NOSORH+
NOSORH+

Region E

Pre-Meeting and SORH Regional Partnership Meeting | 2021

Mobile Integrated Health and Community Paramedicine

EMS agencies across the nation, of all sizes and types are partnering with hospitals, primary care physicians, nurses, and mental health and social services providers on innovative programs that navigate patients to the right level of care. The goal: to lower costs, improve care, and enable EMS practitioners – including EMTs, Paramedics and Community Paramedics – to use their skills and resources to help solve the problems facing healthcare systems and communities.

Community Health Workers Addressing Mental Health in Rural

The Sweet Grass County Health Department is a unit of the Pioneer Medical Center. The goal of public health is to prevent disease, prolong life and promote health. The public health department is concerned with the overall health of Sweet Grass County residents. The Sweet Grass County Health Department works closely with local medical providers and state officials to reduce the impact of disease through monitoring, education, and other preventative measures. This presentation explores the work they have done to help address mental health issues in rural Montana.

Emergency Preparedness in Rural

When emergencies happen in rural communities, especially disasters that are severe or prolonged, the demands on local response agencies and healthcare facilities can quickly consume available resources. Disasters have complex effects, whether they are natural or man-made, and can occur without warning. Rural communities can deal more effectively with large-scale emergencies by planning and preparing for emergencies before they happen. 

NOSORH/FORHP Town Hall

This session tackles four main issues:

  1. What new, unforeseen opportunity has your SORH taken advantage of? What are you accomplishing? Who are you are partnering with to get it done?
  2. What are your challenges, plans, or wins in addressing rural broadband?
  3. How is your SORH partnering with emergency preparedness and disaster response stakeholders?
  4. What resources does your SORH use/need to promote diversity and inclusion in rural communities?

Educating Communities and Providers on Rural Mental Health

The Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to provide free mental health training, resources, and technical assistance to individuals who serve persons with mental illness in HHS Region 8. Region 8 includes ND, SD, UT, MT, WY, and CO. Our focus area is rural mental health. We have partnered with NRHA, NOSORH, and the National Association for Rural Mental Health (among many others) to provide free training, curriculum, and resources. NOSORH members, especially NOSORH Region E, should work with and utilize the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center to address the needs of their rural communities. 

COVID-19 and CEO Turnover: What’s a Rural Hospital To Do?

Roughly one in five hospital CEOs leave their positions in any given year, often on short notice and sometimes not on the best of terms. The rate is even higher in rural communities; and, that is during a “typical” year.  With COVID-19, 2020 and 2021 have proven to be anything but “typical” years.  In this presentation, we will identify root causes of CEO turnover and how that turnover has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Furthermore, we will demonstrate how much a leadership change can cost an organization in terms of dollars, employee and medical staff engagement, and community confidence.  Lastly, we will identify actions an organization can take to help prevent CEO turnover, to begin with, whether it is during a “typical” year or amidst a pandemic; but, more importantly, we will present three simple steps any organization can use when facing a change in leadership, so it has the tools it needs to come out of a CEO transition governing an even stronger organization.

Rural Transportation

Rural communities face challenges in offering safe, affordable, and reliable methods of transportation. The lower population density in rural areas often leads to lower ridership for fixed transit routes and a smaller tax base to fund maintenance and repair of transportation systems. The lack of investment in infrastructure in rural communities coupled with the increasing use of rural roads over time has also affected transportation safety.