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Rural Health Briefing, June 1, 2006
Page One
Bisbee to Host 33rd Annual Arizona Rural Health Conference
The longest running rural health conference in the nation will open its doors July 19-21, 2006 in Bisbee. Arizona’s grass roots, collaborative conference promises innovative perspectives and approaches to rural health. This year’s theme is Beyond Borders: Collaborating for Health in Rural Arizona. Primary sponsors are the Rural Health Office at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and the Arizona Rural Health Association.
Conference presentations will follow several key tracks:
- Barriers and Borders in Rural Health Systems;
- Stressors and Sudden Impacts on Rural Health Systems; and,
- Investing in your Community’s Rural Health Workforce.
Click here for registration, sponsorship and program details.
National News
1. EHR Helps Performance at IHS
2. Patient Safety Medform Available
3. Building Good Hospital-Community Relations
4. Online Training for Medicare Preventive Services
5. RHIO Clearinghouse Opens
6. Getting Physicians Engaged in Quality Improvement
7. eHealth’s Connecting Communities Toolkit
8. Quality Center at AHA
9. Nominations Sought For AHRQ Advisory Council
10. Sister Study Seeks Participants
Across Arizona
1. Mullins New EMS Chief
2. Nominations Open for Rural Health Achievement Awards
3. Poocha to Head Arizona Indian Affairs Commission
4. Drug Discount Card for Arizona
5. Award for International Nurses Program
6. Swanson to Lead Education Efforts at AzHHA
EMS
1. EMS Trainings in Sierra Vista and Flagstaff
2. EMS Performance Improvement in Cochise County
Grants and Opportunities
1. Rural Quality Improvement Grants
2. Matching Support to Aid Critical Health Needs
3. Grants for Early Treatment of Mental Illness
4. Conference Grants for Public Health
Calendar
June 4-7, AHRQs Annual Patient Safety and Health IT Conference , Washington, D.C.
June 5-9, Arizona Health Information Technology Week, statewide
June 7-8, Intertribal Circle on Sharing and Caring Training Conference, Scottsdale
June 12-14, 2nd Annual International Summit on Redesigning Hospital Care , Atlanta, Georgia
June 14-16, 10th Annual Western Regional Hospital Trustee Conference , Lake Tahoe, Nevada
June 15-16, 2nd Annual Government Health IT Conference , Washington, D.C.
June 15-16, Critical Response and Emergency Systems Training , Scottsdale
June 19-22, The Navajo Nation Information Technology 2006 Summit , Albuquerque
June 26-28, Social Services Performance Summit , Washington, D.C.
June 29-30, Rural Health Clinics and Medicare Advantage Programs , Reno, Nevada
July 10-12, AHRQ’s Translating Research into Practice and Policy , Washington, D.C.
July 10-12, 2nd Annual Rural and Community Hospital Symposium and Management Conference , Las Vegas, Nevada
July 17-19, 10th Anniversary 340B Coalition Conference , Washington, D.C.
July 19-21, 33rd Annual Arizona Rural Health Conference , Bisbee
July 26, Creating Space for Culture and History in Indian Health Care , Los Angeles
July 26-28, National Association of County and City Health Officials Annual Conference , San Antonio, Texas
July 26-29, NRHA’s 2nd Annual Quality Conference and 1st Annual Clinical Conference , Denver, Colorado
Mark Your Calendar
September 21-23, Health Information Technology: A Rural Provider’s Roadmap to Quality , Kansas City, Missouri
September 25-27, 4th Annual Public Health Information Network Conference , Atlanta, Georgia
October 3-6, NRHA’s Rural Health Clinics and Critical Access Hospitals Conference, St. Louis, Missouri
National News
1. EHR Helps Performance at IHS
The Indian Health Service (IHS) is showing that electronic health records are an effective way to help doctors and nurses focus on meeting quality goals and improving patient care. The service’s Clinical Reporting System (CRS) gathers data from the electronic records at IHS’ 182 clinics and other programs nationwide. Then it compares quantitative goals with actual results. The ability to track performance and monitor it is leading to a change in what’s discussed on a regular basis.
The data are available to nurses, doctors and other health professionals at each IHS hospital and clinic so they can compare patient scores. For example, at the Cherokee Indian Hospital in North Carolina, two teams of doctors compared their scores and found that one team had substantially outperformed the other. They found that the better-performing team was using the electronic system more regularly.
For 2005, IHS reported its performance on 20 clinical measures. The service did not meet its goal of 65 percent on only one of those measures — body mass index assessments. However, there was a 4 percentage point increase over the 2004 results.
Adapted from Government Health IT, May 25, 2006
2. Patient Safety Medform Available
According to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 46 percent of all medication errors occur at the so-called care transition points when patients are admitted, discharged, and transferred between units or facilities.
Because of the importance of accurate patient medication records at every stage in the healthcare delivery system, Arizona's healthcare community has joined forces to
support The Med Form (La Forma de Med). The Med Form is available in English or Spanish. Full page and foldable wallet size forms can be downloaded from http://www.themedform.com. The Med Form is also available in Arizona hospitals and physician offices. For more information on how to locate The Med Form and/or questions regarding the form, contact: Barb Weber-Averyt, 602-445-4300 or baveryt@azhha.org.
3. Building Good Hospital-Community Relations
Citing recent national surveys, the American Hospital Association notes that 55% of respondents fear they will be harmed during a hospital stay and only 60% feel the healthcare system is meeting their needs (a decline of 28% in the last five years). Their report, Trust Counts Now: Hospitals and Their Communities, continues with models of good hospital-community relations and the need for dialogue beyond public relations.
Among the proven features of building public confidence in hospitals are: relating their own well-being to the health of the community; being good at their business – but business isn’t all they do; collaborate with others to solve basic community problems; see beyond their limited role as providers of acute care; and listen to their community.
Click here for the 28-page report.
4. Online Training for Medicare Preventive Services
The Medicare Preventive Services: Part 3 Expanded Benefits web-based training course is now available. It provides information about Medicare’s coverage for the three new services added in 2005: initial preventive physical exam, diabetes and cardiovascular disease screenings. The course also includes information on diabetes self management training, medical nutrition therapy, colorectal, prostate, and glaucoma screenings and bone mass measurements.
The information presented will be helpful for physicians, nurses, and administrators who provide these preventive services and screenings to Medicare patients. It is the third in a series developed by CMS as part of a comprehensive program to increase utilization of preventive benefits and to help file claims effectively.
Click here to go to the course homepage.
5. RHIO Clearinghouse Opens
An online clearinghouse is now available for regional health information organizations to exchange ideas and experiences. The RHIO Wiki Web site is modeled after the Wikipedia online encyclopedia. It is designed to enable users to participate in discussion forums, create and edit content, and upload entire files to the site.
Initially, only members of the founding organizations will have the ability to participate in discussion forums and edit content. Others can view the content for now and will have full functionality this summer. RHIO Wiki is sponsored by The Center for Health Transformation, College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and eHealth Initiative.
Click here for the site.
A Southern Arizona RHIO is in development with funding support from some of the main Tucson hospitals. For further information, contact Alison Hughes, 520-881-0917.
6. Getting Physicians Engaged in Quality Improvement
How do quality initiatives get physicians on board? The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation has interviewed 39 physicians in solo and group practices who have embraced systematic quality improvements and released selections on a DVD, "Putting Quality into Practice." These early adopters describe how they have been able to improve patient care and increase efficiency by implementing quality measures, many of which are relatively simple and easy to put into place.
Get a free copy of the DVD from the ABIM Foundation's Web site at http://www.abimfoundation.org/pqip_video.htm or call Helen Egner at 215-446-3530. Excerpts are also available on the Web site.
7. eHealth’s Connecting Communities Toolkit
The eHealth Initiative is offering the Connecting Communities Toolkit including a cost model for health information exchange and a market assessment tool. These interactive tools support learning among diverse stakeholders including regional and community-based organizations.
The Toolkit is a distillation of the knowledge accumulated through work with many communities. Stakeholders from every sector of healthcare, pioneers who are mobilizing information at the state, regional and community levels, and leading experts have helped develop a set of common principles and guides in seven modules, each including online documents and tools.
Each module includes an introduction and overview, a roadmap, key principles, sample community experiences, and a set of resources and links specific to the module. They are available free of charge.
Click here for Toolkit information.
8. Quality Center at AHA
The American Hospital Association Quality Center is building a valuable resource base for health care organizations addressing quality and safety issues. It is intended to be rich in content and easily accessible to those who want accelerate their quality improvement efforts. It will be a source of quality improvement practices, models and strategies that have been implemented and that have been proven to work.
A special feature of the Center is peer-to-peer assistance, matching leaders who have “gone through the experience” with those who are starting a project. It also plans to be a catalyst to support users’ efforts to work with others to identify and foster innovations in quality and patient safety. This interactive component allows online submission of a request or question about quality improvement. The Center will search their records to make a connection with a peer leader who is willing to provide insights into ways to address the question at hand.
Click here for more information.
9. Nominations Sought For AHRQ Advisory Council
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is seeking nominations to serve on their National Advisory Council. The Council advises the HHS Secretary and the AHRQ Director on matters related to actions of the Agency to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. Eight individuals will be selected by the Secretary to serve on the Council beginning with the spring 2007 meeting. Members generally serve a 3-year term. Deadline for nominations is June 14.
Click here for details.
10. Sister Study Seeks Participants
American Indian and Alaska Native women are invited to join a landmark study to discover the causes of breast cancer. The Sister Study plans to enroll 50,000 women whose sister had breast cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among American Indian and Alaska Native women. Women are eligible if they are between 35-74, never had breast cancer themselves, and with a sister with breast cancer (living or deceased).
For details, call 1-877-474-7837 or click here.
Across Arizona
1. Mullins New EMS Chief Terry Mullins is the new EMS Bureau Chief at ADHS. Mullins worked for several years as the manager of Great Falls Emergency Services in Great Falls, Montana, and as the Director of Operations for Missoula Emergency Services in Missoula, Montana. His most recent position has been as the manager of the Trauma-EMS Technical Assistance Center in Washington, D.C.
2. Nominations Open for Rural Health Achievement Awards
The Arizona Rural Health Achievement Awards honor outstanding rural health programs, professionals, volunteers and legislators achievement. This year the Arizona Rural Health Association will recognize the honorees at the annual Arizona Rural Health Conference, July 19-21 in Bisbee. Nominations are open for the following awards:
-- Distinguished Martha Ortiz Volunteer
-- Exceptional Rural Health Professional
-- Outstanding Rural Health Program
-- Outstanding Arizona Legislator
Nominations should be submitted to the Awards Committee by June 30, 2006. The Committee will use the established criteria and the supporting material to determine the designee for each award. Award recipients will be notified of the selections. Contact Mary Riordan at mriordan@ahsl.arizona.edu or 520-626-2922 for a nomination form or with questions regarding the awards.
3. Poocha to Head Arizona Indian Affairs Commission
Kenneth Poocha has been named Executive Director of the Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs. Poocha is the former director of Community Development and Native American Programs for the Arizona Association of Community Health Centers (AACHC) and a member of the Hopi/Santa Ana Pueblo Tribe.
Originally from Flagstaff, he is a graduate of the University of Arizona and is also an adjunct professor at Estrella Mountain Community College.
4. Drug Discount Card for Arizona
Arizona CoppeRXSM Card is the free and simple prescription drug discount card now available to all Arizona residents. The card qualifies holders to discounts on prescription drugs. To date more than 54,000 cards have been distributed, generating more than $15 million in discounts. Generally, CoppeRX Card discounts range from 15 to 55 percent.
To obtain a card call 888-227-8315 or click here for more information.
5. Award for International Nurses Program
Mesa Community College’s “Enfermeras en Escalera Program” has won the Dr. Paul M. Pair Innovation of the Year Award for 2006. The Enfermeras en Escalera (E3) Program (“Nurses on a Ladder”) is a fast-track program for internationally-educated nurses with U.S. residency to obtain licensure as registered nurses in Arizona. E3 is designed to identify highly motivated nurses and help to advance their English skills, improve their cultural competency and prepare them to succeed in passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. The first cohort represented students from Cuba, France, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico and Vietnam.
E3 was a 2005 recipient of Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association’s Healthcare Education Program Grants, administered by the Campaign for Caring.
6. Swanson to Lead Education Efforts at AzHHA
LeAnn Swanson has joined the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association as vice president of Education Services. Prior to that, she served as director of Community Partnership Programs in the Health Care Education Department at Maricopa Community Colleges. She may be reached at 602-445-4300, ext. 4344 or lswanson@azhha.org. Swanson has a bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University and received a master’s degree in Public Health from San Diego State University.
EMS
1. EMS Trainings in Sierra Vista and Flagstaff
An educational program, Crucial Decisions: The First 10 Minutes, is being offered in Sierra Vista (June 2) and Flagstaff (July 14) for critical access hospital nurses and EMS agency staff from areas served by those hospitals.
The program will focus on identifying key triage decisions made in the first 10 minutes of patient contact time and also decisions that affect emergency assessment of pediatric and perinatal patients.
The program is offered at no cost to participants but registration is required. To pre-register, call Leila Barraza at 520-626-6467 or email her at semino@email.arizona.edu. It is sponsored by UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, Rural Health Office, Arizona Rural Hospital Flexibility Program in partnership with Southeastern Arizona Emergency Medical Services Coordinating Council, University Medical Center, Southeastern Arizona Health Education Center, and
Northern Arizona Health Education Center.
Click here for more details.
2. EMS Performance Improvement in Cochise County
The Southeast Arizona Emergency Medical Services Performance Improvement Initiative Pilot Project will hold its annual review meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, July 21. It will be held at University of Arizona South in Sierra Vista, Room 506. The meeting will consider improvements based on data from EMS reports and will include EMS agencies using HealthEMS and critical access hospitals in Cochise County. For more information contact Leila Barraza.
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. Rural Quality Improvement Grants
Application deadline: June 30, 2006
The Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement (SHCPQI) Grant Program is a new rural quality program, supported through the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. The focus is on quality improvement for chronic diseases, i.e., diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease.
The ultimate goal of the program is to improve health outcomes through enhanced chronic disease management in rural settings by:
1. Utilizing a patient registry system;
2. Tracking and reporting specific health indicators using nationally accepted performance measures;
3. Assessing the need for quality improvement and developing additional performance measures; and
4. Participating in technical assistance through peer learning workshops with fellow grantees.
It is estimated that $750,000 will be available to fund up to 15 awards.
Click here for more details.
2. Matching Support to Aid Critical Health Needs
Application deadline: July 6, 2006
Local Initiative Funding Partners links the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and local grantmakers that seek to fund original projects to improve the health of vulnerable people in their communities.
Grantmakers propose a funding partnership by nominating community initiatives that offer creative solutions to critical health or healthcare problems.
These projects must be new, innovative, collaborative, and community based. Local funding partners must be willing to work with each grantee to obtain sufficient dollar-for-dollar matching funds throughout the grant period. Matching funds must represent new funding specifically designated to support the proposed project.
Up to 14 matching grants of $200,000 to $500,000 per project will be awarded in this cycle.
Click here for details.
3. Grants for Early Treatment of Mental Illness
Application deadline: September 1, 2006
The American Psychiatric Foundation is seeking applications for public education projects that promote the early recognition and treatment of mental illness. Grants may be for new initiatives or expansion of current programs. Requests must be for educational, informational or outreach efforts targeting the public. Efforts may focus on a specific mental disorder, mental illness in general or target a specific population.
Click here for application details.
4. Conference Grants for Public Health
Application deadlines: December 11, 2006 and March 7, 2007
The purpose of CDCs’ conference support funding is to provide partial support for specific non-Federal conferences in the areas of health promotion and disease prevention information and education programs, and applied research. $2.6 million in total funding is expected to be made in approximately 100 awards.
Click here for details.
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 project of the Arizona Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, housed in the Rural Health Office at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, and supported through a grant from HRSA (Office of Rural Health Policy). The Rural Hospital Flexibility Program was created by Congress to improve the financial viability and stability of health care in rural areas, including creation of a new designation for rural hospitals as Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Designated CAHs are eligible for cost-based reimbursement for services provided to Medicare patients. In some states, including Arizona, additional reimbursement is also available for CAH services provided to Medicaid patients.
Your questions (and answers) are always welcome. Please send them as well as address changes to Jim Laukes, Editor, Rural Health Briefing.
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