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Day One –Thursday, September 14th, 2017
Rural Health Network Director’s Meeting
National Rural Health Association
Plenary Session: Thomas Bane, CMS Region 2, External Affair Team
Updates from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services For Rural Providers
Concurrent Session 1
The NYS CEI provides progressive education, builds capacity, and fosters community to improve health outcomes related to HIV, STDs, Hepatitis C, and drug use. This session will demonstrate numerous potential partnerships between CEI and rural providers.
Blueprint for Health Equity: Transforming How we Work
The Blueprint for Health Equity was created to promote health equity work that results in positive changes in health outcomes for residents of New York State. The experiential learning event provides an opportunity for service providers to develop a deeper understanding of the barriers to achieving health equity. The event explores the social determinants of health, highlights the intersection of structural racism and poverty, and challenges professionals to rethink the way they do business to better meet the needs of those they serve.
Domestic Violence in Isolated Areas: Increased Health Risks from Domestic Violence in Rural Settings
In a rural setting, an already isolated environment, further isolation by one’s partner-a hallmark of domestic violence- creates additional health risks for individuals and families. Domestic violence remains an urgent public health problem, affecting 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men. We educate on the erosive effects of coercive controls on victim health and autonomy, as well as providing participants with an effective and efficient assessment tool and best practices for responding to disclosure.
Collaborating with Community Partners to Support Chronic Disease Self-Management in Rural Counties
Supporting chronic disease self-management enhances the care of people with chronic illnesses, and improves patient outcomes. In rural communities, where chronic disease prevalence is high and healthcare access is limited, efforts to support patient self-management are critical. In rural Central New York, community partners are collaborating to advance several evidence-based strategies to support self-management. HealtheConnection is partnering with rural health networks, Kinney Drugs, the YMCA and healthcare providers to: a) promote home blood pressure monitoring through education and coaching, b) build capacity to offer chronic disease self-management and prevention programs c) use the Health Information Exchange (HIE) to connect people to community resources and strengthen community-clinical linkages, and d) improve medication adherence. This session will describe the strategies supported in CNY, and the various roles that community partners play in the implementation of this work. Preliminary results of the evaluation of these activities will also be presented.
Improving Outcomes, Reducing Costs & Increasing Efficiencies in Difficult Populations
Learn how collaboration with community based organizations can improve outcomes. Learn how a community hospital with greater than 70% Government/Self Pay payer mix implemented two programs that improved patient outcomes, reduced costs and increased efficiencies in difficult populations. This session is intended to provide you with the tools and knowledge to begin a journey towards managing difficult populations. We will provide order sets; policies and experiences that will help you manage populations differently while providing key components of program development.
Concurrent Session 2
Transportation is often cited as barrier to accessing services. Individuals who lack reliable transportation may forego annual doctor visits. The HealthlinkNY Community Network is piloting a new approach primary care sites to identify transportation vulnerable patients and connect them with mobility management services. Through this pilot, social media is used to target potential patients and connect them mobility management services and a primary care physician. The pilot project seeks to provide a proof of concept around utilizing a brief transportation screening tool to determine a patient’s transportation vulnerability and providing a referral to mobility management to assist the patient with transportation for future appointments.
Improving Patient Health Outcomes – Pharmacy’s Collaborative Commitment
This session will focus on two major initiatives that currently are utilizing pharmacists and other health care providers to increase patient access to healthcare services and improve health outcomes.
- Pharmacy initiated and supported transition of care programs in hospitals and nursing homes designed to reduce preventable readmissions.
- Pharmacy supported population health management for diabetic and/or hypertensive Patients
For both programs, share current initiatives and include different aspects such as participation in NYD Medicaid’s DSRP (Delivery System Reform Incentive Program) as well as the NYS Department of Health IMPACT Program. Discuss ways for providers and health systems to partner with community and hospital based pharmacists across New York, especially rural settings.
Breakroom Banter: Reducing Mental Health Stigma in the Workplace
The NYS Prevention Agenda 2013 – 2018 has identified the promotion of mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) well-being in communities as one of the state’s focus areas. By 2018 the goal is to reduce the number of adults who experience extended periods of poor mental health. Stigma associated with mental health is often cited as a barrier to treatment. The workplace provides a unique platform to reduce stigma and promote MEB well-being. The HealthlinkNY Community Network is working with businesses throughout Hudson Valley and Southern Tier to pilot a mental health workplace wellness toolkit.
This workshop will describe the collaboration between the Ellenville Regional Hospital (ERH), a rural critical access hospital, and the Institute for Family Health, operator of the Ellenville Family Health Center, focusing on improvements in health outcomes and efficiencies in staffing. Located on the same campus, ERH and the Institute share medical staff, and have implemented protocols to reduce inappropriate emergency room use, increase access to primary care, and actively address opioid use. The ERH emergency department now routinely screens for depression and diabetes control, and refers to the Institute for behavioral health care and management of chronic illnesses. The health center benefits from the hospital’s diagnostic testing and rehabilitation services. In addition, the Institute residents now train at both ERH and the Institute’s Ellenville center, where they learn to provide outstanding primary care in high-need rural communities.
New York Rural Hospitals Can Thrive under the Quality Payment Program Through Population Health
Today, many rural hospital leaders are unaware of how MACRA affects their hospital-based physicians, such as anesthesiologists, radiologists, pathologists, hospitalists and emergency physicians. The exclusion of Rural Health Clinics from the Quality Payment Program (QPP) makes this program even more confusing because in many cases the clinic providers are exempt but the hospital physicians are not. This presentation will discuss how the QPP impacts rural PPS and Critical Access Hospital physicians and provides actionable strategies for hospital CEO’s to protect both the income and the reputation of their rural providers. Population health strategies to help move New York rural hospitals will be reviewed.
Day 2- Friday, September 15th, 2017
A panel of regional leaders will discuss diverse perspectives on telehealth, including broadening access in rural areas to broadband connectivity, meeting the needs of rural residents and the providers with whom they connect, and how telehealth is expanding into unique modalities such as telepharmacy.
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. killing close to half a million people each year. As of 2015, tobacco has cost the nation approximately $289 billion in medical costs and productivity loss. Rural residency is associated with higher rates of smoking and smokeless tobacco use nationwide. Rural residency has also been linked to an earlier age of onset for smoking and a disproportionately high rate of smoking among pregnant women. Tobacco 21 is a national campaign aimed at raising the minimum legal age for tobacco sales from 18 to 21. Hear from three experts who have successfully implement Tobacco 21 in their communities and learn how you can educate and mobilize a community for Tobacco 21.
Closing Plenary Session: Megan Meacham, Senior Advisor
Updates from the HRSA/Federal Office of Rural Health Policy