Caroline Ford, MPH

(775) 784-4841

Specialty Areas / Background

Federal and State Policy, Frontier Health Issues, International Health, Public Health

State Office Director since December 1993

John Packham, Ph.D.
(775) 784-1235
jpackham@medicine.nevada.edu

Specialty Areas / Background
Health Workforce, Health Policy, Health Services Research, Public Health

Flex Coordinator since December 1999

Tabor Griswold, MS
(775) 784-4841
tgriswold@medicine.nevada.edu

Specialty Areas / Background
Health Services Research, GIS Research, Health Workforce, Health Economics

Health Services Research Analyst since July 2006

Steve Boline, CPA
(775) 827-4770
steve@nrhp.org

Specialty Areas / Background
Hospital Finance and Operations, Rural Hospital Benchmarking

Regional Chief Financial Officer since August 2003

If you were unable to attend the TASC 90 Call on May 13th, the conference playback will be available until June 12th, 2008. 

Topics on this call included:
The playback is now available and can be reached by calling the following number and entering the replay passcode.
 
Replay Dial-In Numbers and Passcode:

• Toll Free:  1-888-203-1112
• Replay Passcode:  62626233

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Nicole Clement.

The Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) Grantee Partnership Meeting will be August 31 - September 2, 2009 in Washington, D.C.  The title of this meeting was formerly the ORHP All Programs Meeting.  This meeting will bring together nearly 800 ORHP grantees, technical assistance centers, and Federal agencies that address the health needs of rural communities.  At the ORHP Grantee Partnership Meeting, participants will:  

• Network, collaborate and exchange ideas among ORHP grantees from several grant programs, including the State Offices of Rural Health, Rural Health Research Centers, Rural Hospital Flexibility, Outreach, Network Development, Delta Network Development, Black Lung Clinics, Radiation Exposure Screening and Education, and Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Programs.

• Attend plenary and breakout sessions presented by speakers representing rural health organizations, Federal agencies, and the private sector.

• Showcase your grantee program by presenting a poster session.

One and a half days of programming will be dedicated to Flex on September 1st (full day) and September 2nd (half day).  The audience for this day and a half is only Flex personnel, and not other stakeholders.  Registration is FREE.  Please click here to register and for more information.

The Health Resources and Services Administration's national meeting on the future of Primary Care Workforce in rural and urban America will be held August 10-12, 2009 in Washington, DC.  This meeting is designed to provide a forum to generate new and innovative ideas about primary care workforce issues and potential solutions for rural and urban underserved communities and to bring together stakeholders to share best practices and strategies for future action. 

Participants at this meeting will include health care organizations, associations, providers, state officials and academic health centers interested in the primary health care workforce in rural and urban communities. 
 
Space will be limited and we expect high demand for this meeting.   To register and for further information please visit:  www.team-psa.com/workforcesummit2009.

CMS recently released a Swing Bed Fact Sheet (revised April 2009).  The fact sheet outlines the requirements for hospital and critical access hospital swing bed arrangements.  To view the fact sheet, please click here.

Recently released from the Rural Health Research & Policy Centers and the Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis is a report on physician practice and relocation decisions.

"The inability of rural areas to attract and retain physicians has been of concern to health services researchers and policymakers for many years. This project tracked practice locations of a cohort of physicians using information on physicians who were identified during the early stages of their medical careers as part of the National Survey of Rural Physicians (NSRP), conducted in 1993-1994 with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. These data were supplemented with information on the current practice locations of physicians in the cohort, and with data from a follow-up survey that also asked a battery of satisfaction questions. For the subset of sampled physicians who responded to the NSRP, we identified factors correlated with the decision to maintain a rural practice. Contingency tables were used to test a variety of hypotheses concerning factors affecting the physician's decision to continue practice in a rural community, along with statistical analyses to examine relationships between these factors."

Why Are Fewer Hospitals in the Delivery Business?

Also from the Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, "this study examines the declining availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural areas from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. It examines potential causes for this trend and explores the effects of medical malpractice reforms"
 
For additional information on rural health research, please visit the Rural Health Research Gateway Web site.

Save the Date for the next Flex Program Workshop on October 27-29, 2009 in Duluth, MN. 

In past years, TASC has hosted over 95 state Flex Program, State Office and federal program staff in its Flex Program Workshop.  The program was designed to allow individuals new to the program or looking for a refresher to quickly come up to speed with the Flex Program, TASC and its resources.  Topics discussed at the workshop will include; Flex overview & history, grant writing, performance improvement, finance, EMS, HIT, problem solving, strategy mapping and hints for new Flex coordinators.

The Workshop consists of two half days and one full day, allowing for easier travel and will be held in Duluth, MN.  There is no charge for the Workshop. 

Please contact Nicole Clement if you would like more information or wish to sign up.  Space is limited!

June 8-9, 2009 NASEMSO Mid-Year Meeting
The National Association of State EMS Officials Med-Year Meeting will be at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center on June 8-9, 2009 in Alexandria, Virginia.

June 9-11, 2009 Indiana Rural Health Conference
The 12th Annual Indiana Rural Health Conference is June 9-11, 2009 at the Indianapolis Marriott East in Indianapolis, Indiana.

June 10-11, 2009 Western Region Flex Conference
The 7th Annual Western Region Flex Conference will be held on June 10-11, 2009 in Lake Tahoe, CA at Harvey's Lake Tahoe Resort.  This conference features national experts addressing a wide range of issues affecting Critical Access Hospitals and other rural health care providers in the western region of the United States.

June 15-16, 2009 Minnesota Critical Access Hospital and Rural Health Conference
The theme for the Minnesota Critical Access Hospital and Rural Health Conference is "Rethinking Rural Health Care: A Community Effort".  The conference will be June 15-16, 2009 at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center in Duluth, Minnesota.

June 30-July 2, 2009 NOSORH Region A Annual Meeting
The Office of Rural Health Policy, State Offices of Rural Health Region A Annual Meeting will be June 30-July 2, 2009 at the High Peaks in Lake Placid, New York.  Region A includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

July 7-9, 2009 Indian Health Summit 
The Indian Health Summit is a national gathering of Indian Health professionals and administrative leadership, community health advocates and activists, and Tribal leadership.  The Summit will be July 7-9, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Denver, Colorado.
 
July 8-9, 2009 NOSORH Region C Annual Meeting
The Office of Rural Health Policy, State Offices of Rural Health Region C Annual Meeting will be July 8-9, 2009 at The Eldridge in Lawrence, Kansas.  Region C includes Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin.  On July 7th, a one-day development summit will be held for SORHs and their partners on "Building Vital Communities: Harvesting Collaboration".
 
July 21-22, 2009 Skill Building Workshop
The NRHA sponsored Skill-Building Workshop provides an opportunity for State Rural Health Association leaders to learn from each other and to develop skills for achieving the goals of their own State Rural Health Association.  The Workshop will be July 21-22, 2009 in Park City, Utah.  There is no registration fee for State Rural Health Association members. The first 30 registrants receive a $750 stipend.

July 21-24, 2009 Quality and Clinical Conference
The NRHA will be sponsoring the Quality and Clinical Conference July 21-24, 2009 in Park City, Utah.

August 3-4, 2009 Arizona Rural Health Conference
The 36th Annual Arizona Rural Health Conference, titled "Coming Out of the Recession Stronger & Healthier: Opportunities, Solutions and Collaborations", will be held August 3-4, 2009 in Flagstaff, Arizona at the High Country Conference Center at Northern Arizona University. 
 
August 5-7, 2009  NOSORH Region B Annual Meeting
The Office of Rural Health Policy, State Offices of Rural Health Region B Annual Meeting will be August 5-7, 2009 at The Battle House in Mobile, Alabama.  Region B includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.  On August 5th, a half-day evaluation workshop will be held.

August 10-12, 2009 The Healthcare Workforce Crisis: A Summit on the Future of Primary Care in Rural and Urban America
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration's national meeting on the future of Primary Care Workforce in rural and urban America will be held August 10-12, 2009 in Washington, DC.  The meeting is designed for health care organizations, associations, providers, state officials and academic health centers interested in the primary health care workforce in rural and urban communities. Registration and space will be limited.
 
August 19-20, 2009 NOSORH Region E Annual Meeting
The Office of Rural Health Policy, State Offices of Rural Health Region E Annual Meeting will be August 19-20, 2009 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Laramie, Wyoming.  Region E includes Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.  On August 18th, a one-day "Workforce Summit for SORHs and Their Partners" is planned to explore workforce challenges to health reform and opportunities for workforce improvement as the result of the economic stimulus.

August 26-28, 2009 The Rural and Frontier EMS and Trauma Summit at the Lodges
The third installment of the summit series, The Rural and Frontier EMS and Trauma Summit at the Lodges, will be held August 26-28, 2009 at The Lodges at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. This summit will build on the success of the inaugural Summit held in Big Sky, Montana in 2006 and the Summit at the Lake, held in Couer d'Alene, Idaho in 2008. This Summit will have something for everyone, from federal and state policy makers to local EMS managers and hospital administrators to individual EMTs.
 
August 31 - September 2, 2009 ORHP Grantee Partnership Meeting
The Office of Rural Health Policy Grantee Partnership Meeting will be August 31 - September 2, 2009 in Washington, D.C.  The title of this meeting was formerly the ORHP All Programs Meeting.  One and a half days of programming will be dedicated to Flex on September 1 (full day) and September 2 (half day).  The audience for this day and a half is only Flex personnel, and not other stakeholders.

September 3-5, 2009 NARHC Fall Institute
The National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC) Fall Institute will be September 3-5, 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. 
 
September 9-11, 2009 NRHA Medication Use in Rural America Conference
The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) Medication Use in Rural America Conference will be held September 9-11, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri at the Westin Crown Center Kansas City.   The conference "will describe and discuss medication-related issues affecting rural communities" and  will "discuss challenges and solutions related to practice, research, education and policy related to medication use in rural communities."
 
September 10-11, 2009 Northwest Medical Informatics Symposium Conference
Those interested in information technology use in health care in the Northwest should consider attending the Northwest Medical Informatics Symposium Conference on September 10-11, 2009 in Spokane, Washington.  The conference, and pre-conference workshops, will be held at Davenport Hotel.
 
September 17- 18, 2009 Nebraska Rural Health Association Annual Conference
The Nebraska Rural Health Association Annual Conference will be September 17-18, 2009 at the  Holiday Inn and Convention Center  in Kearney, Nebraska.
 
September 20-25, 2009 NASEMSO Annual Meeting and Tradeshow
The National Association of State Emergency Medical Service Officials (NASEMSO) will hold its annual meeting and tradeshow September 20-25, 2009 at The Peabody in Little Rock, Arkansas.  The purpose of the annual meeting is to address curent trends in EMS and should be attended by members of NASEMEO, federal EMS officials, and EMS suppliers.
 
September 21-23, 2009 Georgia Rural Health Association Annual Conference
The Georgia Rural Health Association Annual Conference will held at the Brasstown Valley Resort  in Young Harris, Georgia on September 21-23, 2009.  It will include the 3rd annual student research poster session.
 
September 22-23, 2009 New York StateAssociation for Rural Health Annual Conference
The New York State Association for Rural Health (NYSARH) Annual Conference will be held September 22-23, 2009 in Geneva, New York at the Ramada Geneva Lakefront.  This year's conference is titled "Year of Integration...One Silo at a Time".

September 23-25, 2009 3RNet Annual Conference and Membership Meeting
The 14th Annual National Rural Recruitment and Retention Network (3RNet) Conference and Membership Meeting will be held September 23-25, 2009 in Albuquerque, New Mexico at Hyatt Regency Albuquerque Convention Center.   The Annual Membership Meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 23, 2009.