Rural Health Workshop Day 2: Wednesday, June 21

• Denaé Hebert, MBA, Executive Director, Louisiana Rural Health Association
• Nicole Coarsey, MPA, Louisiana State Rural Health Officer, Well-Ahead Louisiana

Welcome back comments from Well-Ahead Louisiana and Louisiana Rural Health Association

• Kristen Dillon, MD, FAAFP, Chief Medical Officer, Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP)

This presentation will provide information from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. The presentation will provide an overview of what the office does and our role within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The presentation will also provide program and policy updates, including funding opportunities.

• Billy U. Philips, Jr., Ph.D., M.P.H., Executive Vice President and Director, The F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health

Discuss the various definitions of rurality, identify the issues that are common to all rural areas, lay a foundation for why the state of rural health is in crisis, and discuss ways to be better advocates for rural populations.

• Melissa Stainback, PhD, Regional Opioid Coordinator, Imperial Calcasieu Human Service Authority and Office of Public Health
• Traci Hedrick, LAC, Community Service Director, Imperial Calcasieu Human Service Authority

This presentation will address national and statewide shifts in drug overdose trends; new ways of thinking about substance use disorder and evidenced-based treatment models; finally, it will review our local level community strategies and partnerships working to reduce overdose rates and substance use disorder in Southwest Louisiana.

• Rochelle Schultz Spinarski, MPA, President and Principal, Rural Health Solutions
• Donney Goutierrez, RPH, Director of Pharmacy, Bayou Bend Health System
• Amanda Howard, RPH, Director of Pharmacy Services, Hardtner Medical Center
• Darra Jung, BSN, RN, CCRN-K, Director of Nursing, Union General Hospital

This session will feature the antibiotic stewardship initiatives of the Louisiana Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program and three critical access hospitals (CAHs) in Louisiana. All hospitals in the U.S. are charged with advancing antibiotic stewardship under the leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With support from the Flex Program, three CAHs are taking on the challenge and they will share their work as well as plans for the future.

• Derrick Ramsey B.B.A M.Ed., Senior Director, Innovative Healthcare Transformations (InHT), TexLa Telehealth Resource Center

The Telehealth Broadband Pilot Program is a grant-funded initiative to measure broadband performance and Internet availability in rural counties, with an emphasis on evaluating how connectivity affects telemedicine access.  The goal of the project is to collect accurate data to support future broadband deployment efforts. This presentation summarizes the work that has been done to date, and the future expansion of the project as well as how to establish similar measurement studies and the importance of accurate broadband data to expand access and equity in healthcare.  

• Wendy Sablatura, RHC Surveyor, The Compliance Team

The presentation will cover commonly found deficiencies in Rural Health Clinics.

• Tanisha Hubbard, Program Assistant, LDH/Office of Behavioral Health/ Louisiana Spirit

• Nathan White, President, Newpoint Health & Interim Executive Director of Rough Rider Network
• Ben Bucher, CEO, Towner County Medical Center & Board Chair of Rough Rider Network

Participants will learn how development of a High Value Network, through a Clinically Integrated Network and Shared Services Platform, will create opportunities to strengthen your organization’s performance. At a time when rural independent hospitals and physician clinics are declining, a High Value Network is a model built around collaboration and alignment, which drives Economies of Scale, Population Health Capabilities, and New Payor Strategies. This discussion will include the key characteristics of High Value Networks, areas for partnership and collaboration, how this model is working in other areas of the country, and implications for physician partners—All While Preserving an Independent Model. 

• Ariel P. Santos, MD, MPH, FRCSC, FCCM, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Surgery, Texas Tech Telemedicine Program

With the uptick in the utility of telemedicine, there is also an increased need for education of current and future healthcare providers on how to deliver quality virtual care.  Delivery of telehealth require some different skills set.  This will be a presentation on why and how to educate providers across health care continuum.

• Patty Harper, RHIA, CHC, Principal Consultant, InQuiseek Consulting

This session will demystify Medicare Provider Enrollment by answering common questions about how to enroll different provider types and how to report changes to your Medicare Contractor, state agency and regional CMS office. 

• Elizabeth Lindsay, MPH, Perinatal Surveillance Supervisor, Louisiana STD/HIV/Hepatitis Program
• Lawrencia Gougisha, MPH, BSN, RN, Perinatal Case Manager (Regions 2 and 4), Louisiana STD/HIV/Hepatitis Program

This presentation will cover the state of syphilis and congenital syphilis in Louisiana and the Lake Charles region, along with related prevention strategies.

• Susie Lee Hutchinson, CAPPM, CMSR, PCMH CCE, Director of Practice Management and Health Center Operations, Louisiana Primary Care Association
• Erica Rose-Crawford, AAS, NRP, CN-BC, Statewide Project Manager-CHWTP, Louisiana Primary Care Association
• Peyton Fisher, Project Director for Delta Region Rural Workforce Program, Louisiana Primary Care Association

These presentations will discuss building the Community Healthcare Worker Program and LPCA’s Grant opportunity offered to train and certify the CHW’s with incentives to assist the students to complete the program. The CHWTP focuses on educating, recruiting, and maintaining a CHW workforce within the state of Louisiana

• Carmen Irwin, CMS Dallas Local Engagement and Administration (LEA)

The session will include Medicare updates including policy, pricing, innovation, and agency initiatives. Attendees will hear about updates on the PHE unwinding and the impacts to Medicare program post pandemic.

• Kyla Fleming, Specialist, Lafayette Area Office, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Louisiana Rural Development

The State Director will discuss funding opportunities for rural healthcare providers.

• Denaé Hebert, MBA, Executive Director, Louisiana Rural Health Association
• Nicole Coarsey, MPA, Louisiana State Rural Health Officer, Well-Ahead Louisiana

Closing comments from Well-Ahead Louisiana and Louisiana Rural Health Association