The Membership Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
NOSORH, The National Association of State EMS Officials, The Joint Committee on Rural Emergency Care, and the South Carolina Office of Rural Health invite you to join them on April 17-18 in Charleston, South Carolina, for the 5th Annual National Rural EMS & Care Conference. This will be an amazing opportunity to engage with partners from all over the country and at different levels of EMS care! Whether you are a State Office, local EMS provider, state EMS Director, or a hospital administrator, this year’s conference will benefit all who attend with an agenda that features a wide variety of rural and frontier EMS topics. Read More
Massachusetts, Georgia, Kansas, Hawaii, and Oregon are set to take the stage this year for NOSORH Regional Partnership Meetings! Thank you to all of the volunteers who work on the planning committees to create meaningful agendas for each region’s meeting. Please note that all five regional meetings will host a half-day pre or post meeting. More information will be provided when the topics for these half-day meetings are finalized. Read More
The Joint Committee on Rural Emergency Care (JCREC), a collaborative group of the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO), NOSORH, Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC) and the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP), is now accepting comments on the 2019 Rural and Frontier EMS Three Year National Tactical Plan. The three-year Tactical Plan builds on the work of the original 2004 Rural EMS Agenda for the Future and proposes a three-year tactical approach to implementing some of the most important, feasible, remaining recommendations. Read More
NOSORH is delighted to announce the newly developed Learning to Lead: The Jim Bernstein SORH Leadership Institute. This 12-part (90 minute sessions), online Institute is designed exclusively for State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) , focusing on the skills, characteristics and knowledge base important to successful leadership of a SORH. The Institute cost is $1,000 including all webinars, materials, optional in-person experiences and a Certificate of Completion. It is expected to start this spring and will deploy a variety of expert speakers Read More
Once per quarter, NOSORH facilitates an Aging in Rural Learning Group for State Offices of Rural Health. The Learning Group is a great opportunity for participants to join group discussions and informative presentations on various aging programs, projects and topics. People living in rural communities are poorer, sicker and (getting) older. With that knowledge comes the challenge of determining the SORH role without overstepping. The Aging in Rural Group attempts to chip away at that dilemma. Read More
By Beth Blevins
Behavioral and other healthcare providers in rural North Carolina are getting connected to the statewide health information exchange thanks to the state’s Office of Rural Health Information Technology (ORH HIT) program.
The ORH HIT program evolved from the North Carolina 2015 Health Information Exchange Act (HIE Act), which mandates that healthcare providers that bill for Medicaid or receive state funds for services must connect to NC HealthConnex, the statewide HIE, by June 1, 2019, to continue to receive payments. Read More
The following update was provided by Hall Render, NOSORH Policy Liaison:
Short-Term Funding Deal Reached to End Government Shutdown
On January 18, President Trump announced a deal to temporarily reopen the federal government and end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The deal funds the remaining federal agencies until February 15, giving lawmakers more time to try to work out a compromise on the immigration and border security issues. President Trump called on the Senate to bring the proposal to the floor for a vote immediately. The House is hoping to clear the bill by unanimous consent. The agreement is considered the product of negotiations between the Senate’s top leaders, Read More
Prevention Institute (PI) is a national public health nonprofit that works to advance health, safety, and wellbeing through community-oriented solutions, policy change, and innovative partnerships. PI develops tools and frameworks designed to help health agencies grow new partnerships with other government agencies, community-based organizations, healthcare providers, and other sectors like economic development, education, and planning to promote health. Read More
Rural communities, hospitals and clinics across the country are charged with the heavy responsibility of caring for patients with higher than average death rates for cancer compared to their urban counterparts. There are many attributed barriers which contribute to this disparity and the National Institute of Health’ Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences is dedicating resources to learning more about these disparities and how to address them. Read More
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.
The Communications committee met to review a summary report and accomplishments of the 2018 National Rural Health Day event, including recommendations for 2019. The group will soon begin planning for this year’s National Rural Health Day and Power of Rural campaign. Read more
The RHIhub has a new Evidence-based Toolkit on Rural Philanthropy. Developed in collaboration with the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, this toolkit is designed to help rural organizations create and maintain partnerships with philanthropies. Includes guidance on conducting outreach, model programs, emerging strategies, and a wealth of resources. Read More