News and Updates
Measuring impact during COVID-19
Measuring impact during COVID-19 Emma Nalin, Project Coordinator Rural Health Network, South Central New York April 28, 2020 Like many rural community organizations, Rural Health Network of SCNY has rapidly assessed and adapted our services to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. While providing direct service to rural clients in need is our most urgent priority, it is also important to keep measurement in mind at all stages of the planning and implementation process. When the pandemic ends, the data we collect now will be critical in describing our response and building resilience against future crises. Listed below are some examples of RHN’s direct service during the pandemic, along with the plan for measurement: Delivery of food, medication, and other essential goods Measuring the amount a...
Dr. Richard Terry receives Rural Health Service Award
Dr. Richard Terry currently serves as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM at Elmira) and Chief Academic Officer at Lake Erie Consortium for Osteopathic Medicine Training (LECOMT). This award recognizes Dr. Terry’s long and distinguished commitment to medical education, highlighted by his recent tireless efforts to expand LECOM programs to fill a critical need for physicians for underserved rural populations in the Southern Tier of New York. Dr. Terry previously served as the Designated Institutional Official at Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira, which hosts nine ACGME accredited programs and supports 126 residents and fellows. Previously, he served as the Assistant Dean of Regional Clinical Education at LECOM where he built...
Dr. Robert Dweck receives Rural Health Practitioner Award
Dr. Robert Dweck has been a dedicated family practitioner for over 30 years. He came to this rural area through the National Health Service Program to help pay off his student loan. He soon realized that this was not only a community where he could stay and raise a family, but most importantly, one that really needed him. Dr. Dweck opened his own practice in Millerton in 1987and, in 1990, joined two other practitioners to form the Foothills Family Health Center, which then became the Dutchess Medical Group. This practice was unique in the area, accepting Medicaid and offering a sliding fee schedule for patients who lacked insurance coverage. In 2001, he worked with Hudson River Health Care (HRHCare) to transition the practice into HRHCare’s network of Federally Qualified Health Centers (F...
Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force wins Outstanding Rural Health Program Award
NYSARH is pleased to recognize the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force as the Outstanding Rural Health Program of the Year. The nomination, submitted by Julie Gutowski, included information about an emergency department screening process used at local hospitals that helps to identify people using opioids that then connects patients with Peer Advocate or Recovery Coach in addition to a referral for treatment. The Task Force operates a tri-county crisis line. Their combined efforts have resulted in a measurable decrease in drug overdose visits to local hospitals as well as opioid related deaths between 2017 and 2018. The goal of the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force is to address the growing opioid crisis in the tri-county area. Through active collaboration and engagement, ...
NYSARH Announces New Administrative Team
The New York State Association for Rural Health (NYSARH) announces a new Administrative contract with Northern Area Health Education Center (NAHEC) effective July 2019. Karin Blackburn, NAHEC Center Director, will lead the NYSARH team as Director of Administrative Services. She will be assisted by Katie Rafferty, Accounting Manager, and Kathy Hughes, Project Associate. Sara Wall Bollinger will continue as Director for Strategic Development. The Administrative Team will support the Board of Directors and the work of NYSARH committees. They will produce communications, manage member engagement and implement the annual Rural Health Conference.
Measurement Project Update: Nine Pilot Projects Chosen for Evaluation
Emma Nalin, MPH, MS Project Coordinator, Social Determinants of Health, Rural Health Network of South Central New York With funding from the NYS Health Foundation and Care Compass Network (CCN), Rural Health Network of SCNY is conducting a two-year project (2019-2020) to improve measurement of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) among rural community-based organizations (CBOs). As one of multiple activities in the project, consulting firm Germane Solutions evaluated SDOH measurement design for nine pilot projects. The resulting recommendations and return-on-investment tools will directly benefit pilot organizations in communicating the value of their SDOH interventions. The pilots target an array of health conditions with specific SDOH interventions, from addressing trauma in womenwith s...
Supporting Health Care and Community-Based Organization Partnerships to Address Social Determinants of Health
Increasingly, health systems, providers, and payers recognize the significant influence that social factors such as housing, food insecurity, employment status, and transportation have on well-being and health care spending. These social determinants of health (SDOH), in addition to health behaviors, influence 80 percent of health outcomes in the United States, and disproportionately affect low-income populations (Hood et. al. 2016). As reimbursement models transition away from fee-for-service to value-based payment, there has been a greater focus on innovative models of care that integrate medical and nonmedical services to improve health outcomes. Such demonstration projects include: Accountable Health Communities (an effort by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test whet...
Community Based Organization Planning Grant Underway for Upstate New York
The New York State Department of Health Community Based Organization (CBO) Planning Grant for Rest of State is finally underway and upstate CBOs are organizing to be a stronger voice in the next stages of the New York State DSRIP Program. Through the grant, the newly formed Upstate Community Based Organization (CBO) Consortium is assessing the needs of CBO members and working as a collective to prepare nonprofit organizations that address critical health and human services to be valued partners in an integrated healthcare delivery system. Healthy Community Alliance, Inc., a rural health network and the project’s lead agency, has been conducting thought leader forums with members and stakeholders across the state to help shape the Consortium’s short term goals and longer term strategies tha...
Measurement Project to Strengthen Rural CBOs’ Case for Participation In Value-Based Payment.
Healthcare’s traditional payment structures are rapidly shifting from fee-for-service models, in which providers are paid for delivering separate episodes of care, to value-based payment (VBP) models, in which providers are incentivized to move the needle on key health outcomes for their patients. With this new expectation comes increased attention to addressing patients’ non-medical needs such as food, transportation, financial stability, and housing. These health-related social needs, also referred to as Social Determinants of Health, broadly impact the wellbeing of individuals and communities. In this emerging payment environment, community- based organizations (CBOs) addressing social determinants have new opportunities to access healthcare dollars – if they can demonstrate the financi...
NYSARH in Action: NRHA’s Rural Health Policy Institute in Washington
The NYSARH delegation joined over 450 fellow rural health stakeholders from across the United States in Washington, D.C. for NRHA’s 30th Rural Health Policy Institute Information about the impact of federal legislation on rural communities is available HERE. The NYSARH team met with Representatives Brindisi, Collins, Delgado, and Katko in person and with staff representing Representatives Higgins, Maloney, Morelle, Reed, Stefanik, and Tonko, and with staff representing Senators Schumer and Gillibrand. We shared packets with staff from Representatives Lowey, Ocasio-Cortez, and Rose. If you use Twitter, please follow @NRHA_Advocacy and NRHA on Twitter and include #RuralHealth in all your tweets to keep the issues NRHA fights for at the forefront of the national conversation with colleagues...
NYSARH in Action: Rural Health Advocacy in Albany
The NYSARH Policy Committee organized Advocacy Day earlier in the season than we have in previous years. Volunteers met with 19 Committee Chairs and leadership staff including Speaker Heastie, Minority Leader Kolb, Chair of Senate Health Gustavo Rivera, and Chair of Assembly Health Dick Gottfried. We appreciate the warm welcome we received from Senators Rachel May, Chair, and Pamela Helming, Ranking Member, Legislative Commission on Rural Resources. Thanks to our panel of speakers who presented the morning briefing: Jill Kasow, Legislative Commission of Rural Resources Karen Roach & Jim Clancy, Healthcare Association of NYS Lacey Clarke, Community Health Care Association of NYS Glenn Liebman, Mental Health Association of NYS Harvey Rosenthal, NY Association Psychiatric Rehabilitation ...
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