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Category Archives: Health

PubHub Alert (6.22.12)

 Poll: Sick in America
National Public Radio

Compares the experiences with and views of healthcare costs and quality (including during hospitalization) and their contributing factors among Americans with a serious illness, medical condition, injury, or disability with those of the general public.

Published: May 2012
Funder(s): Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Subject(s): Health; Health, Healthcare Access/Reform; Aging

Posted on Jun 29, 2012

PubHub Alert (6.22.12)

How Is the Affordable Care Act Leading to Changes in Medicaid Today? State Adoption of Five New Options
Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured

Examines state takeup of five Medicaid options under federal healthcare reform, including early expansion of coverage, funding to upgrade eligibility systems and disease prevention, health homes for the chronically ill, and integration of dual eligibles.

Published: May 2012
Funder(s): Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Subject(s): Health; Health, Health Insurance/Coverage; Public Affairs

Posted on Jun 29, 2012

PubHub Alert (3.26.12)

Hospital Community Benefits After the ACA: Partnerships for Community Health Improvement
Hilltop Institute at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Somerville, Martha H.; Cynthia L. Boddie-Willis; Donna C. Folkemer; Elyse R. Grossman; Carl H. Mueller

Examines states’ and localities’ efforts to promote community health and systemic change through collaborations focused on community health needs assessments, priority setting, strategic planning, and the implementation of health improvement initiatives.

Published: February 2012
Funder(s): Kresge Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Subject(s): Health; Health, Public Health; Public Affairs

Posted on Mar 28, 2012

Cholinesterase Webinar March 28, 2012

The Nuts & Bolts of Cholinesterase Monitoring for Farmers, Ranchers & Agricultural Workers

March 28, 2012 12-1pm Central Time

Exposure to pesticide and other chemicals can constitute serious health risks to hundreds of thousands of farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers and their families. For many people in rural areas, primary care practices are the only source of reliable healthcare. However, there are numerous barriers to recognizing and treating pesticide and other chemical exposures in the primary care setting. This webinar will address the importance of recognizing and managing certain pesticide exposures with a specific focus on the ways in which cholinesterase monitoring is a key component in clinical care for individuals working in agriculture. Participants in this webinar will receive information about new resources including clinical protocols for cholinesterase monitoring.
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Posted on Mar 26, 2012

CMS announces new initiative to bolster primary care workforce

Demonstration will assist with training of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced a call for applications for a new Affordable Care Act initiative designed to strengthen primary care in the United States. Under the Graduate Nurse Education Demonstration, CMS will provide hospitals working with nursing schools to train advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) with payments of up to $200 million over four years to cover the costs of APRNs’ clinical training.

“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, we’re taking steps to put more advanced practice registered nurses at the forefront of our health care system,” said Marilyn Tavenner, Acting Administrator of CMS, and a nurse. “Better training and support for advanced practice registered nurses will mean higher quality care.”
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Posted on Mar 22, 2012

Registration for Rural Hospital Conference Open

The Office of Primary Care and Rural Health (OPCRH) is pleased to announce the Rural Hospital Conference will be held on June 2, 2011, at the Inn at Grand Glaze, 5142 Highway 54, Osage Beach.  This conference is open to all rural hospitals’ leadership.  Information about the hotel may be viewed here.

Two tracks are available for attendees to select from.  Track one will focus on using data for performance improvement.  Track two is on effective grant writing. 

Registration forms are due by May 13, 2011.  Registrants will receive a confirmation e-mail.  If you do not receive confirmation, please contact me (Barbara Brendel) by phone at 573-526-9687.  There is a maximum number of attendees for this conference.  Should we reach the maximum, registrants will be notified they are being placed on a waiting list.  Therefore, please let me know as soon as possible if your attendance status changes.

OPCRH will pay for lodging the night of June 1 for up to two attendees (separate rooms) per facility.  Your lodging will be made by OPCRH based on your registration form.  An e-mail with lodging confirmation will be sent closer to the conference date.  Reimbursement for mileage is also available for up to two attendees per facility, if they both drive.  OPCRH will not reimburse attendees for meal expenses incurred with this conference.  Lunch will be provided during the conference.  However, breakfast will not be provided this year.  To expedite reimbursement, please mark on the registration form if you will request reimbursement.  Forms will be available at the conference for those requesting reimbursement. 

We will go green for the conference.  All presentations will be uploaded to this website: www.ruralspotlight.com.  Please check the website prior to the conference to print information you would like for the conference.  

We look forward to seeing you at the conference.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

View the Conference Agenda

Registration Form

Posted on Apr 05, 2011

Improving Retention, Clinical Performance, and Job Satisfaction

From Idaho State University, School of Nursing

Rural nurses are required to have a breadth and depth of knowledge unparalleled in other specialty nursing fields. The immense generalist role of the rural nurse often leads to early burnout and high turnover rates when compared with more urban nurse roles (up to 65% in the first year of practice). Residency or Transition-to- Practice programs have been shown to be an effective means of reducing the turnover of new and transitioning nurses, improving their job satisfaction, and hastening critical thinking skills.

And so, it is with great excitement that Idaho State University (ISU) developed the Northwest Rural Nurse Residency (NWRNR) program. Participants receive all of their training (64-hours of seminars and a 104-hour supervised clinical experience) ‘at home’ in their own facilities from top-notch rural nurse experts. Using new technologies like web-conferencing and high-tech simulation make it possible for the program to be offered at no cost to participants.  Program faculty and staff provide support and information for preceptors, residents, and nurse administrators to help ensure a flexible, locally adapted, successful completion of the 12-month program.

The next sessions will be starting in June 2011. Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, so apply today! Be one of the first facilities in your area to boast the employment of rural nurse specialists while enjoying the benefits of improved clinical performance and lower nurse turnover. To learn more about the NWRNR please call the ISU Office of Professional Development at (208) 282-3820, email at nurseopd@isu.edu or visit the NWRNR website at http://www.isu.edu/nursing/opd/nwrnr.shtml

Posted on Mar 24, 2011