31st Annual Conference Overview
New Orleans, Louisiana
May 7-10, 2008
The goal of this year's program is to educate attendees in the following areas: health professions (recruitment and retention), emerging health technology and telemedicine, best practices in rural clinical practice, health care policy and its effect on rural providers, health care system change, management, rural health research, and rural health disaster planning. Participants will be provided information and instruction on a variety of tools that are necessary to develop model and innovative programs and practices. The conference will also provide information and instruction on a variety of subjects to interest all rural health practitioners, hospital administrators, clinic directors, state and federal rural health workers, academics, community members, and others interested in rural health care. Participants will gain new perspectives on old issues and valuable information on new challenges.
Download the brochure here.
Registration now open! Be sure to reserve your room now!
For a list of Annual Conference exhibitors, click here.
Participate in the Conference
The conference kicks off at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, with an opening reception at the Sheraton New Orleans. Educational sessions will continue until 11 am Saturday, May 10. See below for a full conference schedule.
Conference Registration
Registration for the conference is now $649 for members, or $849 for non-members (includes a 1-year membership in the NRHA).
Hotel Information
The conference will be held at the Sheraton New Orleans, located at 500 Canal Street, in the heart of New Orleans and just steps from the French Quarter! The NRHA room block is now sold out, but the hotel still has rooms available during the conference time for $209 per night.
Click here to reserve your room now!
Continuing Education
This conference has received continuing education credits from the following organizations:
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
- National Association of Social Workers - Louisiana Chapter
- American College of Healthcare Executives
- The National Commission for Health Education Credentialing
- Louisiana Nurses Association (pending)
For more information about CE and CME credits for this conference, please click here.
Pre-Conference Opportunities
Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
(Additional fee - $50)
Jennell Prentice, 3RNet Board of Directors and J-1 Program Manager, Office of Community and Rural Health
Fred Moskol, Founding member and first 3RNet Executive Director, Past President of NRHA
Tim Skinner, 3RNet Executive Director
3RNet Recruitment and Retention (R&R) Workshop
3RNET NRHA Workshop 2008 handoutsThe workshop is a presentation and interactive program designed for those who want to increase their knowledge of recruitment and retention for rural and underserved communities.
The comprehensive workshop will include information on planning, community development, needs assessment, candidate criteria, the recruitment/retention plan, sourcing, screening, interviewing, the offer, relocation and retention. The “3RNet method” is effective for both US and foreign medical graduates.
Come prepared to ask questions, share your successes and then return home with practical knowledge your community’s needs.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 1:00 - 5:00 pm
(Additional fee - $50)
Angela Broderick, MA, CAE, former VP Marketing and Membership, NRHA
Mission-Centered Marketing
Learn socially-responsible approaches to achieving your organization's mission profitably. Health care and non-profit organizations have a purpose larger than the bottom line; yet everyday our organizations are coming under financial pressures that demand we think like savvy marketers. We'll review the current business best-sellers and identify what is a must, what is a myth, and what can be tweaked to work in a non-profit or healthcare setting. Develop a better sense of how to market yourself, your team and your community. Take away dozens of inexpensive, easy-to-implement ideas to increase exposure, usage and dollars for your programs.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 7:00 am - 4:30 pm
(Additional fee - $50)
Louisiana Experience: Hurricane Katrina Tour and Volunteer Activity - "America's Greatest Catastrophe"
Experience an eyewitness account of the events surrounding the most devastating natural disaster on American soil with a tour and history of the original city, French Quarter, the "breached" levees and the resulting devastation in neighborhoods such as Lakeview, Gentilly, New Orleans East, St. Bernard and the Ninth Ward. After the tour, you'll have an opportunity to continue with a volunteer opportunity in the St. Bernard parish, where you'll help rebuild resident's homes! Visit http://www.stbernardproject.org/ to learn more about this volunteer opportunity!
Conference Schedule
Handouts for the Annual Conference are now online! Please note that paper handouts will NOT be provided at the conference. To download and print your own handouts for the conference, please click on the session title. For more information about sessions, workshops or the Louisiana Experience, click here to download the brochure.
Tuesday, May 6
Registration opens at 7 a.m.
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Rural Medical Educators Conference
5:30 – 7 p.m.
Rural Medical Educators Reception
Wednesday, May 7
Registration opens at 7 a.m.
7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Louisiana Experience tour and volunteer activity
1 – 5 p.m.
Recruitment and Retention Workshop
1 – 5 p.m.
Mission-Centered Marketing Workshop
6 – 8 p.m.
Opening reception
Thursday, May 8
Registration opens at 7 a.m.
8 - 8:30 a.m.
31st Annual Conference overview and orientation
8:30 - 9:15 a.m.
Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H., United States Surgeon General
9:15 - 10:30 a.m.
Keynote address: Stuart Altman, dean of The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University
10:30 - 11 a.m.
Break in Exhibit Hall
11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Concurrent educational sessions
1A - Implementing Effective Interventions for Improved Asthma Outcomes*
1B - Cost Reporting for Community Health Centers and FQHC Look-a-Likes
1C - The FLEX program at 10 Years: Lessons Learned and Future Directions
1D - Issues Facing Small Independent Pharmacies**
1E - Obesity and Active Living in Rural Communities
1F - Vermont's Northeast Palliative Care Initiative: Collaborating to Bring a Palliative Care Service to the Rural Community
1G - The Rural Public Health Textbook
1H - The Journal of Rural Health - Workshop for Young Writers
1I - Research Symposium: Impediments to Care
- Poster Tour
12:15 - 2:15 p.m.
Lunch in Exhibit Hall
2:15 - 3:30 p.m.
Concurrent plenary sessions
- K. Joanne McGlown, R.N., Ph.D., FACHE, CEO, KJM Consulting
- Glenn Steele, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO, Geisinger Health System
- Larry H. Hollier, M.D., dean, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine
3:30 - 4:15 p.m.
Break in Exhibit Hall
4:15 - 5:30 p.m.
Concurrent educational sessions
2A - Rural Health Care Ethics: Practical Issues Utilizing Cases
2B - Rural Telemedicine and Industrial Health
2C - Six Frontier Hospitals and their Communities
2D - Rural Health Policy: Framing Your Message and Making Research Useful
2E - Disaster Preparedness for the Whole Continuum of Care
2F - Developing and Supporting Local Rural Health Quality Teams
2G - An Update from the Health Resources and Services Administration
2H - Empowerment Evaluation: An Innovative Approach to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence to Improve the Health of Rural Women
2I - Research Symposium: Rural Populations with Special Needs
- Poster Tour
5:45 pm - 6:45 pm
Vinsaya Yoga
7 - 8 pm..
President's reception
Friday, May 9
Registration opens at 7 a.m.
7 - 8:30 a.m.
Breakfast in Exhibit Hall
8:30 - 9:45 a.m.
Reilly Keynote Address: Eric Baumgartner, M.D., MPH, policy and program planning specialist, Louisiana Public Health Institute
9:45 - 10:15 a.m.
Break in Exhibit Hall
10:15 - 11:30 a.m.
Concurrent educational sessions
3A - Practical Approaches to the Integration of Mental Health and Primary Care Services for Rural Providers
3B - Frontier Extended Stay Clinic Demonstration
3C - Federal Hospital Update
3D - Leadership and Its Role in Improving Quality and Patient Safety
3E - Bioterrorism: All-Hazards Preparedness: Is Rural America Ready?
3F - Meeting the Needs of Rural Healthcare Through Critical Access, Distance Learning, and Telemedicine Initiatives
3G - State Health Workforce Research and Planning
3H - Do's and Don'ts for Rural Hospitals Undertaking Major Facility Projects
3I - Research Symposium: Rural Workforce
- Poster Tour
11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Awards lunch
12:45 - 2 p.m.
Concurrent educational sessions
- Emergent Diseases
- Panel Presentation on Domestic Violence
- The Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program: Year 3
- Rural Medicare Update
- Coding for Physician Services: Understanding Key Documentation Issues
- Recruitment and Retention: Success Factors in Understanding Workforce Planning
- Disaster Preparedness for the Whole Continuum of Care
- Graphic Design 101: Tips for Creating In-House Marketing Pieces
- Research Symposium: Insurance and Access Barriers
- Poster Tour
2 - 3 p.m.
Constituency Group (CG) meetings
(Questions about CGs? Click here to visit the NRHA CG Web page, or call 816-756-3140 to talk to our membership department.)
3 - 4:15 p.m.
Concurrent educational sessions
- Have You Missed the Milestone? Collaborating for Best Practices in Early Childhood Education
- Use of County Specific Data for Rural Health Planning
- Improving Accountability for Tax-Exempt Status
- Access to Oral Health Care in Rural America
- A Home-Health Technology Project in Rural Kentucky: An Update
- Rural Chronic Disease Management and Quality
- Emerging Issue
- Emerging Issue
- Research Symposium: Rural Providers
- Poster Tour
4:15 - 5 p.m.
Poster Exhibition
Saturday, May 10
Registration opens at 7 a.m.
8:15 - 9:30 a.m.
Washington update breakfast
9:30 - 9:45 a.m.
Break
9:45 - 11 a.m.
Concurrent educational sessions
- State Health Workforce Research and Planning
- Using the AHRQ Hospital Survey on Patient Safety and Culture to Prioritize and Evaluate Patient Safety Initiatives in Rural Hospitals
- Download materials for this session.
- Download more materials for this session.
- Download more materials for this session.
- Download materials for this session.
- National Advisory Committee on Rural HHS, Key Findings from the 2007 Report to the Secretary
- Frontier Geographic Health Professional Shortage Areas
- Mom and Pop are So Frail: Supporting Access to the Full Continuum of Long Term Care
- Rural Trauma
- CROC: Taking a Bite Out of Early Childhood Caries on the Eastern Shore of Maryland
- Veterans Health Administration Rural Outreach Clinic
11 a.m.
Conference adjourns
* This session has been awarded Evidence-Based CME credit by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Attendees will receive double credit hours for attending this session.
** This session was not awarded CME credits by the AAFP.
