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April
2008
Organization
Issue
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News & Notes |
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Ron O'Halloran,
Administrator, Ferry County Public Hospital District #1 |
Ferry
County Public Hospital District Opens Clinic
The
Ferry County Public Hospital District is proud to
announce the opening of its new clinic in Curlew, WA.
This new 3,600 plus square foot building replaces an
aged 960 square foot structure. This new facility has
three doctor offices, six exam rooms and a community
education/conference room. The building has solar power
panels and SIPs structural insulated exterior panels
that aid in conserving grid utility resources. The solar
generation of electricity also powers a bank of
batteries for emergency backup needs that would serve
the clinic for over 18 hours of emergency operation.
Karen Schaaf, M.D. is very
pleased with the new facility as are the Mid-level
providers and the support staff. The Curlew Medical
Clinic staff is also excited about the Advanced
Registered Nurse Practitioner who will be joining0 the
hospital District staff this July. The new ARNP will
also aid in staffing the new clinic.
The clinic is adorned with
new and old photos of the north Ferry County area and
Curlew township as well.
The Curlew Medical Clinic
was designated as a Rural Health Clinic (RHC) in the
fall of 2002. For those who are not familiar with the
Curlew area, Curlew is 10 miles south of the Canadian
Border community of Grand Forks, and 23 miles north of
Republic, WA and the Ferry County Memorial Hospital. The
next nearest healthcare facilities are located 60 miles
to the west in Tonasket or 60 miles east in Colville.
Ferry County is an extremely rural “frontier” region.
Ferry County boasts dense, rugged, and mountainous
terrain with its highest peaks ranging from 5,000 to
over 7,000 feet. Consequently, traveling in and out of
the area is difficult, as the only routes in or out
cross a mountain pass, foreign border, or even a ferry.
If you like biking, motor-biking, hiking, camping,
fishing, hunting and cross county skiing or
snowmobiling, Ferry County is where you want to own
property and settle down to a quieter life.
Currently the Hospital
District is seeking an additional physical therapist to
round out its healthcare provider needs.
For more information,
contact Ron O’Halloran, Administrator of FCPHD #1, 36
Klondike Rd, Republic, WA 99166, 509-775-3333.
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Chad Daggett,
Marketing and Public Relations Department,
Administrator, Wenatchee Valley Medical Center
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Wenatchee Valley Hospital Awarded
Three-Year CARF Accreditation
CARF
International announced that Wenatchee Valley Hospital
has been accredited for a period of three years for its
Inpatient Rehabilitation programs.
This accreditation decision
represents the highest level of accreditation that can
be awarded to an organization and shows the
organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF
standards. An organization receiving a Three-Year
Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer
review process and has demonstrated to a team of
surveyors during an on-site visit that its programs and
services are of the highest quality, measurable, and
accountable.
CARF is an independent,
nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote
the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services
through a consultative accreditation process that
centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served.
Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of
Rehabilitation Facilities, and now known as CARF, the
accrediting body establishes consumer-focused standards
to help organizations measure and improve the quality of
their programs and services.
For more information,
contact Chad Daggett, Marketing & Public Relations
Department, Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, (509)
663-8711, Ext. 5790. |
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Inland Northwest
Health Services
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EMS
Training
At Inland Northwest
Health Services, first responder students Wingate
Barrclough, Troy White, and Beth Lariviere (left to
right) practice on fellow student Joel Hoisington
during a recent Health Training Network class for rural
EMS personnel. Students were practicing assessing and
preparing a trauma patient for transport to the
hospital. The Health Training Network (formerly the
Inland Empire EMS Training Center) trained more than
4,000 EMS personnel and health care professionals last
year. For more information, visit
www.healthtraining.inhs.org
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John Hanson,
Manager, Washington State Office of Rural Health Program |
SORH:
Supporting Our Regional Conferences
One
of the core functions of the State Office of Rural
Health is to collect and disseminate information on
rural issues. Our goal is to provide accessible,
accurate and timely information to our constituents,
state and federal policy makers, and private and public
organizations. We do this directly, using the resources
of the Department of Health. We also do this indirectly,
through other organizations and events that we support.
One perennially rich source of relevant information is
the Northwest Regional Rural Health Conference, one of
the largest and most popular health care conferences in
the Northwest. Combined with the Northwest Regional
Critical Access Hospital Conference the day before,
these two gatherings provide a powerful wellspring of
information and stimulation. I use the word “perennial”
because it means “lasting for an indefinitely long time;
enduring.” Even though these conferences occur once a
year and last a total of only two and a half days, their
effect as sources for creative action is ongoing.
The conferences feature
expert presenters from all areas of health care, from
providers to research analysts to state and national
leaders. Besides an array of informative speakers there
is the added opportunity for face-to-face encounters
with colleagues and new contacts alike. These meetings
can be every bit as important as informational sessions.
The State Office of Rural Health is pleased to support
and promote both of these events.
Following are some examples
of how the conferences continue to provoke thought and
creative planning long after the everyone has gone home:
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From a discussion on
rural health care delivery models we learned that
when we compare projected workforce volumes with
expected demand for services as the baby-boom
generation ages, it will be impossible to meet the
need without changing the way we deliver health
care. That bit of information should spur discussion
and planning for months to come.
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I had a discussion with
the owner of a Rural Health Clinic who was concerned
about possible changes in reimbursement. This one
conversation has led to further, broader discussions
and isn’t finished yet.
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I met with a new
Critical Access Hospital administrator and discussed
questions about his Rural Health Clinic.
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Relationship-building is
always a valuable part of these conferences.
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All of us in attendance
had the opportunity to listen to Governor Chris
Gregoire deliver a powerful inspirational speech on
her health care priorities (www.wrha.com/governor.htm).
Among them was an impassioned declaration of her
commitment to see that all of Washington’s children
have health care coverage by 2010. Gov. Gregoire’s
speech should give all of us who care about rural
health encouragement to continue working on the
issues that are so important to us, knowing that we
have a listening and supportive Chief Executive.
The list could and does go
on and on. Please consider attending next year’s set of
Northwest Regional CAH/Rural Health Conferences. It is
not too soon to begin planning. You will find the
expenditure of time and money to be well worth the
investment. Next year’s Northwest Regional Rural Health
Conference will be held on March 19th and 20th at the
Red Lion Hotel at the Park in Spokane.
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Western Washington
Area Health Education Center
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WWAHEC
Director Laurie Wylie Appointed
To
DHHS Advisory Committee
Laurie
Wylie, MA, RN, SNP, Executive Director of the Western
Washington Area Health Education Center (WWAHEC) has
received an appointment from DHHS Secretary Michael
Levitt to the Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary,
Community Based Linkages of the Health Resources and
Services Administration. This Committee advises the
Secretary and Congress on many of the health workforce
programs in Title VII of the Public Health Service Act.
These programs include AHEC, Geriatric Education Centers
(GEC), Allied Health, and the no longer funded Health
Education and Training Centers (HETC) and Quentin
Burdick Rural Interdisciplinary Training programs.
This is the second Secretarial appointment to a national
advisory group for Ms. Wylie. She recently completed a
term on the National Advisory Council for the National
Health Service Corps.
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Washington Health Foundation
For
more information, contact Gina Legaz, MPH, Community
Relations, at GinaL@whf.org, 206-438-6110.
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Washington Health Foundation Announces
2008 Healthiest
State Grants
The
Washington Health Foundation’s 2008 Healthiest State
Grants program contributes to rural projects that are
building healthy communities through the creation of
policies, programs, and environments that support any of
the action areas for the Healthiest State in the Nation
Campaign.
Grant awards made to date in
2008 include:
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Grant Recipients |
Location |
Healthiest State
Measure |
Amount |
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Northwest Indian
College |
Lummi Reservation |
Health Disparities
(Diabetes Prevention) |
$15,000 |
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Retired & Senior
Volunteer Program |
Ellensburg, Kittitas
County |
Injury Prevention
(Falls) |
$6,800 |
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San Juan County
Health & Community Services |
San Juan County |
Protecting Against
Injury & Disease |
$6,000 |
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Sustainable
Connections |
Whatcom County |
Nutrition |
$12,000 |
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VIMO Free Clinic |
Port Angeles,
Clallam County |
Health Home |
$15,000 |
The next and last deadline for 2008 Healthiest State
Grants is Friday, August 1st. For more information on
grants, action areas, and the Healthiest State Campaign
look at the Healthiest State information on grants,
action areas, and the Healthiest State Campaign look at
the Healthiest State website: www.HealthiestState.org.
Then contact Katharine Sacks Sanders, Director of
Grantmaking by e-mail at KatharineS@whf.org to talk
about your idea.
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Implementing Our Patient Safety Vision ♦ Table of Contents
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Luncheon
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