Montana AHEC Regions |
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Greetings!
It has been a busy spring for the Montana AHECs (Area Health Education Centers) and the Montana Office of Rural Health. We are continuing to address the healthcare workforce needs of our Montana communities through various outreach, pipeline, education, and recruitment programs. Thanks for taking a moment to learn more about our programs and activities. Please contact us if you have any questions or ideas!
Welcome to the 4th Edition of
the Montana AHEC and Office of Rural Health
E-Newsletter, Rural Health Delivery |
| Program Office Update - MSU Bozeman
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 | 4th Annual Montana HealthCare Forum Conference June 9th and 10th |
The Montana HealthCare Forum aims to develop innovative changes to the health care system in Montana through the engagement of stakeholders across Big Sky Country. It is composed of a diverse network of stakeholders from across the state. These stakeholders represent consumers, advocacy groups, health care organizations, legislators, public health, business, education, health care providers, hospitals and medical centers, health care insures, and government entities.
Each year the HealthCare Forum hosts an annual conference. This year's theme is "HealthCare Reform, Montana Style". It will be the leading discussion on health care reform in Montana. This summit will be held in Helena, MT June 9th and 10th, 2010. The Montana Office of Rural Health/Area Health Education Center is a proud sponsor of this event.
This fast approaching conference will feature Liz Fowler, Chief Health Counsel and Senior Counsel to the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Max Baucus. Ms. Fowler will review the recently passed federal health care reform bill, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Following Ms. Fowler, Montana experts including Monica Lindeen, Commissioner of Securities and Insurance will discuss the impacts to our state.
The conference is a "can't miss" for those interested in understanding and providing input on PPACA, its impacts and how Montana should implement the legislation. Specifically, legislators or those running for office, health care stakeholders, employers, health care facilities, insurers, health care providers, advocates, physicians, government officials, hospital staff/administrators, and students are encouraged to attend.
For more information on the Montana HealthCare Forum and the 4th Annual Montana HealthCare Forum Conference visit www.montanahealthcareforum.com. |
| South Central MT AHEC Update - Dillon
| | Welcome Jamie Groy! |  The South Central Montana AHEC office is pleased to introduce Jamie Groy, our newest office addition. Jamie joined the office on April 14th as the Program Coordinator. She comes to the AHEC program as a new grad from the University of Montana with a Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Communication and a minor in Non-Profit Administration. Immediately after graduation, Jamie completed an internship in Germany. Jamie is responsible for developing an allied health recruitment and an on-line nursing program, providing physician recruitment back-up and researching and writing grants. Jamie can be reached at jamie@mtha.org. |
| Rural/Underserved Opportunities Program |
R/UOP is one way Montana is trying to produce more primary care physicians. Through the University of Washington School of Medicine, R/UOP is a four-week rotation for students between their first and second years of medical school. Students are placed with primary care preceptors in rural or urban underserved areas of Montana. This experience provides exposure to primary care practices and allows students their "first taste" of clinical life.
Thirty-one R/UOP students will be rotating through various Montana communities, hospitals and clinics this coming summer. This includes ten students in the Eastern, four in the North Central, eleven in the South Central and six in the Western regions. Please click here to see a list of the students, communities and preceptors. |
| R.E.A.C.H. Camps |
 R.E.A.C.H. programs took place at two healthcare facilities in the South Central region this spring and over 60 high school students participated. Barrett Hospital and HealthCare in Dillon hosted students from Lima and Beaverhead County, and Broadwater Health Center in Townsend hosted students from Three Forks and Manhattan. Thank you to all our station leaders, administrators, and school counselors for making these R.E.A.C.H. camps a success! More Information
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| Great Hospital Adventure Partners with HOSA Chapters throughout State |
Seven High School HOSA Chapters throughout MT were trained how to present the Great Hospital Adventure puppet show to elementary students. These HOSA students presented at over 33 elementary schools state-wide and reached over 1200 students in K-4th grades! This was a great opportunity for high school students to encourage the next generation of students to begin thinking about healthcare careers and healthy lifestyles. More Information or Find us on Facebook! |
| Eastern MT AHEC Update - Billings
| | Welcome Jane Nelson! |
 The Eastern Montana AHEC office is pleased to introduce Jane Nelson, our new Outreach Coordinator. Jane joined the office on April 19, and she comes to us most recently from the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch where she was the Experiential Coordinator and Trainer. Originally from Minnesota, Jane has been living in Montana for the last 14 years. In 1992, Jane earned her Bachelor of Science degree in religious education at Crown College in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota. This spring she will earn her Master of Business Administration from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.
In her newly created position, Jane is responsible for developing K-12 educational outreach programs for the 27-county Eastern Montana region, with a particular emphasis in developing programs for the American Indian populations living on the Fort Peck, Northern Cheyenne and Crow Reservations. |
| Faculty Appreciation Dinner |
The WWAMI Billings Track Office hosted their first annual faculty appreciation dinner on Thursday, May 13, 2010. Seventy attendees enjoyed a scrumptious dinner, followed by a program expressing our appreciation for faculty who volunteer to teach and train our future physicians. The program included Zach Meyers, MD, Montana Family Medicine Residency, Lead Physician WWAMI Billings Track Office; Jay Erickson, MD, Assistant Dean, WWAMI Clinical Phase/Montana; and Tom Norris, MD, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, University of Washington. Students honored their favorite faculty with awards as well, with Zach Meyers receiving the Third Year Student Faculty of the Year award, and Arturo Echeverri, MD, of Neurology Associates, receiving the Fourth Year Student Faculty of the Year award. In addition, each clerkship site was presented with a plaque to display in their offices, to recognize their participation in the WWAMI program. The program also included a video featuring WWAMI students thanking their faculty. The video may be viewed online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZynMztfkO-s.
Dr. Zach Meyers receives the Third Year Student Faculty of the Year Award from students, Adam Zelka, and Jake and Erica Rinker.  |
Dr. Arturo Echeverri receives the Fourth Year Student Faculty of the Year Award from student, Adam Zelka. | |
| R.E.A.C.H. Camps in Eastern Montana |
 In the month of April, students from Circle, Sidney, Fairview, Savage and Poplar enjoyed a day filled with hands-on activities exposing them to healthcare careers of all types. We would like to recognize and thank the McCone County Health Center and Health Clinic, the Sidney Health Center & the Northeast MT Health System for hosting this year's REACH camps.
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| Great Hospital Adventure Hits the Road |
 Josh, Ashley and their medical friends from the Great Hospital Adventure made the long trip to Circle, Sidney, Poplar and Wolf Point to share their story with over 500 students in Eastern Montana. They enjoyed telling their story to the students in these rural communities, and they hope to spend more time on the road in the future.
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| Shadowing Opportunities |
The Eastern Montana AHEC office, which is fortunate to be hosted by RiverStone Health in Billings, is pleased to offer students in their outlying rural schools the opportunity to shadow a nurse, physician assistant, doctor, dentist or pharmacist during the month of June. For more information, please contact Jane Nelson at 406.247.3277 or jane.nel@riverstonehealth.org |
| North Central MT AHEC Update - Cut Bank
| | North Central Office in Full Swing!
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The North Central Regional office has been busy setting up its Advisory Council. Great efforts have been taken to select a member that will be excellent in representing their county and healthcare discipline. Seventy percent of the Advisory Council is already established. The other 30% is expected to be finalized by the end of May.
The current Advisory Council members are the following:
✜Jack King, Northcentral MT Healthcare Alliance Executive Director
✜Steve Lowery, Dentist
✜Lloyal Kennedy, Center for Mental Health, Toole County Director
✜Dr. Frank Trocki, Chancellor of MSU Northern
✜Linda Williams, MSU Extension Agent
✜Bruce Evans, EMS volunteer
✜Greg Paulauskis, Health Sciences Director, MSU-COT, Great Falls
✜Edith Clark, Former Legislator
✜Kirsten Kammerzell, Health Management Professional
The council will most likely have the following disciplines when finalized:
✜Indian Health Services Physician
✜Indian Health Services RN or Public Health Department employee
✜Pharmacist
✜Principal or Superintendent
✜Tribal College Professor
The first Advisory Council meeting is expected to be in June and in a centralized location in the north central region of Montana.
In addition to being busy working on the Advisory Council, the regional office worked on a sheet which compiled 91 healthcare careers with salary information and educational requirements. It has been a favorite of high schools in the region to utilize it in their lesson plans. A copy can be found here. Have a great summer! |
| Western MT AHEC Update - Missoula
| | WMT-AHEC provides travel support to nursing students in rural clinical rotations |
Western Montana AHEC was pleased to offer travel support to three nursing students in rural clinical rotations in the region this spring. The costs of driving back and forth from the Missoula campus to Critical Access Hospitals in surrounding communities can be a significant hurdle to students interested in getting a taste of rural practice. Based at the university of Montana-Missoula campus, WMT-AHEC is in an ideal location to help the many health professions students training here to more easily access rural rotations and, we hope, choose rural and underserved communities to work in during their careers.
This spring,three nursing students from the MSU College of Nursing - Missoula campus, completed rotations in rural western Montana: Megan Dewey - Mineral Community Hospital, Superior: Octavia Counts - Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital, Hamilton: Ruth Guest - Saint Joseph Medical Center - Polson.
Here are some thoughts from one of the students about her rotation:
"I was expecting that the facility would be behind in the most recent evidence-based practice, and not use the newest treatment options. I was wrong. Hamilton's hospital is small but efficient. They are constantly striving for the best possible care based on evidence-based practice....It is a great work environment because the entire facility works together to achieve the goal of quality patient care.
Through my experiences working in rural health care facilities, I have found that I would like to work in a rural environment in the future..." |
| Interprofessional Seminar in Team-Based Learning |  "Silo" mentality in the education of health professionals is an increasingly recognized issue, and nationwide numerous efforts are being made to address the need for effective communication among professionals who rarely interact with each other until their training is complete. In western Montana, Dr. Peggy Schlesinger, Director of the Institute of Medicine and Humanities and of the Missoula WWAMI 3rd year Track, for the second year taught a seminar focused on team building and effective communication. The interdisciplinary course, which met six times during the semester, included current UM students in Pharmacy , MSU students in Nursing, and UW WWAMI students in Medicine. The course included role-plays, readings, clinical observations, discussions, and guest speakers from each discipline represented as well as from the UM Center for Ethics.
Staff of the Western Montana AHEC assisted Dr. Schlesinger in successfully applying for an UWSOM Innovations Grant for Continuous Professionalism Improvement in order to develop and implement the course, which has been approved for graduate credit by the University of Montana. Dr. Schlesinger will give a presentation about the class at a UW Medical Education Forum, in the fall, date TBA. |
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AHEC - The Basics |
The Montana AHEC mission is to improve the supply and distribution of healthcare professionals, with an emphasis on primary care, through community/academic educational partnerships, in order to increase access to quality healthcare. We work to connect students to healthcare careers, professionals to communities, and communities to better health. To fulfill our mission, we focus on these key areas:1) Programs and resources for K-12 students and teachers to generate interest in healthcare professions
2) Placement and support of health profession students in rural rotations throughout the state
3) Recruitment and retention of qualified healthcare professionals to Montana
4) Continuing Education programs for practicing healthcare professionals
Montana has 4 regional AHEC offices - Eastern, located in Billings- South Central, located in Dillon - Western, located in Missoula - and the North Central, located in Cut Bank.
For more information, please visit:
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Please contact us with your comments, ideas, questions or projects you'd like to see highlighted in future issues of this e-newsletter.
Thank you for the work you do every day to improve the healthcare industry and the health of all Montanans!!
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