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JUNE 2009 |
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MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (MDH) AND |
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HEALTH REFORM. The Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Minnesota Department of Health will convene a steering committee and several work groups to help develop a system of per-person care coordination payments to certified health care homes. The steering committee will begin meeting this month and will help select members for the work groups. The agencies are also soliciting nominations for the work groups from the public. For more information on the specific work groups and how to nominate members, please see Health Care Homes - Payment Methodology Development. 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. 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. |
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ORHPC GRANTS AND LOANS |
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Clinical Dental Innovation 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 Loan Forgiveness Programs for health professionals will be online July 1 or contact Amy Vallery at amy.vallery@state.mn.us or (651) 201-3870. The Office of Rural Health and Primary Care is recruiting volunteers who have experience in health care and/or grant making to objectively review grant proposals. If you are interested, please 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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OTHER GRANTS AND LOANS |
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Applications are due June 22 for Office of Rural Health Policy Public Access Defibrillation Demonstration Projects. June 29 is the deadline for the Maternal Child Health Bureau- Epilepsy and Telehealth project to demonstrate how existing telehealth programs and networks and sites can improve access to health care for children and youth with epilepsy, and their families, living in in rural areas. Applications are due July 7 for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Local Funding Partnerships to address community health needs through matching grants for innovative projects. The application deadline for the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service 2009 Faculty Loan Repayment Program was extended to July 7. Information is online or call (800) 221-9393.
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ORHPC RESOURCES |
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When Minnesota Public Radio reported that there are fewer family physicians in Bemidji now than five years ago, the article referred to loan forgiveness programs. Information on Office of Rural Health and Primary Care administered loan forgiveness programs is online or contact Amy Vallery at amy.vallery@state.mn.us The Midwestern Office of The Council of State Governments published an article on state efforts on improving access to health care in Midwest's rural areas (PDF:4pgs/375KB), using data from the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (ORHPC). More data on Minnesota health professionals is on the ORHPC Web site or contact Jay Fonkert at jay.fonkert@state.mn.us or (651) 201-3846. The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) has received additional resources through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and will be offering more loan repayment opportunities for health care providers. If your site is located in a Health Professional Shortage Area, you may be eligible to apply for recruitment assistance from the NHSC. Primary care physicians (family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology), nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certifed nurse midwives, dentists and dental hygienists, and mental or behavioral health providers are eligible to apply for NHSC loan repayment. Information on clinic and provider eligibility is online at NHSC or contact Deb Jahnke at debra.jahnke@state.mn.us or (651) 201-3845. Participating clinics and providers must be located in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). HPSAs are federal designations to identify areas of greatest need, so that limited resources can be prioritized and directed to the people in those areas. The Office of Rural Health and Primary Care analyzes areas throughout Minnesota to determine shortage areas of primary care, dental or mental health providers. HPSA information is online or contact Lee Schutz at leona.schutz@state.mn.us or (651) 201-3860. Last month Gov. Pawlenty signed Emergency Medical Trauma Transport Modifications into the EMS trauma transport requirements with an effective date of July 1, 2010. More information is in the May 14 issue of Minnesota Statewide Trauma System's e-trauma Update. Subscribe online. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported: "The State of Minnesota is perhaps the most aggressive in promoting the adoption of standards-based electronic health records to support statewide electronic health information infrastructure. Minnesota has done this through a combination of legislative mandates and grants and loans programs." Although all funds have been awarded in the e-Health Grant Program and Electronic Health Record Loan Program, background information is online or contact Anne Schloegel at anne.schloegel@state.mn.us or (651) 201-3850. The Minnesota Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Advisory Committee met last month and discussed health reform and electronic health record implementation in Minnesota, along with an update on Stratis Health's rural activity. Flex coordinator Judy Bergh visited sites in Cass Lake and International Falls in May and will be in Litchfield, Paynesville and Wabasha in June. The Flex Program was created to improve access and quality and relieve some of the financial pressures on rural hospitals and emergency medical services. Flex information and committee meeting minutes are online or contact Judy Bergh at judith.bergh@state.mn.us or (651) 201-3843. Congratulations to Jill Myers and Kristen Tharaldson of the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care! Jill is one of 10 people selected to participate in the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health Leadership Institute. Kristen was elected secretary of the Northern Lights Chapter of the Society of Government Meeting Professionals. The Rural Health Advisory Committee, a statewide forum for rural health issues, is one of the projects that Jill and Kristen work on together at ORHPC. Craig Baarson, Mary Ann Radigan, Kristen Tharaldson and Amy Vallery joined other Minnesota Department of Health colleagues to work the H1N1 flu hotline. |
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SNAPSHOT |
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MOST RURAL PHYSICIANS HAVE PRIMARY CARE SPECIALTIESThe specialty makeup of Minnesota’s physician workforce varies widely between rural and more urban areas. Seventy-two percent of physicians in the state’s 46 most rural counties practice in primary care specialties. Less than half of physicians in 21 metropolitan statistical area counties practice in primary care. Primary care includes family medicine, general internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology. Nearly 40 percent of physicians in metropolitan areas practice in non-medical specialties such as radiology, emergency medicine and psychiatry.
Metropolitan areas include 21 counties surrounding urban centers of at least 50,000 population. Micropolitan areas include 20 counties centered on cities of at least 10,000 population. The remaining 46 Minnesota counties are considered rural. Information on Minnesota’s health care workforce is collected through surveys professionals voluntarily complete when renewing their licenses. More information is on the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care workforce site or contact Jay Fonkert at jay.fonkert@state.mn.us or (651) 201-3846. |
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OPPORTUNITIES |
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The Advisory Committee of the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library is seeking one member. The Board of Dietetics and Nutrition Practice is looking for two members: one licensed dietitian and one licensed nutritionist, each with three years of practice. The Governor's Interagency Coordinating Council on Early Childhood Intervention is recruiting one physician, one parent of a child with a disability under age 7 and one Indian Health Services representative. The Subcommittee on Children's Mental Health is seeking one parent of a child with emotional disturbances. Complete information is in the May Open Appointments on the Secretary of State Web site. Students in grades 8-10 engage in hands-on experiences to show them what they can do with their science education at the University on the Prairie August 4-6. Applications are online. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services invites Rural Health Clinics and Critical Access Hospitals to participate in the Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative (PSPC 2.0). The Participation Package and Team Organization Information Form is now online.
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NEWS OF OUR PARTNERS |
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Huda Farah, Lucinda Jesson and Michael Spilane were elected to the Board of Directors of Stratis Health. Farah is a researcher in public health and early childhood education. Jesson is an associate professor of law at Hamline University School of Law and director of its new Health Law Institute. Spilane is co-head of the Division of Geriatrics in the HealthPartners Medical Group, and is head of the Division of Geriatrics in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Mayo Clinic and Grameen Healthcare are implementing a demonstration project in Bangladesh to benefit global, underserved populations. It will also offer experience in lower cost health care delivery models that could be applied in the United States. Sue Severson of Stratis Health participated in Modern Healthcare's webinar, Rural hospitals: Enough stimulus for IT? The free recorded Webinar is online. Christopher Chute, M.D., professor of Medical Informatics at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine was named to be a member of the National Health Information Technology Standards Committee. Connie Delaney, R.N., dean of the University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing, was appointed to the National Health Information Technology Policy Committee. More information is on the Health Information Technology home page. Health Resources and Services Administration's Office of Rural Health Policy awarded Rural Health Outreach Grants to three Minnesota locations. The Arrowhead Health Alliance counties of Carlton, Cook, Lake and Koochiching are collaborating on universal home visiting for families at risk. Northern Dental Access Center in Bemidji, a six-month-old community access clinic operated by Mississippi Headwaters Area Dental Health Center, will use the grant to serve residents with low incomes in rural, north central Minnesota. The Pediatric Dentistry Residency Project at Rice Regional Dental Clinic will increase access to dental care for underserved children in the 17-country area of west central and southwest Minnesota. The University of Minnesota Medical School was rated among the top five schools in rural medicine by U.S. News & World Report. The Duluth Campus of the University of Minnesota Medical School reports that 47 percent of alumni practice in communities smaller than 20,000 people. | ||
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NOW READ THIS |
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Minnesota became the first state to pass legislation to create a training option for a mid-level dental health practitioner to be licensed, with the goal of providing more basic services to underserved rural populations in the state. Read the legislation. Rural Minnesota clinics, hospitals struggle for new doctors (log in may be required). A growing shortage of rural physicians is taking its toll, and patients are feeling the crunch: Longer waits for non-emergency appointments, more care delegated to mid-level practitioners, primary care physicians unable to take on new patients. Albert Lea takes its health makeover to the next level: Participation. Can telepharmacy reduce rural critical access drug mistakes? Yes, according to this HealthLeaders article. Newly seated Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released Hard Times in the Heartland: Health Care in Rural America. Newly released Mental Health: Overlooked and Disregarded in Rural America (PDF:5 pgs/143KB) is part of a series examining health care issues in rural America by the Center for Rural Affairs. Rural Health Research & Policy Centers released The Key Role of Sole Community Pharmacists in Their Local Healthcare Delivery Systems (PDF: 42KB/4pgs) and Satisfaction with Practice and Decision to Relocate: An Examination of Rural Physicians (PDF: 15 pgs/399KB). The Iowa Independent reports on the The Access Project study (PDF: 16pgs/927KB) that the cost of dental care represents more of a financial burden on farm families and individuals than previously thought. The University of Maryland Dental School is the first U.S. dental school to introduce “Second Life” education. Second Life is a three-dimensional modeling software that students use to “experience” lessons from best dental hygiene practices to infection control and anatomy. The software allows students to control an avatar, a second life figure of themselves, by mouse and keyboard or voice-controlled headsets. The Department of Veterans Affairs has provided $215 million in competitive funding to improve services specifically designed for veterans in rural areas.
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SAVE THE DATE |
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Nonprofits Assistance Fund is offering financial management workshops in June and July. June 1 is the final day to register for the Iron Range Resources Regional Health Care Forum in Mt. Iron on June 5. Contact Angie LaFlamme at (218) 727-9390, ext 222 or alaflamme@ruralcenter.org. The Seventh Annual Symposium on Small Towns "Communities 2050: Building a Livable, Renewable and Responsible Future!" is June 2-3 at the University of Minnesota Morris. The Fifth International Rural Nurse Conference is June 4-5 in Boise, Idaho. A "Rural Stroke Systems of Care" conference call for Critical Access and rural hospitals is June 11 at noon. The Minnesota Critical Access Hospital and Rural Health Conference is June 15-16 in Duluth. The Minnesota e-Health Summit 2009 is June 25-26 in Brooklyn Park. 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. 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. |
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View online all previous issues of the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care publications. |
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