
Click here for full announcement details.
2. Rural Emergency Responders Initiative
Application deadline: Accepted Ongoing
The Rural Development, through its community facilities program, provides funding for the Rural Emergency Responders Initiative to specifically strengthen the ability of rural communities to respond to local emergencies. The community facilities program funds are used to support rural emergency responder efforts by financing needed equipment and services. The project is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. The brief announcement is available here.
Click here for additional details.
3. Rural Health Care Service Discounts – USAC
Application deadline: Accepted Ongoing Except Prorated
The Rural Health Care Division of Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) is responsible for ensuring that health care providers in rural areas obtain the benefits of the Internet and current telecommunications technology as provided for by the United States Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) through universal service support. Applications are being accepted on an ongoing basis. For full year funding for funding year 2007 (7/1/07 - 6/30/08), applications should be submitted by June 2, 2007. Later applications will be pro-rated.
Click here for additional details.
4. Health Careers Opportunity Program
Application deadline: February 22, 2008
The Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) is designed to assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to undertake education to enter a health profession. The HCOP program works to build diversity in the health fields by providing students from disadvantaged backgrounds an opportunity to develop the skills needed to successfully compete, enter and graduate from health professions schools. The project is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. The brief announcement is available here.
Click here for Grants.gov link to instructions and application.
Contact Your Representatives
a. Arizona Congressional Delegation: Links to Arizona members of the U.S. House of Representatives are available at: U.S. Representatives. Links to Arizona members of the U.S. Senate are available at: U.S. Senate
b. Arizona State Legislators: Available through the Arizona Legislative Information System (ALIS): Call 1-800-352-8404 or follow links at Arizona Legislature.
Important Links
Editor's Note: This online newsletter is a joint project of the Rural Health Office housed at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, and the Arizona Rural Health Association, Inc. The mission of the Rural Health Office is to promote the health of rural and medically underserved individuals, families, and communities through service, education and research. The Arizona Rural Health Association, Inc. advocates on behalf of the health needs of rural Arizonans at national, state and local levels. Its multidisciplinary membership provides a respected and highly effective group of rural health practitioners and rural community residents. For example, the AzRHA, Inc. has actively and successfully advocated with the state legislature for funding for tele-medicine and mobile clinics in all fifteen counties of the state.
Your questions (or answers) are always welcome. Please send them as well as address changes to Taya Waltke, Administrative Associate, Rural Health Office.
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