Contents:

 

APRIL 2011

 

 

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MDH & ORHPC NEWS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAVE THE DATE for the Minnesota Rural Health Conference June 27-28 in Duluth!

Nominate a Rural Health Hero or Team by May 4

Reserve Lodging by May 27

Register as an sponsor or an exhibitor by May 27

Registration information available soon

 rural health conference logo

HEALTH REFORM
Who Pays? Taking the Maze Out of Funding is a Health Care Homes and Minnesota Children and Youth with Special Health Needs sponsored training on funding sources, programs and resources to improve access to care. Registration closes May 2 for this free training on May 6, 8:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in St. Paul.

The May 5 Health Care Homes Outcomes Measurement Work Group meeting has been rescheduled for April 22.

Submit recommendations on the addition, removal or modification of standardized quality measures for health care providers to the Minnesota Department of Health by June 1.

HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Understanding the 2011 Electronic Prescribing Mandate updated in March.

Attestation for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program begins April 18.

CMS Adds, Updates FAQs on Meaningful Use Incentive Program.

HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE SNAPSHOT

Direct care workers provide an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the paid hands-on long term care and personal assistance in the United States.1 Home health aides and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) currently rank second and third among occupations in greatest demand in Minnesota, according to Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development (DEED). DEED also estimates employment for personal care/home care aides to be well above average.

direct care workforce bar graph
1PHI Facts Who Are Direct Care Workers? Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute. February 2011 Update.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (estimates do not include self-employed workers)

For more information and data on Minnesota's health workforce, visit the ORHPC Health Care Workforce Analysis Program site or contact Angie Sechler at angie.sechler@state.mn.us or 651-201-3862.
 

STAFF NEWS
Chris Ballard, Cirrie Byrnes, Paul Jansen, Mark Schoenbaum and Tim Held participated with council members in the State Trauma Advisory Council meeting.

Debra Jahnke, Mary Ann Radigan and Leona Schutz toured the West Side Community Health Services clinic at the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul. West Side received a Community Clinic Grant to improve the clinic's lab.

Leslie Nordgren attended two events at Normandale Community College last weekend: a Community Forum and celebration for the first graduating class of Advanced Dental Therapists, and the Dental Hygiene Educators Spring Conference, where she discussed the dental hygiene workforce study.

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ORHPC GRANTS AND LOANS

 

Electronic Health Record loan applications are due April 1.

Minnesota Primary Care Loan Funds are available.

Employer applications for Summer Health Care Intern Program are due April 18.

Be an ORHPC grant reviewer. 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 with your name, profession, place of employment and contact information.

 

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OTHER GRANTS AND LOANS

Distance Learning & Telemedicine Program applications are due April 25. (PDF: 3MB/99pgs)

Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health Community Partners applications to support community-based organizations in proven, effective research-to-practice, translation, education, outreach and prevention-intervention activities are due May 2.

Community Connect Grant Program applications to provide unserved areas with broadband for economic growth and educational, health care and public safety services are due May 3.

 

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OPPORTUNITIES

Openings are on the Secretary of State website for the:
  • Board of Dietetics and Nutrition Practice
  • Rehabilitation Review Panel
  • Subcommittee on Children's Mental Health.

Stratis Health is developing a Culture Care Connection Speakers Listing. Complete the online application to indicate interest in providing education to Minnesota health care organizations on your topic of cultural knowledge and expertise.

Abstracts for Clinical Track Sessions at the Many Faces of Community Health Sixth Annual Conference (October 27-28, Minneapolis) are being accepted until April 15.

Nominations are due April 15 for three federal committees:
  • Advisory Committee on Trailing in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry
  • Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Linkages
  • Council on Graduate Medical Education.

Increase the number of registered organ and tissue donors. Join the 54 Minnesota hospitals already participating in the Donate Life Minnesota Hospital Campaign.

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NEWS OF OUR PARTNERS

 

Brad McDonnel, D.D.S., has been named grand marshal of this year's Cinco de Mayo parade. Dr. McDonnel began volunteering at West Side Community Health Services in 1978 and is now the dental director.

Stratis Health is celebrating 40 years as an independent, nonprofit quality improvement organization.

Northland Community & Technical College received a Health Care Simulation Training Grant to purchase a manikin for paramedic, nursing and respiratory therapy students.

The Center for Rural Health is teaming with the National Organization of States Offices of Rural Health to implement CATS, a web-based performance measure tracking tool. ORHPC has been using CATS since January 2010 to track and demonstrate the impact of our programs.
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NOW READ THIS

 

Health Care Reform  
  • The Medical Home: Health Care Access and Impact for Children and Youth
  • Database Tracks State Healthcare Reform Initiatives
  • Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen. Thune (R-SD) introduced Fostering Independence Through Technology Act of 2011, which would make home health care providers in rural areas eligible to receive Medicare payments for remote monitoring of patients.
   • Expanded Medicaid a lifesaver for rural poor in Minnesota

Primary Care
  • More Senior Med Students Match to Primary Care Residencies
  • Community health center populations will double in 5 years

Hospital
  • Protect Access to Rural Hospitals
  • Which Payment Year Should Hospitals Attest to Meaningful Use?
  • Stratis Health launches project RED to reduce preventable readmissions for Minnesota rural hospitals

Workforce 
  • Nurse Staffing and Rural Hospital Performance Improvement
  • Job seekers must change search habits to get in the health IT game
  • IT certifications increasingly important to hiring process
  • Too few nurses, greater death risk, Mayo finds

HIT
  • The Meaningful Yoose Rap Music Video from the American College of Medical Informatimusicology raps about what eligible providers have to do to receive incentive payments!
  • Health care embraces the iPad: Doctors jump on new technology
  • CMS has paid out $37.6M in EHR incentives so far
  • EHR and the solo primary care physician
  • New survey shows EHRs benefit even small providers

Tools/Resources
  • Veterans Administration National Caregiver Support online or call 855-260-3274.
  • HRSA in Your State is a new health workforce and population data resource from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Search by state or county.
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SAVE THE DATE

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is holding educational calls for eligible providers on April 1 and hospitals on April 6.

Minnesota Healthcare Quality Professionals is hosting monthly webinars.

Community Paramedicine Insights Forum webinar is third Monday of each month at 2 p.m.

Rural Palliative Care Networking Group is meeting April 5, 9-11 a.m. in Red Wing and by conference call.

Bridging the Transition to Life after Cancer Treatment is April 29-30 in Bloomington.

Beyond Bingo: Training Interdisciplinary Staff to Enhance Activities for Nursing Home Residents with Dementia is a 2011 Center on Aging Distinguished Lecture, 4-5 p.m., April 13 in Minneapolis.

National Cooperative of Health Networks Conference is April 17-20 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Meaningful Use Boot Camp—Understanding the EHR Incentive Final Rule is April 19 (for clinics) and April 20 (for hospitals) in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Palliative Care: Opportunities and Successes in Rural Minnesota webinar is 12-1 p.m. April 29. Contact Judy Neppel at jneppel@umn.edu.

Minnesota Stroke Conference is June 13 in St. Paul.

Minnesota e-Health Summit is June 15-16 in Brooklyn Park.

Minnesota Rural Health Conference is June 27-28 in Duluth.

 

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View online all previous issues of the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care publications.

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Minnesota Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
P. O. Box 64882
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0882
Phone 651-201-3838
Toll free in Minnesota 800-366-5424
Fax: 651-201-3830
TDD: 651-201-5797
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/orhpc/index.html

Email Mary Ann Radigan at maryann.radigan@state.mn.us or call 651-201-3855 with comments.

Our mission
to promote access to quality health care for rural and underserved urban Minnesotans. From our unique position within state government, we work as partners with communities, providers, policymakers and other organizations. Together, we develop innovative approaches and tailor our tools and resources to the diverse populations we serve.