CEO Update - The Forum 2012

The Forum 2012 is a two and a half day conference beginning on April 11 that will bring together participants from all over the region. It serves as an essential educational, training, and networking event for all safety net clinics, members of the clinic team, and other interested parties. The Colorado Rural Health Center and ClinicNET have partnered to present The Forum.

The agenda is packed with dozens of speakers on topics from Health Policy to Accountable Care Organizations. Since we advocate on your behalf both at the State and Federal levels, we welcome your attendance at the Health Policy session so that we may exchange information.

If you represent a rural health clinic and attend both Emergency Preparedness sessions, then your clinic may be eligible for additional reimbursement! We look forward to your participation at The Forum 2012!

Event Info:

• Date: April 11-13, 2012
• Registration: click here to register online now!
  *early bird discount has been extended through March 21st!
• Hotel and Location:
• Sheraton Denver West Hotel
  360 Union Blvd. Lakewood, CO 80228
• Booking a Room: make your hotel reservations online or call 888.627.7027 and use group code RHD11A to get the discount - extended through March 26!
• Sponsors and Exhibitors: Download the form online and email the completed form to cr@coruralhealth.org to reserve your space.

Meet Doug Miller, Nurse Practitioner and Nightingale Nominee

Doug Miller, of the Rocky Ford Family Health Center, is a family practice nurse practitioner with his own clinic. He even makes house calls to the Arkansas Valley Community Center, now known as Inspiration- Field. He loves it. He also loves being a medical detective who can nail down a difficult diagnosis.

Miller is nominated for the Nightingale Award, and will be among 17 area nurses so recognized at the Southeastern Colorado Regional Nightingale Nurse Recognition event to be held in Pueblo on March 16 at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center. SECAHEC’s executive director, Matt Guy, will emcee the event. Four nurses will be selected to go on to the state event, culminating in one Nightingale Award. Miller received the Health Excellence Award in 2009 from the Colorado Rural Health Center. Rocky Ford Family Health Center is also a member of CRHC. Read more about Miller here.

2012 Coalition for Physician Enhancement Spring Conference in Denver, CO

Advances in Simulation Technology for Use in Physician Assessment
Presented by The Coalition for Physician Enhancement (CPE)

This conference will examine the rapidly advancing field of simulation technology and its applications in evaluating clinical skills of physicians currently practicing and those returning to practice.

Join us as we learn about state-of-the-art advances in simulation testing for various specialties and explore the challenges of using simulation technology in physician evaluation. Hands-on, small group sessions will allow participants to experience the use of emerging simulator technology. The conference will provide a forum to speak with national experts and explore this important and timely issue.

This conference is designed for those interested in physician clinical competence and those involved in the evaluation and education of physicians who are currently practicing or returning to practice. Professionals working at universities and training programs, as well as hospitals with simulation centers and regional trauma centersm, are sure to gain valuable insights from the conference.

Register online here. For more information, contact Sabrina Bazzo at 858.450.3667 or sabrinabazzo@gmail.com.

The Best in Rural Health Comes to Denver April 17-20

Colleagues and experts from across the country will soon be in your backyard for networking, education and advocacy April 17-20 in Denver for NRHA's 35th Annual Rural Health Conference.

Come early for the annual Rural Medical Educators Conference on April 17. Scholarships are still available.

Denver’s own author and documentary filmmaker T.R. Reid will give the keynote address. Reid wrote the New York Times-best seller, “The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care.”

And don’t miss Kathy Greenlee, U.S. assistant secretary for aging, plus more than 50 innovative, practical and cost-saving sessions addressing workforce, federal policy and programs, disease prevention and treatment, primary care collaborations and much more.

The National Rural Health Association’s federal partners at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Office of Rural Health Policy and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will debrief you on the latest changes impacting rural health care delivery and funding.

Exclusive tracks are planned for:

• policy
• hospital and clinic management
• clinical
• state health resources
• rural education
• rural community

For more information on the largest gathering of rural health pros in the country, click here to register before March 26 and save $100!

Bridging the Divide – Suicide Awareness and Prevention Conference

This year’s Bridging the Divide: Suicide Awareness and Prevention Summit is designed to highlight innovations in suicide prevention, intervention and postvention, and will offer programs and initiatives designed to reach people in all aspects of life – where we live, learn, work and play. The Summit provides the right environment to establish or strengthen relationships with community members, survivors, public health administrators; state, local, policymakers and program managers; interested individuals from academia; and business and nonprofit leaders who work daily to promote mental wellness and suicide prevention regionally and nationally.

• Date: May 18, 2012
• Location: Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO
• Registration: Online

You may direct any registration or housing questions to the Office of Conference Services at 970-491-7501. Program questions may be directed to Julie Gibbs, julie.gibbs@colostate.edu.

Grant Opportunity for Rural Areas

You could be eligible for a grant up to $500,000 to support distance learning and telemedicine services at your organization. The Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is a competitive grant with around 100 awards each year. This grant targets rural areas in our country and funds programs that are interested in implementing distance learning and/ or telemedicine in rural areas to increase access to clinical and/or educational services. The focus is on using the unique capabilities of telecommunications to connect rural areas to each other and to the world, thus overcoming the effects of remoteness and low population density.

Some Distance Learning applications include:

• Real-time educational courses
• Virtual field trips
• Interactions with outside experts
• Mentoring and tutoring of distant students
• Collaborative projects
• Access to remote resources
• Staff development programs

Some Telemedicine applications include:

• Telehomecare
• Telestroke
• Telepsychiatry
• Virtual ICU
• Telepharmacy
• Teledentistry

TECHFunds Resource Center and Solutionz Conferencing Grant Program Services have partnered together to assist organizations like yours with applying for and securing grant funding to support your distance learning and telemedicine needs, providing as much or as little assistance as needed, including grantwriting services.

To obtain additional information about the DLT grant program you can visit their website or contact Irene Alvarez directly at Irene@techfundsresourcecenter.com.