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JULY 2009 |
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Conference presentations from the plenary and breakout sessions are online. |
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MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (MDH) AND |
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Read the latest on Minnesota Health Reform from Commissioner Sanne Magnan, M.D., and stay informed on opportunities for input on the fast-moving implementation of health reform. The Minnesota Health Reform site includes descriptions of the health reform package, including the Statewide Health Improvement Program, health care homes, payment reform, insurance coverage, workgroups and more. Subscribe online. The Minnesota e-Health Initiative held its fifth annual 2009 e-Health Summit: Strategies for Success in Brooklyn Park on June 24-25. Two new resources were released to help providers meet Minnesota’s 2011 e-prescribing mandate, move to effective and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) and be positioned to tap maximum incentives under Medicare and Medicaid stimulus funds available starting in 2011. These guides are additions to the 2008 Statewide Implementation Plan:
e-Health Summit presentations on topics related to effective use of EHRs are on the Summit home page. For more information about Minnesota’s e-Health Initiative, visit the home page. In June, Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Sanne Magnan designated 23 additional trauma hospitals bringing the number of trauma hospitals in Minnesota to 68! Level III trauma hospitals are Children’s Hospitals of Minnesota (Minneapolis and St. Paul), Douglas County Hospital (Alexandria), Glencoe Regional Hospital, Grand Itasca Hospital (Grand Rapids), Hutchinson Area Health Center, St. Mary’s Innovis (Detroit Lakes), University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview. Level IV trauma hospitals are Austin Medical Center-Mayo Health System, Cambridge Medical Center, Cannon Falls Medical Center-Mayo Health System, ELEAH Medical Center (Elbow Lake), Lake Region Healthcare (Fergus Falls), Long Prairie Memorial Hospital, Mahnomen Health Center, New Ulm Medical Center, Northfield Hospital, Owatonna Hospital, Pine Medical Center (Sandstone), Redwood Area Hospital, RC Hospital (Olivia), Sibley Medical Center (Arlington), St. Gabriel’s Hospital (Little Falls). American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Update. Visit the Minnesota e-Health Initiative’s HITECH Act site to monitor progress and opportunities for the state and for providers under the federal stimulus package. The steering committee of the Greater Minnesota Telehealth Broadband Initiative (GMTBI), Minnesota’s FCC Rural Health Care Pilot Project, met on June 5 at Tri-County Hospital in Wadena to share updates on network implementation, review future network plans, and discuss funding strategies. The GMBTI includes approximately 120 rural hospitals and mental health clinics that are interested in improving telecommunications services and building interoperable networks for telemedicine and electronic health record exchange. Participating health care networks include: Medi-sota, Inc.; Minnesota Association of Community Mental Health Programs; Minnesota Telehealth Network; North Region Health Alliance; and lead organization SISU Medical Systems, Duluth; with support from the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (ORHPC) and the University of Minnesota. Anne Schloegel and Karen Welle from ORHPC attended the meeting and are providing assistance to the project. The Minnesota Department of Health is conducting a comprehensive statewide needs assessment for the federal Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant. Participate in a 10-minute online survey to help narrow down the broad range of potential needs to be addressed through Title V Block Grant activities. The survey will be available until Friday, July 17. Click on the “Take the 2010 Needs Assessment Survey” link. Please note: You will need to accept the security certificate to complete the survey. Questions? Send an e-mail to health.titleV@state.mn.us. Mark Schoenbaum traveled to Omaha at the invitation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Rural Health Policy, to provide input on a new federal definition of the term "frontier." Minnesota has a number of areas defined as frontier and possibly more depending on the new definition. Last month, Flex coordinator Judy Bergh traveled to Meeker County Hospital in Litchfield, and Paynesville Area Health Center in Paynesville, and Anne Schloegel joined Judy's visit to Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital in Wabasha. |
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ORHPC GRANTS AND LOANS |
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Clinical Dental Education Innovations Grant applications are due July 10. The due date for State Loan Repayment Program applications is August 1. The program is for eligible licensed providers practicing at approved clinics in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas. Information, candidate applications and site applications are online or contact Deb Jahnke at debra.jahnke@state.mn.us or (651) 201-3845. Applications for the Indian Health Grant Program are due August 14. Eligible applicants establish, operate or subsidize health clinic facilities and services for American Indians who live off reservations. Nonprofit organizations, governmental and tribal entities are eligible to apply. The total available funding for the program is $174,000 per year. The two-year award cycle is January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2011. Completion of grant cycle awards will be contingent upon 2011 legislative decisions. Applications are online or contact Debra Jahnke at debra.jahnke@state.mn.us or (651) 201- 3845. Migrant Health Grant Program applications are due August 14. Cities, counties, groups of cities or counties, or nonprofit corporations are eligible to apply. The program funds establishing, operating or subsidizing clinic facilities and services, including mobile clinics, to supply migrant agricultural workers and their families with health services in areas of the state with significant numbers of migrant workers. First consideration for funding will be given to organizations that can provide services statewide. The total available funding for the program is $102,000 per year. The two-year award cycle is January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2011. Completion of grant cycle awards will be contingent upon 2011 legislative decisions. Applications are online or contact Debra Jahnke at debra.jahnke@state.mn.us or (651) 201- 3845. Applications for Minnesota Loan Forgiveness Programs for health professionals are due December 1. Applications are online or contact Amy Vallery at amy.vallery@state.mn.us or (651) 201-3870. Help needed with grant reviews. The Office of Rural Health and Primary Care is recruiting volunteers who have experience in health care and/or grant making to review grant proposals. This opportunity is an excellent way to learn more about how grant decisions are made. Contact Doug Benson at doug.benson@state.mn.us or (651) 201-3842 or Cindy LaMere at cindy.lamere@state.mn.us or (651) 201-3852.
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ORHPC RESOURCES |
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The Health Workforce Analysis Program released: Minnesota's Physical Therapist Workforce-2009 (PDF: 2pgs/42KB). Change your online profile to receive emails as Workforce publications are released. The Loan Forgiveness Web site now has Frequently Asked Questions, easier to follow navigation, and information on programs beyond those administered in Minnesota. The State Trauma Advisory Council is studying how to integrate pediatric trauma centers into the trauma system. The American College of Surgeons recently certified Regions Hospital as the first Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in Minnesota. The creation of a national inventory of pediatric trauma centers may help to identify the locations of gaps and greatly improve access to care for U.S. children. More than 17 million U.S. children live more than an hour away by ground or air transportation from a life-saving pediatric trauma center, according to a new study by researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. The revised Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Critical Access Hospital Fact Sheet is on the Critical Access Hospital page of the ORHPC Web site. Fact sheets on TRICARE, a component of the Military Health System established to provide medical card to members of the military and their dependents, are on the ORHPC Resources Web site |
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SNAPSHOT |
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OPPORTUNITIES |
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The State Advisory Council on Mental Health is looking for one consumer of mental health services representative. The Subcommittee on Children's Mental Health is recruiting two members: one county social service agency representative and one parent of a child with emotional disturbances. Complete information is in the June Open Appointments on the Secretary of State Web site. The July Open Appointments will be available July 6, including the announcement of an opening on the Statewide Trauma Advisory Council for a rural general surgeon. The National Association of Community Health Centers is encouraging all health centers to participate in the United We Serve initiative. The North West Area Health Education Center (NWAHEC) is seeking an experienced Program Manager. NWAHEC is an affiliate of the Wisconsin Area Health Education Centers and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. | ||
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NEWS OF OUR PARTNERS |
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Stratis Health released the Health Information Technology Toolkit for Home Health Agencies. This toolkit can be used to implement or overhaul a home health agency Health Information Technology or Electronic Health Record system, and to evaluate system effectiveness. This kit follows the release in February of Health Information Technology Toolkit for Nursing Homes. Contact Stratis Health Information Technology Services at info@statishealth.org or (952) 854-3306. Monticello-Big Lake Hospital and Nursing Home's name is now New River Medical Center, reflecting the regional nature of health care service provider. The web address is now www.newrivermedical.com. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs awarded two grants totaling $5.2 million for improvements at the state-run facilities in Minneapolis and Silver Bay. Lakewood Health System in Staples is featured in the Rural Assistance Center article, Medical Homes Offer Comprehensive Care Approach. | ||
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NOW READ THIS |
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The Rural Policy and Research Institute (RUPRI) prepared A Snapshot of the President's Budget: What's In It For Rural America? (PDF: 6pgs/164KB); PPOs Driving Growth in Rural Medicare Advantage Enrollment (PDF: ); A Rural-Urban Comparison of a Building Blocks Approach to Covering the Uninsured (PDF: 5pgs/108KB) and A Rural Perspective/Commentary Regarding the Senate Finance Committee's Report, "Financing Comprehensive Health Care Reform: Proposed Health System Savings and Revenue Options" (PDF: 13pgs/125KB). The Rural Health Research Center released Profile of Rural Health Insurance Coverage: A Chartbook (PDF 913KB/68pgs). The revised Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital Fact Sheet (PDF: 4pgs/308KB) is online. More aging doctors are finding they can’t retire. In the United States, at least 4,500 primary care doctors are older than 75. Overall, there are about 270,000 doctors practicing primary care, which includes family, general medicine and internal medicine, according to this msnbc.com article. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released an update to the Critical Access Hospitals Conditions of Participation Appendix W to the State Operations Manual (PDF:206pgs/980KB). The changes are to §485.610(e) Standard: Off-campus and Co-Location Requirements for CAHs. | ||
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SAVE THE DATE |
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Nonprofits Assistance Fund is offering financial management workshops. The July 2009 Great Plains Telehealth & Assistance Center Annual Conference in Bloomington has been CANCELED. Other educational opportunities including webinars, educational videos and regional workshops are under consideration. HIT and Telehealth Practical Strategies for HRSA Grantees Workshop Conference is July 21-22 in Marshfield, Wisconsin. The Health Resources and Services Administration’s national meeting, The Healthcare Workforce Crisis: A Summit on the Future of Primary Care in Rural and Urban America, is August 10-12 in Washington, DC. Riding the Wave of Health Care Reform: What are the implications for Minnesota's Safety Net is the theme of this year's Many Faces of Community Health Conference. |
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View online all previous issues of the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care publications. |
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