Monthly Update from the MN Office of Rural Health & Primary Care
Minnesota Department of Health sent this bulletin at 08/01/2013 04:10 PM CDTHaving trouble reading this? The August Monthly is available online at http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/orhpc/pubs/monthly/2013/aug.html
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AUGUST 2013 |
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MDH & ORHPC NEWS |
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RURAL HEALTH COMMUNITY FORUM - ST. PETER "PITCH THE COMMISSIONER" RURAL HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE (RHAC) HEALTH WORKFORCE ANALYSIS The Workforce Analysis Program will also release a new report on the state's primary care workforce later this summer. The following is a graph from the forthcoming report:
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ORHPC GRANTS AND LOANS |
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Application materials for the Minnesota State Loan Repayment Program (MN SLRP) are now available. The program provides funds for repayment of qualifying educational loans of up to $20,000 annually for full-time primary care providers and up to $10,000 annually for half-time primary care providers. For fiscal year 2013-2014, an estimated 5-10 loan repayment awards will be available. Applications due by August 19. Application materials for the Indian Health Grant Program, which helps applicants establish, operate or subsidize clinic facilities and services to offer health services to American Indians who live off reservations, are now available. Nonprofit organizations, governmental and tribal entities are eligible to apply. Applications due September 18. Application materials for the Community Clinic Grant Program are now available. These grants support clinical capacity to serve people with low incomes, reduce current or future uncompensated care burdens, or improve care delivery infrastructure. Pre-applications are due October 4. If invited, full applications will be due January 8. |
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OTHER GRANTS AND LOANS |
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The Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health seeks applications for small grant projects in either (1) basic and applied research addressing agricultural safety and health priority issues, needs or gaps; or (2) community partnerships using outreach, education and translation of evidence-based methods to prevent agricultural injury and illness among agricultural workers. Applications due August 5. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program has issued its FY2013 Notice of Funding, Application Guide and related resources. Eligible applicants must operate a rural community facility or deliver telemedicine or distance learning services to an organization that operates such a facility. Applications due August 12. The National Rural Health Association (NHRA) invites applications for the 2014 Rural Health Fellows program. The goal of the program is to educate, develop and inspire a networked community of rural health leaders who will step forward to serve in key positions in NRHA, affiliated rural health advocacy groups and local and state legislative bodies. Applications due by August 31. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is accepting applications for grants for transportation of veterans in highly rural areas. Eligible organizations should use innovative approaches to assist veterans with transportation to VA and non-VA facilities for medical care, serving veterans who would not otherwise be able to obtain medical care through conventional transportation options. Applications due September 9. The Rural Veterans Coordination Pilot program seeks applications for grants to organizations that will assist veterans and their families in transitioning from military service to civilian life in rural or underserved communities. Applications due September 19. |
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OPPORTUNITIES |
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The Rural Hospital Performance Improvement (RHPI) project of the National Rural Health Resource Center will provide a free webinar, "Shifting to a Value-Based Health Care System," on August 6 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Registration is required. The project also offers a free library of recorded trainings covering a variety of performance improvement topics, including ICD-10, revenue cycle management and quality reporting. Stratis Health, with support from ORHPC, is hosting a series of five Quality Improvement learning sessions for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). The August 14 will focus on "Using Process Mapping to Optimize Care." For more information and to register, contact Alex Mitchell at 952-853-8598 or amitchell@stratishealth.org. A free training on the continuum of HIV/AIDS care, from testing to referrals, will take place August 6 in Waite Park. The training is sponsored by Stearns County Human Services and the Midwest Center for Lifelong Learning in Public Health (MCLPH) at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available. For more information and to register, call 612-625-1894 or email truax031@umn.edu. A webinar on Health Information Exchange (HIE) will be offered on August 13 by the Regional Extension Assistance Center for HIT for Minnesota and North Dakota (REACH). The webinar will provide an overview of what HIE is, how it is used in health care settings and key factors for any successful HIE implementation. Learn more and register online on the REACH website. The federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is providing a free webinar titled "Telehealth Solutions for Safety Net Providers" on August 20. This webinar will provide an introduction to telehealth and background information on the Telehealth Resource Center services for HRSA grantees and other safety net providers. Register online with HRSA. Registration is now open for the National Association of Community Health Centers' 2013 Community Health Institute and Expo. This year's CHI will take place in Chicago from August 25 to August 27. The Health Care Homes (HCH) Learning Collaborative is hosting a webinar series titled "Introduction to Health Care Homes" to increase knowledge of innovative practices and standards in primary care, and help equip clinics to begin the transformation process. The webinar series will help clinic teams identify and plan for closing the gaps in care, and will prepare teams for patient-centered, team-based coordinated care. The series includes four webinars that will run from August through October. Learn more and register on the HCH website. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks public comment until September 6 on a Medicare Program; Revisions to Payment Policies under the Physician Fee Schedule, Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule & Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2014 that includes potential expanded payments for telehealth services and a new definition of rural. The Rural Palliative Care Networking Group will feature a special presentation, "Symptom management at end-of-life," on September 19 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at United Family Home Care and Hospice in Little Falls. To register for in-person attendance or conference call, contact Matt Ellis by September 12 at mellis@stratishealth.org or 952-853-8539. The Rural Health Professions Institute of the Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health offers free, on-demand remote learning opportunities through its MyVeHU Campus. Sessions are geared toward rural health professionals both inside and outside the VA caring for rural veterans. Topics include rural community collaborations and veteran outreach, cultural competence and caring for the rural veteran, and facilitating co-managed care. All sessions are accredited (CME/CEU available). The Safety Net Medical Home Initiative has released new resources on empanelment, the process of assigning individuals to primary care providers and teams with sensitivity to patient and family preference, a key part of population health management and care coordination. |
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NEWS OF OUR PARTNERS |
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $150 million in grant awards to Community Health Centers -- including 16 health centers with 77 sites in Minnesota -- to help enroll uninsured individuals in new health coverage options made available through the Affordable Care Act. With the new Outreach and Enrollment funding, Minnesota health centers expect to hire 29 additional workers and assist 21,334 people with enrollment. Coverage by Minnesota Public Radio featured ways health centers are connecting with Minnesota's Latino community in particular. The Rural Assistance Center and the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health recently released a Rural Health Oral Toolkit to help rural communities increase access to oral health care. A free webinar will be offered on August 6 to introduce the toolkit and two examples of successful programs funded by the federal Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP). Learn more and register online for the webinar. MNSure is hiring Outreach Community Liaisons for northeast, northwest, central, southeast, southwest Minnesota and the Twin Cities. The positions will provide local, on-the-ground partnership development, grassroots marketing, and logistical and monitoring support for MNSure's outreach field operations program. Learn more and apply through the State employment portal. Applications close August 6. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced a new website featuring free online clinical training opportunities for safety net providers from the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ). Training activities are based on comparative effectiveness research and include 36 topics relevant to health care professionals in medically underserved areas. Each module is 1 CE/CME credit and 1 hour in length. The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth announced a new online Master's in Business Administration (MBA) program for rural health care administrators. Learn more on the College's website. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has launched a new long-term and post-acute care webpage featuring information about federal health IT initiatives that could be beneficial to long-term care providers. These providers don't qualify for the EHR incentive initiatives, but they do contribute to enhanced care transition processes. One initiative mentioned on the site is the Beacon Community programs that promote patient data sharing between nursing facilities and health information exchanges with or without the use of EHRs |
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STAFF NEWS |
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Judy Bergh made site visits to RC Hospital in Olivia and Sibley Medical Center in Arlington on July 17. In June, Deb Jahnke visited Northern Pines Community Mental Health Center in Little Falls and Baxter, Tri-County Health Care in Wadena, Essentia Health in Brainerd and Lakewood Health Systems in Staples. Tammy Peterson and Chris Ballard conducted trauma system consultation visits to RC Hospital in Olivia and on July 24 and Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater on July 25. Deb Jahnke and Lee Schutz gave a presentation in Brainerd at a meeting of directors in the Minnesota Area Health Education Center (AHEC) network. Their session covered the criteria and process involved in health shortage area designations, as well as an overview of the National Health Service Corps and other loan repayment options in Minnesota. ORHPC works closely with the regional AHECs as part of an ongoing collaboration to provide technical assistance to students, clinicians and sites to increase access to health services. Kristen Tharaldson will present a session titled "All Our Babies: Improving Rural Birth Outcomes in Minnesota" at the 2013 Community Health Conference in September in Brainerd. |
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SAVE THE DATE |
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National Health Center Week will be celebrated August 11-17. The 2013 Community Mental Health Conference will take place September 25-27 in Duluth. Registration is open for the 2013 Community Health Conference taking place September 25-27 in Brainerd. Working Together: Attaining Health Equity in Minnesota Communities is sponsored by the State Community Health Services Advisory Committee (SCHSAC) and the Minnesota Department of Health Office of Performance Improvement. The 14th Annual Greater Northwest EMS Conference, "Welcome to the Jungle," will take place October 4-5 in Mahnomen. The Fifth Annual Rural Behavioral Health Practice Conference will be held October 11 at the University of Minnesota - Morris and group webcast sites. The annual conference of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits will be held in Duluth on October 24-25. |
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View online all previous issues of the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care publications. |
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