Handouts and Agenda from the 2007 Conference
Rural Clinical Conference
July 26-28, 2007;
Hyatt Regency Crown Center,
Kansas City, MO
Agenda
Download a Printable PDF of the Agenda
Theme: "Rural Realities: Insights and Practices in Diverse Communities"
Goal/Purpose Statement: The goal of the 2007 National Rural Health Clinical Conference, Rural Realities, is to provide insights and practices addressing many of the access, quality and patient safety issues confronted by our health professionals practicing in rural communities. This year’s conference is also designed to afford rural clinicians, administrators, pharmacists, rural health professionals and allied health personnel an opportunity to share effective practices, policies, and information in an atmosphere that encourages active adult learning and peer support.
FRIDAY, JULY 27th:
7:30-8:30
Breakfast/ Networking Roundtables
Join us for three different networking opportunities over breakfast! Attendees can participate in a roundtable specifically for Registered Nurses, Physician Assistants and Pharmacists.
8:30-9:00
Welcome
Ray Christensen, MD, Chair, NRHA Clinical Constituency Group and Alan Morgan, NRHA CEO will welcome attendees and open the 2007 NRHA Annual Clinical Conference.
9:00-9:45
Keynote Speaker:
John Wheat, MD, University of Alabama School of Medicine; Co-Chair Rural Medical Educators Interest Group, NRHA
Download the Handouts for Dr. Wheat's Presentation
Recruiting and Educating Physicians for Rural Practices: An Alabama Approach
This Discussion will highlight various principles underpinning successful approaches to recruiting and educating rural physicians, including community participation, grow your own, predictors of rural practice, modified curriculum, data-based development, institutional commitment, pipelining, gaining constituency support, serving the underserved, and rural medicine and society.
9:45-10:30
Mary Guyot, RN, Senior Consultant, Stroudwater Associates.
Download Mary Guyot's Handouts for this Session
Medication Safety - When All Systems Are Not Go
Medication errors are rooted in system flaws that permit the error to occur. Breakdowns in these key elements or systems increase the risk for an error to occur, regardless of the intelligence, competency and vigilance of health care practitioners. The presentation will offer some high leverage strategies for addressing these system flaws, thus decreasing the potential for medication errors.
10:30-11:00
Break
11:00-11:45
Steven Kirkhorn, MD, MPH, Medical Director National Farm Medicine Center and Occupational Health, Marshfield, Wisconsin
Handouts for Dr. Kirkhorn's Presentation
Agricultural Infectious Diseases
The latest information on agricultural infectious diseases will be provided at this session along with the impact these diseases have on rural communities and rural clinicians.
12:00-1:00
Lunch
Carl Leukefeld, D.S.W., Chair of the Department of Behavioral Science and Director of the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, University of Kentucky, College of Medicine
Rural Substance Abuse Treatment: Recognition and Interventions
This presentation will include a discussion on assessment approaches that a practitioner can use when dealing with substance abusers and will share the latest information on rural therapy as recently developed through NIH funding. The rural therapy uses Structured Stories and Therapeutic Storytelling, and was developed with rural practitioners, recovering substance abusers and active users through focus groups. Results indicated that stories are "at the core" of many rural individuals, and stories are used to give and receive important information as part of the culture.
1:00-2:00
J. Allan Boutwell, PA-C, Physician Assistant and Rural Health Chair of the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants
Please Download the Following 4 Handouts for This Session
Handout-1
Handout-2
Handout-3
Handout-4
Physician Assistants and Scope of Practice
The purpose of this discussion is to highlight ways for best utilizing Physician Assistants in rural communities. Attendees can expect to hear information on how clinicians can best work with physician assistants to provide quality care along with specific examples of this from experiences out of Texas.
2:00 – 3:00
Concurrent Sessions (Choose from A or B)
A) Paul Moore, D.Ph, NRHA President-Elect
Handouts for Dr. Moore's Presentation Pt. 1
Handouts for Dr. Moore's Presentation Pt. 2
Medication Safety: Findings from the Field - Interim Steps for Small Hospitals?
In this session, the presenters will take a candid look at the challenges confronting small, rural hospitals in embracing the medication management recommendations offered by such organizations as IOM, ISMP, IHI and the Joint Commission with the goal of offering achievable, interim steps to improved quality and safety in medication management.
B) Candace Kugel, CNRP, CNM, MS, Director of Performance Improvement for the Migrant Clinicians Network, Inc.
Handouts for Candace Kugel's Presentation
Part 1: Changing Patient Populations, US Policies and the Implications for the Health and Safety of Immigrant Workers—The Changing Face of Migration (Presentation sponsored by the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Resources & Services Administration)
The Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN) is providing this training, which will address major trends in immigration to the US, including current US immigration policies and implications for human rights and the right to healthcare. In addition, this session will address the public health consequences and implications to healthcare providers and immigrant workers if all clinicians (including those practicing in rural areas) are required to obtain proof of citizenship before treating patients.
3:00 – 3:30
Break
3:30 – 4:30
Concurrent Sessions (Choose from A or B)
A) Dr. Susan E. Mooney, VA National Quality Scholars Fellow and Part-Time Staff Physician for Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Lebanon, New Hampshire
Download Dr. Mooney's Handouts for this Presentation
Rural Hospitals and OB Services
Providing safe obstetrical services is vital in any community, but even more so in rural areas. This session serves as an opportunity to hear from a physician providing OB services and will include a discussion on how to run a safe OB clinic in a small rural hospital.
B) Candace Kugel, CNRP, CNM, MS, Director of Performance Improvement for the Migrant Clinicians Network, Inc.
Handouts for Candace Kugel's Presentation
Part 2: Changing Patient Populations, US Policies and the Implications for the Health and Safety of Immigrant Workers—The Foreign-born Worker in the Current Social and Political Environment (Presentation sponsored by the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Resources & Services Administration)
This session builds on Part 1: The Changing Faces of Migration and continues the focus on the impact of a highly mobile, culturally and linguistically diverse population on standing rural communities.
5:00-6:00
Networking Reception
SATURDAY, JULY 28, 2007
8:00-9:00
Breakfast/Networking Roundtables
This hour serves as another networking opportunity for attendees to participate in the following discussions over breakfast: 1) Medicare Part D, 2) Best Clinical Practices and 3) Idea sharing-best lessons learned from the 2nd Annual Clinical Conference.
9:00-9:45
Arthur Fournier, MD, Associate Director for Community Health, University of Miami School of Medicine, presentation hosted by the Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of HIV/AIDS Policy
Download Dr. Fournier's Handouts for the Presentation Here
Emerging Issues & Approaches for Rural HIV/AIDS Care
There are currently several approaches in place for addressing HIV/AIDS in rural areas. This session will provide an opportunity to hear what these approaches are and how to best address the needs of HIV/AIDS patients living in rural America.
9:45-10:30
Stephen Waldhoff, Chief Administrative Officer, The Albert Lea Medical Center-Mayo Health System, Minnesota
Download Steven Waldhoff's Handouts for this Presentation
Emerging Issue: The MinuteClinic
Health care is moving to local supermarkets, department stores and drugstores. With the sudden increase of the "MinuteClinic" popping up around Minnesota, what will this do to the traditional form of health care? This new mini clinic concept offers convenience, low-cost, no-appointment necessary medical care. Each MinuteClinic is staffed by a team of qualified health care professionals. Will this be the new model of medical efficiency? How do you compete with this new form of care and service? Mr. Waldhoff will provide a concept overview, marketplace assessment, and some operational insights.
10:30-11:00
Break
11:00-noon
Paul D. Moore, D.Ph., NRHA President-Elect
Maggie Elehwany, J.D., NRHA VP of Government Affairs and Policy
Download the Handouts for this Presentation Here
Supporting Documents
Update on Medicare Part D and the Latest from Capitol Hill
As the Medicare Part D benefit continues to unfold, rural Americans continue to be impacted by the transition. At this session, Dr. Moore will provide current information on the implementation of the Prescription Drug Benefit program, how the benefit is working in rural communities, what the current concerns are, possible solutions and what to expect next. Attention will be focused on access to pharmaceutical services in rural communities. In addition, Maggie Elehwany will provide the latest news from Capitol Hill and updates on current regulations.
12:00 Noon
Adjourn
Sponsor: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources & Services Administration, U. S. Department of Health & Human Services
Don't miss the NRHA Quality and Clinical Conference July 15-17 in San Diego, Calif. Designed for professionals practicing on the frontlines in rural health care, this interactive conference will provide tools, research and collaborative opportunities to improve quality of care in rural hospitals and integrate population health concerns into clinical practice, such as HIV/AIDS clinical care, mental health care and medication safety.
"Domestic and Sexual Violence in Rural Settings," a four-part teleconference/webinar series, will be available in May. The series will promote the importance of domestic violence prevention strategies within the health care setting, and will raise the visibility of domestic violence as a public health issue.
May 2, 2008 - Senate and House negotiators announced today that they have reached a comprise on a new Farm Bill. Staff for the Senate and House agriculture committees and for conferees will continue to work on finalizing a few remaining issues and obtaining official budget scoring from the Congressional Budget Office, but the main issues have been agreed to. The completed legislation will have to be approved by both the Senate and House before being sent to the White House. 
A new proposed combined methodology for determining designation as a Health Professional Shortage Area and/or Medically Underserved Population has been released. The NRHA provides this regulatory guide to explain the proposed methodology, to explain some how this could impact rural America, to share our initial intent on comments NRHA offers to HRSA regulators, and to give details on how rural advocates can submit their own comments on the proposed rule. 