NOSORH Branch Newsletter- September 2021

The Branch

A monthly update for NOSORH members and partners

September 2021

National Rural Health Day Promotional Toolkit Now Available

National Rural Health Day (NRHD) is quickly approaching. Promote the #PowerofRural with the new 2021 Promotional Toolkit full of customizable tools, such as planning calendars, coloring books, postcards, graphics, and more! These free tools can help enhance your community outreach efforts to schools, media, businesses, etc. While you’re at the powerofrural.org, be sure to fill your cart with some fun swag from the official NRHD Shop!

In conjunction with NRHD, RME Collaborative will host the 3^rd Annual Rural Health Clinical Congress (RHCC) on Saturday, November 20! The RHCC is a free CME/CE virtual conference designed specifically for primary care clinicians serving patients from rural and underserved areas.

You’re Invited to Partner with NOSORH - Register by 9/10

NOSORH wants to partner with your organization to make a difference in rural health! Check out the 2021 NOSORH Partnership Invitation to discover the different levels of partnerships and many opportunities for engagement with NOSORH. Next month, investing partners are invited to network with the 50 State Offices of Rural Health at the NOSORH Annual Meeting in Saratoga Springs, New York. If interested, please register here by September 10.

NOSORH 2021 Regional Meetings a Big Success

Regional Meetings have wrapped up for 2021, and NOSORH would like to thank the planning committees, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, and speakers who made these meetings a success. This year’s virtual format allowed for the recording of every session, including “Rural Hospital Bypass: Where are Rural Medicare Beneficiaries Going?” presented by Alana Knudson from the NORC Walsh Center, “Closing the Gap – Public Libraries and Public Health” from Dr. Noah Lenstra of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and “COVID-19 and CEO Turnover: What’s a Rural Hospital to Do?” from Robert Thorn, Director at Pinnacle Healthcare Consulting. Click here to find all of these presentations and more.

Because each pre-meeting was virtual, NOSORH could allow participants across all five regions, resulting in a record of over 200 attendees! One participant noted, “I love the multi-region Pre-Regional meetings! Focusing on one topic in-depth and getting to e-meet other SORH staff from more states is great!” Another said, “All the sessions were great and a day dedicated to oral health, and the CDC vaccine and TBI sessions…were all really helpful!”

NOSORH is looking forward to being back in person next year. Stay tuned for the finalized locations and dates for the 2022 meetings!

Enroll Now in New Social Media Virtual Bootcamp

NOSORH recently hosted the 3-part webinar series Strategic Social Media for Rural Health Stakeholders. In case you missed it, all three webinar recordings, as well as resources referenced in the series, can be accessed here. In conjunction with this webinar series, NOSORH and Impact! Communications are excited to offer a new Social Media Bootcamp to help your organization effectively use social media. In this 8-part virtual learning course, participants will dive deeper into channel basics, develop creative content, and more.

Click here to learn more and enroll!

The Economic Importance of Healthcare in Rural Communities: Webinar Recording Available

On August 23, NOSORH partnered with the Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health (CEARH) to host a webinar, The Economic Importance of Healthcare in Rural Communities. The session discussed traditional economic impact analysis, return on investment methods, and other mechanisms for measuring importance. Three case studies were reviewed while offering suggestions on communicating your message and other useful resources. The webinar recording and slides are available on the NOSORH website.

The CEARH is a joint effort of the University of Kentucky’s Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK) and Oklahoma State University, working “to increase public awareness of the economic importance of rural health care sectors in rural, state and national economies, as well as the relationship between community economic development and health outcomes of rural residents.” CEARH responds to pressing issues facing rural communities, creates valuable research-based tools, and provides trainings/workshops.

NOSORH and CEARH are building more education for rural stakeholders; be on the lookout for future webinar opportunities. For more information, contact Sarah Bowker.

Rural Health Policy Update

NOSORH Submits Rural GME Letter to Congress

On August 30, NOSORH joined a coalition of rural health partners in sending an endorsement letter for the Rural Physician Workforce Shortage Act to the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committee. The bill, S. 1893, is a bipartisan Senate bill introduced by Senators Tester (D-MT) and Barrasso (R-WY) to increase the physician workforce in rural areas. More specifically, the letter asks Senate Finance Chairman Wyden (D-OR) and Ways and Means Chairman Neal (D-MA) to support the inclusion of targeted rural graduate medical education (GME) language in the current budget reconciliation package, which Democrat leadership in Congress will attempt to pass this fall. Before departing in August, Congress passed Read More

Rural Healthy People 2030 Survey Open to Rural Health Stakeholders

A once-in-a-decade opportunity to provide your input is open to rural health stakeholders, thanks to the Southwest Rural Health Research Center at Texas A&M University and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. The Rural Healthy People 2030 survey hopes to identify the most important health priorities for rural Americans by collecting your direct input. Can you take 20 minutes to complete the survey and share the link with other rural health stakeholders?

Your privacy is important to the Southwest Rural Health Research Center team; all data will be analyzed and reported in aggregate form. The study does not ask questions about any sensitive topics and the team is only interested in your honest opinion. The goal is to collect input from roughly 3,000 rural health stakeholders. For more information on the project, contact Dr. Timothy Callaghan.

NARHC 2021 Fall Institute - October 18-20

Join the National Association of Rural Health Clinic at their 2021 Fall Institute on October 18-20 in Covington, Kentucky! NARHC is the only association in the country focused entirely on Rural Health Clinics. The two-and-a-half-day conference sees a wide variety of rural health professionals in attendance, ranging from hospital CEOs to physicians, to clinic managers, to coders. For more information or to register, click here.

Featured Community Star

Each month, NOSORH features the work of an innovative SORH or community leader who inspires collaboration, communication, education and/or innovation. The model efforts provided in these stories may be helpful to your rural community.

Elizabeth Hughes

Christian Action Ministries

Missouri

As a dedicated life-long nonprofit professional, Elizabeth Hughes embodies what it means to serve with passion and purpose. She’s impacted more than 150,000 individuals in need across rural Missouri. As CAM’s former Executive Director, Hughes built a coalition of 18 agencies across two counties and secured a grant to begin an in-depth study on the systemic causes of poverty and poor health in their area. One of CAM’s most extensive programs is its food pantry. Hughes’ work ensured that nearly 4,000 individuals living in Taney County received four days’ worth of emergency food each month.

Click here to read more of her story!