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FY 2012 GRHA Board of Directors
President
Sallie Barker
Immediate Past President
Nannette Turner
President Elect
Denise Kornegay
Vice President
Ann Addison
Treasurer
Sheila Freeman
Secretary
Deidre Howell
Board Members
Carla Belcher
Laura Bland Gillman
Sue Nieman
Charles Owens
Chris Parker
Rhett Partin
Caroline Holley Womack
Paula Guy
Monty M. Veazey
Matt Caseman
Meet our Board of Directors
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Threats to rural health in Washington decline thanks to NRHA efforts In recent months, the rural health care safety net was threatened by proposals from members of Congress and the Administration to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.
Thanks to an unprecedented effort by NRHA staff and members, the proposed modifications were not adopted. Super committee staff indicated that the strong response from rural hospitals, physicians and advocates was influential in protecting these vital facilities. The fight is not over, as sequestration looms, but major threats have subsided.
As many temporary payment adjusters are set to expire at the end of 2011 or 2012, NRHA now turns its attention to reauthorizing vital rural Medicare extenders.
Now is a critical time to continue the fight to protect the health care safety net in rural America. Join this fight at NRHA's 23rd Annual Rural Health Policy Institute Jan. 30-Feb. 1 in Washington, D.C.
Click here to register today and save $100. |
"This is Public Health"
Video Contest
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The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Students to Service Loan Repayment Program (S2S LRP) pilot application cycle is now open.
To learn more click here.
The S2S LRP application cycle will close on December 14, 2011
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Competition in telehealth market set to intensify
With a global revenue forecast of $990 million by 2015 (InMedica) the telehealth market already is attracting a host of suppliers and innovators at various points in the value chain. In a new white paper, "Competitive Dynamics in the Global Telehealth Market - 2011 to 2020," InMedica assesses the current telehealth ecosystem and forecasts how it will change over the next 10 years. The major parts of the ecosystem include peripheral device suppliers (blood pressure monitors, glucose meters), gateway suppliers (health hubs and mobile gateways), and data transmission service providers (POTS, cellular and broadband).
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GRHA Corporate Members
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http://www.gach.org/
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http://get.bcbsga.com
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http://www.coca-cola.com/en/index.html
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http://www.wgains.com/
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http://www.gaphc.org/
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For those of you who want to stay up to date through social networks, please like the Georgia Rural Health Association Facebook page and follow us on Twitter!
  By joining our social media sites, you have the ability to stay updated on the latest rural health information in Georgia. Please help us spread the word! Thank you for your support and feel free to contact us with any questions.
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MAG/GMGMA WORKSHOPS
The Medical Association of Georgia (MAG) in partnership with the Georgia Medical Group Management Association (GMGMA) will condut innovative CME-accredited workshops across the state in 2011.
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GRHA circulates state and national news as an information service only. Inclusion of information is not intended as an endorsement.
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Paycut averted for Medicaid, Peachcare
By: Andy Miller
Published: Dec 8, 2011
Doctors, dentists and other health care providers have been spared a 0.5 percent cut in payment for treating Medicaid and PeachCare patients.
The board of the Department of Community Health adopted a resolution Thursday rescinding the reduction in reimbursement, which was projected to save the state $13.9 million annually. The cut had not yet taken effect.
The two government insurance programs cover 1.7 million Georgians, most of them children.
The agency, in recommending that the cut not go through, said it had received financial relief from the state Office of Planning and Budget. Community Health's commissioner, David Cook, had previously expressed concern that some doctors and other providers would drop out of Medicaid and PeachCare because of low pay.
DCH acknowledged Thursday that provider enrollment in the government insurance programs has been affected by the pay issue.
Medicaid has not raised its reimbursement rates to physicians in a decade.
This year, the scheduled pay cut was small, but there were concerns that it would drive medical providers to limit the number of Medicaid and PeachCare patients they see.
To read the entire article click here.
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Spending on Tobacco Prevention: Georgia
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that Georgia spend $116.5 million a year to have an effective, comprehensive tobacco prevention program. Georgia currently allocates $2.0 million a year for tobacco prevention and cessation. This is 1.7% of the CDC's recommendation and ranks Georgia 40th among the states in the funding of tobacco prevention programs. Georgia's spending on tobacco prevention amounts to 0.5% of the estimated $370 million in tobacco-generated revenue the state collects each year from settlement payments and tobacco taxes.
Recent Developments: Georgia places one-third of its tobacco settlement funds in the One-Georgia Fund, established in 2000 to support economic development initiatives, and folds the remaining two-thirds of its payments into the state's general budget process. Settlement funds placed in the Fund have been subdivided into two funds. The EDGE (Economic Development, Growth and Expansion) Fund helps Georgia communities compete with localities in other states to attract business. The Equity Fund has been used for a variety of projects, including expanding water and sewer systems to support industrial parks, improving tourism and recreation in the state, shrimp and fish aquaculture, and assistance to technical colleges.
Total state spending on tobacco prevention and cessation for FY2012 will be $2 million, about what was spent in FY2011 and FY2010. Half of those funds will be allocated to the state Quitline and the remaining $1 million will be divided among 18 health districts.
In addition, Georgia is receiving $1.6 million in federal funds dedicated to tobacco prevention and control:
source:
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/what_we_do/state_local/tobacco_settlement/georgia |
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Health report: Americans getting fatter; Ga. ranked 37th
By George Mathis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Americans keep getting fatter. That's the word from The United Health Foundation's annual report -- America's Health Rankings
The 2011 report, which ranks states according to various health factors, "suggests our nation is extremely adept at treating illness and disease. However, Americans are struggling to change unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and obesity, which cause many of these diseases in the first place."
Obesity is the nation's biggest health problem, researchers say. Obesity has increased 137 percent from 11.6 percent of the adult population in 1990 to 27.5 percent in 2011; meaning more than one in four Americans are considered obese. The obesity rate was 26.9 percent last year
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Smoking is on the decline, down to 17.3 percent of the U.S. adult population, the lowest figure in 22 years. Still, tobacco use is estimated to be responsible for one out of five deaths annually (approximately 443,000 deaths per year), the report states.
Georgia is the 37th healthiest state in the U.S., same as last year. Georgia was ranked 43rd in 2009, and was ranked in the low 40s for much of the last decade.
Overall, the Deep South's love of deep fried food seems to have doomed it -- Mississippi is once again ranked 50th, a position it has held every year since 2002.
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Mark Your Calendar
CY2011 Uniform Data System (UDS) Traning
January 19, 2012
Double Tree by Hilton Atlanta Airport
The UDS training is a full day program covering the preparation of the 2011 UDS Report
Georgia Rural Health Association
Rural Health Day at the Capitol
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Georgia State Capitol, South Wing
8:00 am - 12:00 pm
Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth
2012 Annual Conference
March 14th-16 Ritz-Carlton, Reynold Plantation
Lake Oconee, GA
Society of Trauma Nurses
STN 15th Annual Conference
April 11-14, 2012
Going Coastal: Reset your Trauma Compass
Hyatt Regency Savannah
Savannah, GA
NRHA 2012 Policy Institute
Jan 30 - Feb 1, 2012
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