2007 Annual KRHA Conference

The Kentucky Rural Health Association’s recent conference was not billed as having a theme, but one quickly developed once speakers got behind the podium:

A focus on “community,” they said, is a key to improving residents’ individual and collective health status.

Take, for instance, Dr. Forrest Calico, a Lincoln County resident who serves as the National Rural Health Association’s senior advisor on quality. He told attendees that the health care “system” – a term he used rather loosely – must address population health improvement.

“It’s not all about the money – it’s about how we care for people,” he said. “We must communicate with, we must engage, our communities. That’s the primary driver of quality health care.”

Then there was Vivian Watson, a retired Mississippi nurse who delivered a motivational presentation on personal and professional growth. In it, she proposed an action plan for the state’s health care providers that had “community health” near the top.

“Prevention is our future,” she said.

Finally, Mark D. Birdwhistell, secretary of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said he and his colleagues have begun using a new motto – “Healthy people living in strong communities.”

When challenged, Birdwhistell acknowledged it is difficult to define a “strong community,” but he said one must involve health care providers working in concert with local education, transportation and housing systems.

“You have to have that in order to thrive,” he said.

It was that type of discussion that attracted approximately 140 rural health advocates to Frankfort for KRHA’s ninth annual meeting, held July 26-27, 2007 at the Capital Plaza Hotel.

Besides those already mentioned, another featured individual speaker was Michael E. Samuels, the University of Kentucky’s rural health scholar. He gave a report on “The Health of Kentucky: A County Assessment,” which contains local health and health-related data, including a ranking of all 120 counties’ health status relative to each other (see full report).

The conference also offered numerous concurrent sessions, which included:

• “The Electronic Medical Record in Rural Kentucky: A Panel Discussion,” by Dr. Gregory Cooper, a Cynthiana family practice physician; Vicky McFall, chief executive officer of Monroe County Medical Center; and Larry Davis, director of the Marshall County Health Department.

• “Worksite Wellness in Kentucky,” by Theresa Lovely, business coordinator for worksite wellness with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s Obesity Prevention Program.

• “Health Professional Shortage Areas and Medically Underserved Areas/Populations,” by Regina Washington, director of the Kentucky Department for Public Health’s Division of Prevention and Quality Improvement. (See also HPSA FAQs).

• “Youth Oral Health Screening Project,” by Raynor Mullins, associate director for oral health research and development within the UK College of Medicine.

• “Understanding the Kentucky Health Career Pipeline Programs,” by Steve Fricker, director of rural health and student affairs at the Trover Foundation in Madisonville; Tony Hartsfield, health careers program director at UK’s Area Health Education Center; James C. Norton, associate dean for AHEC and community outreach at UK; Stephen M. Payson, associate dean for student affairs at the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine; and Tonia Thomas, coordinator of UofL’s Professional Education and Placement Program.

In a gavel-passing ceremony, Susan Starling, president and chief executive officer of Marcum & Wallace Memorial Hospital in Irvine, inherited the KRHA presidency from David Bolt, chief operating officer of PrimaryPlus, a community health center organization based in Vanceburg. In his closing remarks, Bolt cited the accomplishments of what he called “quite a good year,” which included a 26 percent increase in membership and multiple advocacy initiatives.

The conference concluded with the presentation of the fifth annual KRHA Dan Martin Award for Lifetime Contribution to Rural Health to Bolt for his efforts in expanding health care and health professions education opportunities in northeastern Kentucky. He will be profiled in the fall edition of Rural Health Update.