The regional meetings were
introduced in 2001 as a way of developing community
contacts and learning the issues of specific areas.
Each of these events has a similar structure but the
content is shaped very much by the region. Once the
sites have been chosen by the board, then the
president gets in touch with leadership at the
primary healthcare facility in the area to see if
they are willing to host. We have held regional
meetings at hospitals, health education centers,
city halls, senior centers, and a longhouse. Some
regional meetings are mobile, visiting multiple
sites in one day – others are in a fixed location.
As of the 2007 regional
meetings, we switched to a different format. Instead
of having one regional meeting in the late spring
and one in early autumn, we now have two at the same
time.
Invitations are sent to:
§
All WRHA members
§
Relevant legislators
o
Elected representatives for the area
§
All medical professionals, clinics,
alternative therapists.
·
Mental health and rehab facilities.
·
Long-term care and residential
facilities.
·
Public health and environmental
health.
·
Dental health.
·
School nurses.
§
Local government – mayor, city
commissioners, etc.
§
Local business leaders/Chamber of
Commerce members
§
Local educators, especially those
involved in health professions.
§
Local community groups, such as the
Veteran’s Association, Eagles, Elks, Scouts,
churches, etc.
The discussion is free-flowing
but is intended to learn about what is working for a
community as well as what is not. It is also our
goal to facilitate greater connectivity within the
community, since often people do not get the chance
to talk about the big picture of healthcare in their
community with others working on the same issues
from a different perspective.
We distribute a summary of the
notes from the meeting to legislators and members,
as well as printing it in the newsletter. The
summary is referenced when developing the
legislative platform for the upcoming year. Mental
health is the most commonly mentioned issue, with
dental health as a close second.
WRHA Regional Meetings –
Recurring Issues
Factors influencing
recruitment/retention of practitioners
- Physician malpractice
insurance costs/Tort Reform
- Practitioners in area
worked much harder than urban counterparts
- Providers can be recruited
but cannot keep a practice solvent
- Health care facilities
need to emphasize potential benefits of small
community care
- Low reimbursement rates
- Difficulty competing with
national average for wages
Financial Issues
- Poor economy in
area/disproportionately low-income population
- Large proportion of
population uninsured/insurance is too expensive
- Federal underfunding of
Medicaid
- Limited treatment options
for Medicare/Medicaid patients
- Insufficient reimbursement
for Medicaid
- Problems with veterans’
benefits (complex billing, slow reimbursement)
Access Issues
- First step of treatment
for many patients is the ER
- Clinic hours are too
restricted
- Extended travel time to
certain necessary services
- Public transportation in
area is inadequate/problems with patient
transport to facility
- Area cannot attract/keep
specialist providers
- Lack of community
education on services available and access
options
- Lack of community/youth
education on preventative measures for health
Region lacks or is losing…
- Pharmacy
- Elder care services
- In-home care/long-term
care facility
- Ambulance service
- Dental care
- Mental health services
- Gynecology/obstetrics
- Community volunteers
- Substance abuse
recovery/detoxification facility
Population Issues
- Lack of translators for
patients who speak little or no English
- Increased illegal drug
traffic and usage
- Increased number of
patients needing mental health services
