The Membership Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
The National Rural EMS & Care Conference, hosted by the South Carolina Office of Rural Health and the South Carolina Office of EMS, was a resounding success in Charleston! The conference brought together EMS providers, state EMS directors, State Offices of Rural Health and so many more. It is no small feat to pull off a successful national conference, and it wouldn’t have happened without a dedicated conference planning committee, a passion for the work, and the coordination of a small army of people. NOSORH, the JCREC, and the planning committee would like to thank all the volunteers, the host state, and all the people that made this year’s conference one of the best yet.
Kevin McGinnis, NASEMSO, reviews the draft Tactical Plan for Rural EMS with conference participants.
One of the attendees noted, “This meeting has benefited the state trauma program because it brings together not only EMS, trauma professionals, but also the rural health partners. The relationship between the partners is occasionally overlooked and this venue not only increases awareness, but helps to establish a foundation. This annual meeting may also help to educate and secure the relationships between ORH and EMS/Trauma/other time critical emergencies as the health department leadership can easily make the connection between the various rural health programs and their impacts on each other. Rural healthcare is often overlooked and this meeting increases awareness of the rural patient’s health disparities.”
Another said, “This was a great meeting for networking and discussion. The format and variety of sessions was great, and the speakers were all phenomenal – true leaders in rural EMS and excellent at providing quality education to attendees.”
For all the presentations from the conference, including information on a Tactical Plan for the Future of EMS, please click here. Also, be on the lookout for 2020 conference plans!
It’s not too late to register for the 2019 National Rural EMS & Care Conference being held in Charleston, South Carolina, this month! The conference will be April 17-18 at the Francis Marion Hotel. To book a room, please call 843-722-0600 or 877-756-2121 and reference the “NOSORH EMS Meeting” to get the $256.51 per room/per night rate (This includes taxes and fees). You may also book online by clicking here. Please be sure to book your room soon.
As a special note for the State Offices, for the first time, this year’s conference will feature breakout tracks with topics geared toward Critical Access Hospitals and the Flex program. Some other sessions of note include, “How to Develop a High-Performance System in a Rural, Low Volume Area”, “FQHC’s and RHC’s: Promoting Introduction Between EMS and Other Partners”, and a panel with the State EMS Directors from Wyoming, Georgia, and South Carolina. This is a diverse agenda that is sure to excite all our rural EMS partners.
Also, NOSORH is offering a half-day “EMS Grant Writing 101 Workshop”! Rural EMS agencies and other interested partners will learn how to write and submit a complete grant proposal, understand rural relevant data important to EMS and identify funding opportunities. This workshop will be held on Tuesday, April 16, from 1:00pm – 5:00 pm.
Click here to register for the Conference and the Grant Writing 101 Workshop.
We hope to see you all in South Carolina! For more information about the meeting, visit the NOSORH website.
Join rural EMS stakeholders from across the country in historic Charleston, South Carolina, for the 5th Annual National Rural EMS & Care Conference! Plan to arrive one day early for a half-day EMS Grant Writing 101 Workshop! This optional workshop will be held on Tuesday, April 16, from 1:00-5:00 pm. Rural EMS agencies and other interested partners will learn how to write and submit a complete grant proposal, understand rural relevant data important to EMS and identify funding opportunities. Click here for the draft workshop agenda.
For the first time, this year’s conference will feature breakout tracks with topics geared toward Critical Access Hospitals and the Flex program. Click here for the draft Conference agenda.
The conference will be held at the Francis Marion Hotel, 387 King Street, Charleston, SC. To book a room, please call 843-722-0600 or 877-756-2121 and reference the “NOSORH EMS Meeting” to get the $256.51 per room/per night rate (This includes taxes and fees). You may also book online by clicking here.
Click here to register for the Conference and the optional Grant Writing 101 Workshop.
Check the NOSORH website for more information.
Please share this registration information with all partners, providers, or other interested parties. Also, please include in any newsletters or other distributions you may have.
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. Understanding the changes in the national healthcare environment, and specific trends and issues in the past few years, has shaped consideration of the recommendations and some recrafting of them. Some of these include the “volume to value” reimbursement emphasis, rural hospital closures, the role of communities, and the way EMS will be treated under evolving healthcare financing legislation.
The Steering Committee reviewed the recommendations of the 2004 Agenda and participated in a rating process for importance, feasibility for achievement in three years, and relevance to the JCREC. The scoring resulted in a clear grouping that had received a preponderance of the votes. These were then presented last April at the National Rural EMS and Care Conference and at the Rural Committee of the NASEMSO annual meeting. The recommendations were rated by the EMS providers, state rural health officials, EMS physicians, or state EMS officials attending these meetings. They were also invited to add to the list of recommendations. During this process and subsequent discussion, attendees approved a group of recommendations.
“We’re very appreciative of the excellent efforts that Kevin McGinnis has led, said Teryl Eisinger, NOSORH Executive Director. “I’m looking forward to reading the comments and seeing the input from State Offices of Rural Health, rural EMS agencies and state EMS Officials. This plan has the potential to impact rural communities for years to come.”
All comments on the Tactical Plan can be submitted to Kevin McGinnis, NASEMSO Program Manager, at kevin@mcginnis.ws by no later than close of business on February 22, 2019.
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. Some of the many areas being considered include developing a high-performance EMS system in low-volume rural areas, how State Flex Programs, EMS directors and State Offices of Rural Health can work together, how FQHCs and RHCs are promoting introductions between EMS and other partners, and maternity/delivery care. The conference will also be expanding by offering a set of breakout sessions, providing attendees more options and time for discussion on specific topics.
Invited attendees include rural EMS directors, medical directors and officers, rural health care providers, state EMS officials, state rural health officials, hospital administrators, elected officials, federal agency officials, and other EMS partners.
Francis Marion Hotel
387 King Street, Charleston, SC 29403
Room Rate: $226
To reserve a room call: (843) 722-0600 or 1-(877) 756-2121 or click here.
Group Code: NOSORH EMS Meeting
Parking is $17/day
For more information about the conference as it become available, click here.
NOSORH, The Joint Committee on Rural Emergency Care (JCREC), and the South Carolina Office of Rural Health are happy to announce that the 2019 National Rural EMS & Care Conference will take place in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 17-18. Invited attendees include rural EMS directors, medical directors and officers, rural health care providers, state EMS officials, state rural health officials, hospital administrators, elected officials, federal agency officials, and other EMS partners. This will be an amazing opportunity to engage with partners from all over the country and at different levels of EMS care. Last year, the conference saw almost 120 attendees in Tucson, Arizona, and this year even more are anticipated.
Now in its 5th year, the National Rural EMS & Care Conference has grown in scope and content. Joyce Hospodar, JCREC Co-Chair and host of the 2018 conference states, “The growth in attendance and breadth of topics covered at last year’s conference lends testimony to the need to continue to bring together rural EMS providers and other national and regional partners to share issues and create solutions. Targeting rural issues related to EMS needs around workforce, collaboration, policy, and systems thinking are essential components for serving the country’s rural communities.” Other past attendees have stated, “The networking with colleagues from around the country and in our region is the biggest benefit. Hearing ideas and learning from others about successes provides insight into how to model similar processes in our community.”
This meeting truly is an exceptional resource and we look forward to you joining us in Charleston this April. More details to be released soon.
Last month, the State Offices of Rural Health and NOSORH were represented by Matt Strycker, NOSORH Program Manager, at the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO) Regional Meeting in Denver, Colorado. Strycker spoke on a panel with Ron Seedorf, Emergency Preparedness Manager at the Colorado Rural Health Center, about the work of SORHs and NOSORH, and how State Offices are leading the charge through the EMS Flex Supplemental funds they received.
With EMS officials and those on the ground taking the lead on the opioid crisis, representation at this meeting was quite timely. The session “A Rural EMS Story”, presented by Chris Beltz of Campbell County EMS in Wyoming, detailed how a failing EMS provider partnered with the Wyoming State Office of Rural Health and the Wyoming Office of Emergency Medical Services to do an assessment of Campbell County EMS. They set out key areas for improvement; personnel issues, overtime problems, building a partnership with their hospital, etc. They were able to go from losing money to making their hospital and Campbell County EMS almost one million dollars. This real-life success story highlighted the importance of building partnerships between EMS providers and the State Offices of Rural Health.
Input on an EMS Addendum to the Rural Hospital Closure Toolkit was collected at the meeting. This addendum will include information and resources on what EMS providers can do if their hospital has closed or if there is a threat of a hospital closure. If you have any information that you may be able to provide on the addendum, please contact Matt Strycker at stryckerm@nosorh.org or at 1-888-391-7258 ext. 102.
Matt Zavadsky, MedStar Mobile Healthcare, speaks on National Community Paramedicine/Mobile Integrated Health Programs
NOSORH, the Joint Committee on Rural Emergency Care, and the National Association of State EMS Officials would like to thank all who helped make the 2018 National Rural EMS & Care Conference a resounding success in Tucson, Arizona! Together with the Arizona Office of Rural Health, over 100 participants attended the conference for two full days of engaging sessions. Attendees were presented with topics ranging from new EMS payments models, to different approaches to tribal and frontier paramedicine projects, to a panel of state EMS directors, and more.
NOSORH will be compiling and sharing the information gleaned from the working lunch discussion focused on what EMS can do when a rural hospital is facing closure into a toolkit later this year.
A panel of State EMS Directors discuss national rural EMS issues
All conference resources, including presentations from the meeting, will be available here on the NOSORH website by May 7th.
If you’re interested in connecting with someone who attended from your state, check the participant list here.