Title: Rural Health Workforce Trends: A National Perspective
1Rural Health Workforce Trends A National
Perspective
- Pamela Smith, MA SORH
- June 24, 2008
2A Rural Health Workforce Partnership
3Presentation Overview
- Rural Health Workforce Summit
- Recruitment, Retention, Collaboration Model
programs - Key note Highlights
- Breakout Highlights and recommendations
- NOSORH Workforce Committee
- Next Steps
4Recruitment, Retention, Collaboration Program
models
- Oregon - If you recruit without keeping your eye
on retention, you are going to fail in the long
run. - Recruitention
- Tim Skinner
- Colorado CoRRRN, CROP and CPR
- Statewide Initiative
5Recruitment, Retention, Collaboration Program
models
-
- South Dakota - Healthcare Workforce Center
- South Carolina
- Noon conferences with resident physicians.
6Rural Health Works Making the link to economic
impact and workforce
- The impact of a medical practice on a rural
community. - The economic impact of medical school on States
economy
7Keynote - Jack Dillenberg, DDS
- Dean Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health
- The School is unique in its commitment to train
dentists who will provide care to underserved
populations who have an understanding of the
public health approach - There needs to be a paradigm shift move from
primary care to comprehensive care to
interdisciplinary care
8Oral Health Challenges,
- Gaps
- - Less dentists per capita than 10 years ago.
- - Some rural communities cannot support a
dental practice due to low population. - - Definitions/scope of practice for dental
hygienists vary greatly. -
9Oral Health Challenges,
- Obstacles
- - lack of a rural pipeline for dentists
- - 3rd party payers
- - Licensing boards
- - Facilities/equipment that are inadequate
- - Integration of dental and primary care and
subsequent issues. - - All dental graduates are not created equally
10Recommendations
- Federal loan forgiveness increase
- Graduate Medical Education money and how it
relates to dental residencies - NHSC lower dental professions shortage area 18
for scholars - Incentives to practice in rural areas (loans)
11Health Information Technologies
- HIT Workforce Crisis
- Health care industry lags all other major
industries in IT adoption even with advances. - Need for HIT management is increasing.
- Health care facilities are struggling to staff
HIT needs and also turnover. - Lack of interoperability because systems are
different.
12Recommendations
- Loan repayment program recruitment and
retention incentives - Job Corp
- Signing bonus
- State of the art technology
- Pay for standardization of skill set/degree
- Support for distance education
- Technical assistance for HIT
- Catalog of models
- Grants for HIT network development
13EMSA unique approach to addressing rural health
needs
- Gaps
- - Turn over Money not there move on to RN or
go to urban communities for bigger salaries - - Paying for credentialing
- Obstacles
- - Lack of hospital support
- - Equipment - get hand me downs
- - Liability insurance
14Recommendations
- Need for distance learning opportunities for EMTs
and Paramedics due to limited training
facilities. - EMS is a local public service and needs to be
supported and funded
15Behavioral Health Workforce Trends
- Gaps
- - Licensure lists dont reflect who can practice
and provide mental health care - - Impact of returning vets, supply of mental
health providers employed by the VA - Obstacles
- - Lack of rural training
- - Lack of funding
- - Territorialism of existing providers
16Policy issues that impede workforce development
- Policies need to reflect reality. Policies that
allow mid levels, telemedicine, loan repayment
policies etc. that allow providers to be
reimbursed for offering rural care. - Recommendations
- Policies need to be changed to reflect rural
realities
17Allied Health Training the Health Workforce
- Gaps
- Allied Health to big and becomes a catch all
- Lack of data
- Obstacles
- Few distance learning opportunities
- Salaries are too low
- Lack of structured education for some of these
professions
18Recommendations
- Identify models of articulation agreements that
could be replicated for allied health
professions. - More k-12 programs for allied health
professionals utilizing AHECs with a rural focus. - Cross credentialing of health care specialist
(WA) proposed legislation. - Improve dissemination of working models and best
practices
19NOSORH Workforce Committee
- Purpose
- To develop SORH expertise and understanding of
workforce issues in order to provide the State
Office of Rural Health perspective on workforce
policy issues and serve as a link between State
Offices of Rural Health, national partner
organizations, the Federal Office of Rural Health
Policy and other federal agencies.
20Actions/Next Steps
- Survey of SORHs for workforce activities
- Provided input for Workforce Summit
- Creating a model for cross-credentialing of
Allied Health Professional - Survey of SORHs about knowledge of Allied Health
programs in state.
21Allied Health Workforce
- What professions would you include under Allied
Health? - Is Allied Health work part of your SORH work?
- What type of work does that include?
- Do you work with the Community Colleges on any
workforce development? - Does the SORH have a role in developing allied
health workforce? - Where does it fall on your list of priorities?
- What health workforce issue ranks higher?
- What should be the focus of the Workforce
Committee?
22Contact Information
- Pamela E. Smith, Program Coordinator, MASS
Department of Public Health, State Office of
Rural Health - 23 Service Center
- Northampton, MA. 01060
- (413) 586- 7525
- Pamela.Smith_at_state.ma.us