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NOVEMBER 2012 |
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NOVEMBER 2012 |
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MDH & ORHPC NEWS |
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HEALTH REFORM The Meeker-McLeod-Sibley Community Leadership Team is hosting a Healthy Community Forum on November 14 in Hutchinson. Attendees will learn about reducing health care costs, sustainable solutions and local Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) efforts. Commissioner of Health Edward Ehlinger is keynote speaker. Pre-registration is required and closes on November 9. For more information, contact Meeker-McLeod-Sibley SHIP Coordinator Mary Bachman at 507-237-4048. RURAL HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE (RHAC) HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the 2014 Clinical Quality Measures (CQMs) technical specifications for the EHR Incentive Programs. It also issued a related tip sheet and implementation guide.
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ORHPC GRANTS AND LOANS |
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Application materials for the Rural Hospital Capital Improvement Grant Program are available on the ORHPC Grants and Loans page. Pre-applications are due December 17 and final applications (if invited) will be due March 18, 2013. Application materials for the Minnesota Loan Forgiveness Program, which supports recruitment and retention of health care professionals in communities experiencing a shortage of primary health care providers, are now available on the ORHPC Loan Forgiveness and Repayment Programs page. Applications due by January 2, 2013. The 2012 Minnesota e-Health Connectivity Grant Program for Health Information Exchange (HIE) is accepting applications on a first-come, first-serve basis. Eligible applicants include community HIE Partners (two or more health organizations collaborating to implement HIE for meaningful use transactions) or pharmacies not able to accept electronic prescriptions. Visit the Minnesota e- Health Connectivity Grant for Health Information Exchange page for more information on this new funding opportunity. Contact Anne Schloegel at anne.schloegel@state.mn.us with questions. Be an ORHPC grant reviewer! Please contact 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 |
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The Minnesota Department of Health’s Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention and Control Unit has released its 2012 Tobacco-Free Communities Request for Proposals. Targeted populations include youth; young adults; populations of low socio-economic status (SES); racial and ethnic populations; the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population; and other at-risk or high risk populations. Applications due November 13. Letters of Intent were due October 22 but are not required. The National Leadership Academy for the Public's Health is accepting applications from teams of leaders in multiple sectors who want to advance their leadership skills and achieve health equity in their community. Selected teams will participate in a retreat, webinars, monthly coaching sessions and leadership assessments from national experts. Applications due November 14. The U.S. Office on Women’s Health has issued a Request for Proposals for activities and events that promote the safety and health of older women (i.e., women over 50). Community-based partnerships and collaborations are strongly encouraged, as are activities that educate health professionals on issues related to older women. Applications due November 15. The E-3 -- Effectiveness, Efficiency and Excellence in Health Care -- Grant Program is accepting applications for projects that focus on medication safety and operating room safety. Applications due December 7. |
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OPPORTUNITIES |
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REACH (Regional Extension Assistance Center for HIT for Minnesota and North Dakota) and the Center for Healthcare Innovation at the College of St. Scholastica will host a Privacy and Security Boot Camp on November 30. Learn how to ensure a safe and secure electronic environment for maintaining patient information, and the valuable privacy and security tools and resources available in the HealthSmart e-Box. Register online or call Joseph Janchar at 218-625-4974. Submit a session proposal for the 2013 Age & Disabilities Odyssey conference to be held June 17-18 in Duluth. The conference is sponsored by the Minnesota Board on Aging and the Minnesota Department of Human Services Aging and Adult Services and Disability Services divisions. Proposals due by December 17. Interested in advancing your knowledge of rural health issues and gaining leadership skills? Consider applying to the Leadership Institute offered by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) and the Heartland Center for Leadership Development. Scholarships are available. Applications due December 10. The Diabetes Training and Technical Assistance Center has posted its popular Health Systems course on the Planned Care Model online. The course is led by instructors from CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and has easy-to-navigate modules, videos, resources, practical guidance and tools. |
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NEWS OF OUR PARTNERS |
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Five Minnesota Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) made the National Rural Health Association's list of the 59 highest-ranked CAHs in the country, based on achievement in either quality, patient perspective or financial performance indicators:
At this year's Many Faces of Community Health conference, Governor Mark Dayton received the 2012 Community Health Center Champion Award (named this year in honor of the late Dorii Gbolo, former CEO of Open Cities Health Center) from the Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers (MNACHC). Also at the conference, Arlene Becker, a dietician at West Side Community Health Services in St. Paul, received the 2012 Bruce Zimmerman Diabetes Award from the Minnesota Diabetes Steering Committee and the MDH Diabetes Program. Congratulations to this year's Community Health Award recipients, honored at the 2012 Community Health Conference in October:
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced in October that $229.4 million was invested in the National Health Service Corps in 2012 to support more doctors and nurses and increase access to primary care. These investments included nearly 4,600 loan repayment and scholarship awards to clinicians and students, and grants to 32 states to support state loan repayment programs. More information about these programs is available on the NHSC website. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development program has awarded major financing to two Minnesota organizations: Prairie Ridge Hospital and Health Services will receive more than $24 million to build a new critical access hospital in Elbow Lake and purchase a clinic in Morris, and Mercy Hospital in Moose Lake will receive $38 million in loans for a major building and renovation project. The Rural Physician Associates Program (RPAP) was held up as a national model "for medical training that has improved rural health outcomes and boosted rural economies" in a post by Robert Bowman, MD, in the Daily Yonder blog. Hats off to three Minnesota hospitals -- two Critical Access Hospitals and one safety-net hospital -- and their staff and communities for producing videos for the 2012 Pink Glove Dance Competition. Check out the inspiring shows put on by Madelia Community Hospital and Clinic, Glencoe Regional Health Services and Regions Hospital! |
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STAFF NEWS |
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Two ORHPC staffers received 2012 MDH Service Awards in October: Lee Schutz received an award for 20 years of service, and Kristen Tharaldson received a 10-year award. Thank you, Lee and Kristen, for all you've done and continue to do! Deb Jahnke, Lee Schutz and Will Wilson attended presentations at Argosy University and the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry in celebration of National Health Service Corps Community Day on October 11, which honored the nearly 10,000 National Health Service Corps clinicians currently treating some 10.4 million people in underserved communities nationwide. For more information on this program contact Deb Jahnke at 651-201-3845 or debra.jahnke@state.mn.us. Kristen Tharaldson participated in "Minnesota's Unfinished Agenda: Moving Health Reform Forward in An Uncertain Environment," an event on October 9 at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs featuring legislators and moderated by Professor Larry Jacobs and Dave Hage of the Star Tribune. Videos of this seven-part series are available on the Health Care Reform: How to Build on the Minnesota Model website at the Humphrey's Center for the Study of Politics and Governance. Tammy Peterson, Chris Ballard and Jo-Ann Champagne conducted the following trauma designation site visits in October: Level III designation site visits to Cambridge Medical Center; Ridgeview Medical Center; Woodwinds Health Campus; St. John's Hospital; St. Joseph's Hospital; Riverwood Healthcare Center, Aitkin; and Level IV designation site visits to Northfield Hospital and Ely-Boomenson Community Hospital. |
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SAVE THE DATE |
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The Rural Multiracial and Multicultural Health Conference will be held December 4-6 in Asheville, NC. The Rural Health Policy Institute will be held February 4-6 in Washington, D.C. The 2013 Age and Disabilities Odyssey Conference will take place June 17-18, 2013 at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC). The 2013 Minnesota Rural Health Conference will be held June 24-25, 2013 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 |
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