Organization Newsletter

January 2015

In this issue...

  1. Critical Access Hospital Relief Act Introduced
  2. Eight Tips When a Patient Comes Up Short on Pain Medication
  3. Life Flight Network's Executive Team Flies
  4. Northwest MedStar Base Chief Receives Honor 
  5. Five More Hospitals Attest to Meaningful Use Stage 2 with Engage
  6. Region’s Largest Rehabilitation Hospital Receives Adult and Pediatric Level I Trauma Designation
  7. President-Elect to Represent WRHA Interests at NRHA Rural Health Policy Institutes
  8. Washington Health Loses Friend in Passing of Dr. Edmund Gray
  9. Equipping Students with Rural Public Health Skills:
    How University of Washington Public Health Students Are Building Expertise by Working with Rural Communities
  10. Is It Time for Assisted Living?
  11. Call for Partnership – Medical Assistants Pathways Program
  12. WRHA Members Receive Discount on Rural Health Conference Registration
  13. Annual WRHA Rural Health Awards Committee Accepting Nominations

 


Welcome

Welcome to the January 2015 issue of the Washington Rural Health Association e-Newsletter. Inside this issue you will find news and information from our members and community partners from across the state of Washington. If you would like to submit your own story, please click here.

About WRHA 

The WRHA e-newsletter is a publication of Washington Rural Health Association, a not-for-profit association composed of individual and organization members who share a common interest in rural health. This e-newsletter seeks to disseminate news and information of interest to rural health professionals and stakeholders to help establish a state and national network of rural health care advocates.

WRHA Members

WRHA members include administrators, educators, students, researchers, government agencies and workers, physicians, hospitals, clinics, migrant and community clinics, public health departments, insurers, professional associations and educational institutions. If you are interested in joining or renewing your membership with WRHA click here.


Critical Access Hospital Relief Act Introduced

Submitted by Kim Kelley
[email protected]

Reps. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), Greg Walden (R-Ore.), David Loebsack (D-Iowa) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) introduced the Critical Access Hospital Relief Act (HR169). This bill would eliminate the current condition of payment requirement stating that physicians at CAHs must certify Medicare and Medicaid patients will not be at the facility more than 96 hours. NRHA encourages Congress to act quickly to pass this legislation. Get involved with NRHA’s advocacy efforts at the Rural Health Policy Institute on Feb. 3-5 in Washington D.C.

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Eight Tips When a Patient Comes Up Short on Pain Medication



 

Submitted by Kirstin Williams 
Written by Michael Schiesser, MD
[email protected]

Michael Schiesser, MD

When managing patients with opioids, serious complications can emerge, where the most glaring clue is fewer meds on hand than you expect. Whether the medications are shared with others, or over-consumed by your patient, the common indicator is less medication on hand than you would expect if they were following dosing instructions. I recommend providers consider the supply discrepancy as a sign of impending risk. Your patient may have an addiction problem, or their social contacts may be at risk through sharing. When a discrepancy exists between the patient’s reported consumption and their existing supply, the provider should consider transitioning away from opioid analgesics for pain. Many clinics incorporate support staff using the tips below, and create standard workflow in the face of these challenging encounters.

Eight tips for managing medication discrepancies:

1. Ensure the patient understands the dosing limits in advance. Drifting beyond your prescribed dose in a short time interval (e.g. 24 hours) represents exposure to the drug beyond what may be safe. Outline accountability in advance related to medication stewardship. This conversation should be made explicit prior to the first prescription being dispensed. Consider automating, and enhancing the agreement process with a brief recorded video.

2. Review data from your state prescription monitoring program. Calculate the total quantity the patient received over a series of months. Simple math based upon the maximum monthly dose will enable you to determine if a discrepancy exists.

3. Remember, if a patient claims to have a 5-day supply, and is given a 30-day supply, 30 days later the patient should have at least a 5-day supply.

4. If you calculate any pill supply discrepancy, discuss it with the patient. Your math can evoke conflicting narratives.

5. If there is a discrepancy, develop a policy specific to your office to limit prescriptions until it is reviewed or resolved. Generally, if you release a medication supply in the face of a discrepancy, it should be minimal until the issue is considered resolved.

6. Request that the patient return a written explanation for review. This helps to solidify the patient’s explanation, and put it in a documented format that can be reviewed by your staff.

7. Note whether the patient’s response appears appropriate, given the extent to which you have already defined the importance of dosing limits. The patient may be in danger due to addiction, and need your help to point them in the right direction.

8. It is useful to have a clinic policy limiting a provider’s authority to provide further medications until the supply discrepancy is resolved. By developing policies and maintaining logic in the face of medication overuse/loss, you can prevent adverse events and take prudent action when the signs of problems are evident.

For more information on working with patients who take opioids, take the CME course, Transitioning Care in the Face of Painkiller Addiction or Abuse through Physicians Insurance at www.phyins.com/TransitioningCare and read Dr. Schiesser’s blog, Managing Addictions at http://managingaddictions.com/blog.

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Life Flight Network's Executive Team Flies 

Submitted by Jacob Dalstra
[email protected]

Each day, numerous calls come into Life Flight Network’s Communication Center and flight requests are sent out to LFN’s 17 helicopters and 6 airplanes spread across the region. A highly trained nurse, paramedic, and pilot respond to each request. They deliver high quality critical care as safely as possible. The patients, facilities and agencies working with LFN may never know it, but oftentimes they are working directly with the CEO and senior leadership team of LFN. This unprecedented practice of senior leadership working in the field sets LFN apart from nearly all other medium and large flight programs in the country.

LFN has grown steadily in the last decade, but the organization has maintained the unique ability for leadership to connect with all employees. Having members of the senior leadership team work side by side with staff on the front line helps LFN consistently achieve ratings as one of the best non-profits to work for. Cheryl Corum, a long time flight paramedic, said, “The leadership team is very experienced. I love working shifts with them.”

Sam Flores, Base Manager in Longview, WA states, "I believe there is tremendous value having our CEO work shifts with us. He understands the job, and it helps the organization as a whole continue on the successful trajectory we are on.”

BJ Miles, a pilot and Director of Safety and Risk Management, states, “Working shifts instills a greater appreciation of all the work the leadership team does to keep our patients and staff safe and promotes trust in leadership.” BJ goes on to explain how the 12-hour pilot shifts he regularly completes helps him do his job of creating the safest work environment possible. He adds, “Working shifts helps by creating opportunities to gain insight into the unique environments each LFN base experiences and assists promoting risk mitigation strategies tailored to each base.”

The belief that the entire senior leadership team makes better decisions by being involved in daily operations of flying and treating patients is another reason this practice was put in place. A core value of the organization centers on delivering high quality patient care as safely as possible. The leadership team believes they are better able to fulfill the organization’s mission when they see firsthand how protocols and policies are being executed. Suzie Brennan, Director of Clinical Operations, says, “I love to provide patient care. That’s why I chose nursing as a profession. Working flight shifts allows me to do what I love and see firsthand changes in practice and protocol that may need adjusting.”

Requiring the senior leadership team to work shifts is also part of LFN’s relentless focus on customer service. LFN believes the best way for the leadership team to demonstrate how crews should interact with facilities, agencies, and patients is to lead by example. Whenever you call LFN for a flight request, the CEO or a member of the senior leadership team may respond to that call, and they will always provide high quality care as safely as possible. They are there when you need them.

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Northwest MedStar Base Chief Receives Honor 

Submitted by Jerrie Heyamoto
[email protected]

Tri-Cities Base Chief Roger Casey, RN, MSN, CEN, was inducted into the Academy of Emergency Nursing (AEN) in 2014 by the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA). The AEN fellowship is a prestigious honor recognizing emergency nurses for their significant contributions to quality patient care both in and out of the emergency department. The induction ceremony took place at ENA’s 2014 Annual Conference in Indianapolis. The candidates for induction, admitted to AEN as Fellows, have made significant contributions to emergency nursing that go above and beyond being an outstanding nurse and a devoted ENA member. To date, 110 extraordinary emergency nurses have been inducted into the AEN and proudly list FAEN as one of their professional credentials.

For the full press release on this accomplishment, visit: https://www.nwmedstar.org/Nurse-Award.

 

 

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Five More Hospitals Attest to Meaningful Use Stage 2 with Engage

 

Submitted by Meagan Pierluissi
[email protected]

As only 840 out of almost 5,000 eligible hospitals (19 percent) have attested to Meaningful Use (MU) Stage 2 throughout the nation, Engage, a division of Inland Northwest Health Services (INHS), continues to assist customers in overcoming attestation obstacles. Whitman Hospital and Medical Center, Tri-State Memorial Hospital, Mid-Valley Hospital, Pullman Regional Hospital and Grays Harbor Community Hospital, all recently completed successful attestation toward the EHR financial incentive program. This brings the total number of Engage hospital customers achieving MU 2 to eight. “Stage 2 enables the movement of data along the care continuum,” said Marcia Cheadle, senior director of MU and advanced clinicals at Engage. “This process ensures all providers involved in the care of a patient have the latest and best information. This also means health care organizations must adopt new processes to obtain patient email address and encourage patient engagement to meet this requirement.”

“We formed a patient portal team to develop a plan on how we can educate patients about the new portal and its benefits,” said Cathy Murphy, R.N., director of clinical informatics at Pullman Regional Hospital, a critical access hospital (CAH) located in Pullman, Wash. “We worked with staff to be our advocates for enrolling patients and to support them through their first log on to the patient portal. We are small, responsive and have great support from Engage.”

“Grays Harbor Community Hospital has always looked toward technological advances to improve patient care and practices,” said Larry Kahl, Chief Operating Officer at Grays Harbor Community Hospital, a 200-bed facility in Aberdeen, Wash. “Our medical team and clinical staff worked with Engage after hearing of their ability to assist hospitals through the MU requirements. We’re looking forward to furthering our commitment to deliver the highest quality of care to our community.”

“Our biggest obstacle was first getting the email addresses and then getting the patients to view their medical information,” said Patty Schneider, BSN and clinical informatics program manager for Tri-State Memorial Hospital, a CAH located in Clarkston, Wash. “This is something we continue to focus on for the year two attestation.” Engage partners with hospitals to become an extended IT support team, working directly with hospital customers to determine what methods best fit the hospital’s environment in line with the requirements of state and federal governments.

“As a critical access hospital, attesting to Stage 2 required our staff to become advocates for the patient portal and to connect our patients to their electronic health information,” said Michael Billing, Chief Executive Officer and administrator for Mid-Valley Hospital. “We worked closely with Engage throughout the process and are proud of the success we’ve seen in meeting this goal.”

About Engage: What started as a regional health information technology solutions provider, Engage (formerly IRM) has grown to provide Meaningful Use services, advanced clinical and financial systems, hardware integration, and hosting and consulting services for more than 100 hospital and physician office customers throughout the nation. With 20 years of health IT and MEDITECH experience, Engage has more than 200 analysts evaluating, implementing and supporting complex hospital environments. Using this strong expertise, Engage customers are some of the first in the country to attest for Meaningful Use Stages 1 & 2 and successfully complete audits.

For additional information visit: https://engage.inhs.org/#/

 

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Region’s Largest Rehabilitation Hospital Receives Adult and Pediatric Level I Trauma Designation

 

Submitted by Meagan Pierluissi
[email protected]

Committed to rehabilitation for patients of all ages, St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute has been awarded the Level I Adult & Pediatric Trauma Rehab Service Designation by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH). “Our team is proud to serve as the adult and pediatric trauma rehabilitation facility for the region and signifies our commitment to providing comprehensive rehabilitation,” said Nancy Webster, director of rehabilitation services at St. Luke’s. “When residents across the Northwest see this designation, they know specialized care is being provided by an interprofessional team of physiatrists, nurses, therapists and many health care professionals for those most serious of illnesses or injuries.”

St. Luke’s has been a Level I Trauma Center for adults since 1998 and is the region’s largest resource for inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation care. The importance of this distinction illustrates the level of rehabilitative care the center can provide; Level I being the most critical. St. Luke’s highly-trained staff supports traumatic injuries with comprehensive rehabilitative services available 24/7. Washington State DOH examines a number of factors before granting the designation, like the center’s standards of care, patient outcomes, regional patient volumes, association with statewide emergency medical services, on-site tours and personnel interviews. This rigorous process must be renewed every two years for continued service designation. “In addition to providing acute rehab care, St. Luke’s also has the responsibility to offer opportunities of continuing education, medical research and injury prevention as a Level I rehabilitation hospital,” Webster said.

To find out more about the services provided by the largest rehabilitation hospital in the region, please visit: www.st-lukes.org/.

About St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute
The region’s largest, free-standing Level I Trauma Rehabilitation hospital, St. Luke’s provides comprehensive medical rehabilitation services for people of all ages who have experienced a stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury, amputation or other injury or illness requiring rehabilitative care. St. Luke’s is accredited by Joint Commission and Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities International. Thousands of patients choose St. Luke’s for inpatient rehabilitation services at the main campus and outpatient therapy services at 10 locations throughout Spokane.

For more information on St. Luke’s visit: Web: www.st-lukes.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stlukesrehab
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/thebuzzinhs
Twitter: http://twitter.com/stlukesrehab


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President-Elect to Represent WRHA Interests at NRHA Rural Health Policy Institutes

 

Submitted by Bobby Jones
[email protected]

The 26th Rural Health Policy Institute is scheduled for February 3-5, 2015 in Washington, D.C. The Washington Rural Health Association President-elect, David Olson, will represent the interests of WRHA members at the conference. The Rural Health Policy Institute is the largest rural advocacy event in the country and brings together members of Congress, the administration, public health officials, and health care experts from across the nation. The Rural Health Policy Institute is a unique opportunity for advocates of rural health to call on senators and representatives to inform and educate them on the issues that are important to WRHA members.

As WRHA’s representative to the Rural Health Policy Institute, David Olson wants to hear about the issues and concerns that are important to you. He will share your thoughts with legislators and their staff.

Please email WRHA with your comments and feedback so that David can voice your messages to our congressional leaders.

Email your comments to: [email protected]

For more information on the 26th Rural Health Policy Institute, please visit: http://www.ruralhealthweb.org/pi


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Washington Health Loses Friend in Passing of Dr. Edmund Gray


Submitted by Mary Selecky
[email protected]

Doctor Edmund Gray, a long-time Colville Primary Care Physician, passed away on December 19th. Ed was born on November 9, 1928 in Colville, the only son of Wesley Harold and Helen Corridan Gray. He graduated from Colville High School in 1946 and following undergraduate studies at Gonzaga University he moved on to medical school at the University of Washington from October 3, 1949 to June 13, 1953. On July 1st he began his medical internship at Indianapolis General Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana and concurrently served time in the Air Force Medical Corp, earning the rank of Captain. Ed was active in Colville civic affairs and participated in the Colville Elks, Benchwarmers, Chamber of Commerce and Mount Carmel Hospital Foundation. 

In 1960, Colville hired him as the City of Colville Health Officer and thus began his role in Public Health, especially rural public health. By the late 1970’s Ed had played a significant role in several healthcare related fields. His private practice banded together with most of the other city physicians to form the Northeast Washington Medical Group, which has grown into a significant medical service in the Colville community. His city public health position grew into the Northeast Tri-County Health District, which serves Ferry, Pend Oreille and Stevens County. He served as the Medical Officer there until his 84th birthday in 2012.

Ed was also very active at State and National levels about Rural Medical Care and Public Health. He advanced through the Washington State Medical Association leadership to President in the days of tort reform. He was a player in the first State Basic Health Insurance program and has been recognized by Gonzaga University, the University of Washington, Providence Health Systems and the Nathan Davis Foundation for his vision, leadership and dedication to others. He served in many roles at Mount Carmel Hospital and it’s progression into Providence Health Services, and even spent a few years on the Colville City Council. All this from a quiet humble man who loved his wife Jane for over 60 years, raised three successful children and enjoyed his family time at their Christina Lake cabin, especially when his five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren were there. Ed was preceded in death by his parents Wesley and Helen Gray. Ed is survived by his wife Jane, his son Tim (Roween) Gray of Colville, WA and their children, Kayla (Owen) Nestor and Kelsey Gray; daughter, Sally (Bill) Juzeler of Prosser, WA and their children, Megan and Hannah Juzeler; son Terry (Sue) Gray of Sammamish, WA and their son, Andrew Gray; great granddaughter Rhaya Nestor and great grandson Gray Nestor. Ed was also known as “grandpa” to extended family members Loween, Chris and Erica Lent and as a mentor to Mary Selecky, Ron Rehn and others.

Please visit the on-line memorial and sign the guestbook at http://www.danekasfuneralchapel.com/

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Equipping Students with Rural Public Health Skills: How University of Washington Public Health Students Are Building Expertise by Working with Rural Communities

 

Submitted by Peter House
[email protected]

In late November and early December 2014, three teams of eight graduate students from the University of Washington had the opportunity to leave the classroom behind for on-the-ground experiential learning. The students partnered with rural health departments to work on real-world public health issues of local importance. Their work was part of the UW’s Masters in Public Health problem-based-learning program (the Community Oriented Public Health Practice Program).

Group A, facilitated by Sharon Bogan (staff at Public Health – Seattle & King County and part time UW faculty), traveled to Grays Harbor County to help the health department plan a rail-to-trail construction project to promote physical activity. Students went so far as to investigate the land deeds for all the property along the quarter-mile proposed route. They also called more than a dozen potential foundations and government agencies to identify funding sources. They wrote a report and presented their work at a Hoquiam City Council meeting. Group A was invited to Grays Harbor County by Joan Brewster (Director of the Health Department) and Beth Mizushima (Community Health Staffer at the health department).

Group B, facilitated by Peter House (UW faculty and former WRHA board member), spent three days in Okanogan County at the request of Lauri Jones (Community Health Director for Okanogan County). The students mapped out how sexual health education is currently provided throughout the county. They visited many schools and talked with 24 educators and other stakeholders as part of their inventory on sexual health education in Okanogan. Locals Mike & Deb Billing, and Nancy and Paul Nash-Mendez kindly offered overnight lodging. Elana Mainer and Adrienne Moore of the health non-profit Room One in Twisp offered valuable consultation and support to the students.

Group C, facilitated by Brett Niessen (staff at Cardea Services in Seattle, and part time UW faculty), helped the Lake Stevens City Council explore marijuana policy, specifically related to youth consumption. Students asked over 70 city residents and stakeholders their views on marijuana policy. They summarized current data on the hypothesis that marijuana may be used as a gateway to other drugs, and possible crime upticks due to legalization. They analyzed youth survey data about marijuana utilization (identifying associations between more frequent marijuana use among youth and lower adult social support). Gary Goldbaum (Director of the Snohomish County Health District) and Sam Low (Lake Stevens City Councilman) invited the students to Lake Stevens.

If you have ideas for quick turnaround work that public health graduate students could do in your county, please contact Peter House at [email protected]

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Is It Time for Assisted Living?

 

Submitted by Jillian Connolly
[email protected]

Making the decision to move a family member into assisted living care can be an emotionally draining task. Above all else, you want your loved one to be safe and well; especially now with winter here.

Although every situation is different, the list below may give you some indications that it’s time to start the dialogue about transitioning to assisted living care.

  • Recent accidents or close calls such as reoccurring falls; unexplained bruises and/or skin tears, struggle to manage steps/stairs 
  • Inability to properly manage medications 
  • Unusual or unwarranted aggression or no longer showing much emotion of any kind 
  • Concerns about sleep; not sleeping at night or sleeping all day 
  • Recent weight loss or gain; changes in eating habits, skipping meals or forgetting they ate and eating again; stale or expired foods in the house, fear of safety using appliances such as the stove 
  • Changes in appearance or strange body odors; neglecting personal care, disheveled and unkempt to signs of not bathing, wearing the same clothes/dirty clothes 
  • Changes in personality; withdrawing from social activities they once enjoyed, may go days without leaving their home 
  • Driving Issues; signs of dangerous driving such as slowed reaction time or mixing up the gas and brake pedals 
  • Letting things go around the house; lots of clutter, piles of clothes, dirty dishes, overflowing trash, neglecting pets 
  • Medical/health concerns or issues; your loved one’s primary doctor may share your concerns about safety at home and can help answer some of your questions 
  • No longer able to take care of things financially; past due bills, overdrawn accounts 
  • Overall cognitive decline; lack of sound judgment, difficulty following directions, increased confusion, requiring lots of reminders

Remember that assisted living is meant to fill the gap between full independence and skilled nursing. Evaluate your options. Ask questions. Don’t wait too long. Assisted living can help maintain your loved one’s independence longer, not take it away.

For more information on Quail Court’s assisted living apartments in Odessa call 509-982-2271.

 

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Call for Partnership – Medical Assistants Pathways Program

 

Submitted by Nico Patel
[email protected]

Medical assistants working in Washington State must either have a medical assistant-certified (MA-C) or Medical Assistant-Registered (MA-R) credential through the Washington Department of Health.

The Medical Assistant (MA) Pathways Program provides individualized education plans for working MAs who need to catch up on education and training, or for MAs who need to prepare for a national certification exam. Typically, costs are limited to Department of Health fees and transportation to classes since the project is funded by a Hospital Employees Education and Training grant funded by the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges. The project is a partnership between SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and its Multi-Employer Training Fund, healthcare employers, Highline, Yakima, Olympic and Skagit Valley Colleges.

The education plans are individualized and consist of online and hands-on components that prepare working MAs to take a national exam and meet the MA-C standards as outlined in Chapter 18.360 RCW with minimal disruption to work schedules.

In Eastern Washington, in-person clinical classes are held at Yakima Valley Community College. Rural Health Leaders in Eastern Washington, if you are interested in holding a cohort at another location to mitigate the travel barrier for working MAs, please contact Nico Patel through email, [email protected], for further conversation. Spring classes begin March 30, 2015.

In Western Washington, clinical in-person classes are held at Highline College in Des Moines and on the Olympic Peninsula. Spring quarter starts March 30, 2015.

Please visit http://tinyurl.com/HEETMA for more information.

Working MAs are encouraged to contact Cirihn Rogers-Malpocher at [email protected] to sign up or learn more.

 

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WRHA Members Receive Discount on Rural Health Conference Registration


Submitted by Bobby Jones
[email protected]

With the opening of attendee registration for the 28th Northwest Regional Rural Health Conference in Spokane, current WRHA members have the opportunity to take advantage of a $35 discount on conference registration. The Rural Health Conference, which is preceded by the 13th NW Regional Critical Access Hospital Conference on March 17th, is the largest annual gathering of WRHA members and the largest gathering of health care professionals in the Pacific Northwest. 

The theme of this year's conference, which is scheduled for March 18-19th, is "Policy to Reality: Rural Health Tools for Success."

Conference attendees can choose from 20 breakout sessions and learn from 4 keynote presentations.

2015 Rural Health Conference keynote speakers include:

  • Gerald Doeksen, Oklahoma Rural Health Works 
  • David Gifford, American Health Care Association
  • Michael Bassett, American Health Care Association
  • Lauri Jones, Okanogan County Health Departments
  • Cindy Button, Aero Methow Rescue Service
  • Karen Jensen, WA Department of Health
  • Patrick O'Carroll, HHS and CMS Region 10
  • John Hammarlund, HHS and CMS Region 10 

Attendees also have the opportunity to participate in WRHA’s General Meeting on March 18th from 4:45 to 6:00 pm and attend the WRHA Board of Directors’ Meeting on March 19th from noon to 3:00 pm.

WRHA members also won’t want to miss the annual WRHA Awards Presentation on March 18th at 12:30 pm.

Those who would like more information about the conference are encouraged to visit: http://extension.wsu.edu/ahec/conferences/cah-rhc/

To register for the 2015 conference, please visit: https://www.regonline.com/register


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Annual WRHA Rural Health Awards Committee Accepting Nominations


Submitted by Bobby Jones
[email protected]

Each year, the Washington Rural Health Association honors individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions in the field of rural health care.

We invite our members to consider nominating an individual or organization that has made a significant positive impact on rural health in Washington State for the 2015 ceremony. Nominees do not have to be members of WRHA to be eligible for these awards. Nominations may be made by any member of WRHA.
Click here to complete the nomination form.

Award winners will be honored at the annual Award Luncheon on March 18, 2015 during the 28th Northwest Regional Rural Health Conference in Spokane, WA.

The award categories are:

  • Mary Selecky Friend of Rural Health 
    • This award seeks nominees who have made a special effort to cause and effect change in rural health policy, legislation, etc. to specifically benefit rural health outcomes. This category honors individuals who are legislators, trustees, community wellness activists, etc.
  • Future of Rural Health
    • This award recognizes an outstanding youth 14-20 years of age from a rural community who has performed outstanding volunteer service for better health in his/her community or who is successfully pursuing health sciences educational opportunities.
  • Outstanding Contributions to Rural Health
    • This award is based on the overall contributions a nominee has made to benefit rural health. This award is for nominees who have, over the course of their careers, made significant impacts in rural health across the state.
  • Leah Layne Memorial Health Leadership Award
    • This award recognizes the late Leah Layne, a long-time campaigner and activist on behalf of rural health. This award is based on demonstrated leadership skills, someone who best exemplifies Leah’s spirit, vision, foresight and dedication in the field of rural health.
  • Dr. John Anderson Memorial Award for Outstanding Rural Health Practitioner
    • This award recognizes the late Dr. John Anderson, a dedicated physician and a leader in the development of a system to ensure that physicians and others in health care have an opportunity to work in the rural communities of Washington State. This award is based on the demonstrated leadership skills and the dedication to provide quality healthcare services to rural communities.

To nominate an individual or organization, please click here to complete the nomination form.

For more information on past award recipients, please visit: http://www.wrha.com/wrha-awards

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