NOSORH committees are great focal points for engaging in many NOSORH initiatives. Descriptions of all committees and contact information can be found on the NOSORH website.
Aging in Rural Group – The Aging in Rural Group held its October meeting at the NOSORH Annual Meeting in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The group was fortunate to have two experts on hand to provide perspective and introduce the group to innovative programs. Dr. Kathy Black, Principal Investigator, Age-Friendly Sarasota, and faculty at University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, presented a plenary session on Rural Health Alignment with Age – Friendly Communities before joining the group discussion. She shared a vast array of resources and tools available for use in aging work. Shelly Jackson, OVC Visiting Fellow, Elder Justice Initiative, US Department of Justice, spoke to the group at length regarding the Rural and Tribal Elder Justice Initiative and associated resources. The group will continue to follow the work of these two highly regarded experts and will provide any relevant information and/or resources in coming months. If you have interest in joining the Aging in Rural group, please email Tammy Norville at tammyn@nosorh.org.
Development Committee – The Development Committee’s discussion centered around sponsorship status and potential growth of sponsorship opportunities moving forward. If you have interest in joining the Development Committee, please forward contact information to Tammy Norville (tammyn@nosorh.org).
Flex Committee –Harvey Licht, Varela Consulting joined the Flex Committee to share information regarding the CMS Star Rating Program for Hospitals proposed rules. Harvey is working with the PPMT Committee to formulate NOSORH comments on these proposed rules and having him join the Flex call provided members an opportunity to ask questions and provide “boots on the ground” input for consideration. There was also continued discussion around the desire for access to quality, affordable, easily accessible education for Board Members as well as potential topics for the coming year. Generally, the Flex Committee does not meet in November nor December. However, the Flex Guidance is scheduled for release in December, so there will be a call on Thursday, December 27 at 3 PM ET to discuss the Guidance. If you have interest in joining the Flex Committee, please forward contact information to Tammy Norville (tammyn@nosorh.org).
Executive Committee– Last month, the Executive Committee reviewed recommendations from the Governance and Structure task force, prepared for the NOSORH membership meeting and planned the appointment and election of Regional Reps to the 2019 Board of Directors.
Communications- The Communications Committee continued making plans for National Rural Health Day, including webinar topics and presenters. The group discussed the option of printing hardcover copies of the Community Stars e-book for the first time.
Policy Program Monitoring Team- Last month, the PPMT worked to finalize comments on rural ACO. At the Annual Meeting, Harvey Licht shared information on tracking state coverage initiatives and led a discussion on the increasingly important role of states on ensuring access. Analysis of these initiatives and several links for tracking these initiatives were included in the presentation. The work of the PPMT in November will include reviewing appropriate measures and recommends for hospital star ratings, and tracking efforts on global payment systems.