Author: swva gmec

Ever wonder how the rural health movement got started? Or what challenges are faced by communities trying to start dedicated rural track residency programs? Maybe you're interested in learning more  about the best ways to support the growth of a fledgling program. If so, check out the article below, , which provides a great overview of the successes… Continue reading Rural Health History Article

The Aging in  Appalachia Conference (rescheduled from this past fall) offers a great opportunity to receive continuing education here in Southwest Virginia. This conference, organized by East Tennessee State University, will offer a total of 7 CME credits and 7 CNE Credits, as well as up to 2.75 Nursing Pharmacology hours. The event will be held May 19 in Marion,… Continue reading Aging in Appalachia Conference

Doctors on the ground build economies. Rural areas support Telehealth but as a supplement, not as a replacement. The article  below, by Kaiser Health News, discusses some of the areas of concern surrounding the Telehealth debate.  Chief among those concerns: results from this recent study,  which found that while use of Telehealth did increase access to services, total  patient costs were higher than those… Continue reading How cost effective is telehealth in practice?

The American Society of Anesthesiologists is offering up to a $500 stipend for third and fourth year medical students interested in learning about anesthesia in rural areas. Students will work with mentors at preselected rural sites across the United States. The stipend is designed to cover the costs of travel and lodging expenses for the rural clerkship. Application deadlines: By… Continue reading Rural Access to Anesthesia Care Scholarship

The Virginia Rural Health Association is currently accepting new sites into the Virginia Rural Health Telecommunications Consortium (VRHTC), which is open to select healthcare facilities in Virginia and surrounding Appalachian states. The VRHTC fosters the development and growth of broadband healthcare networks through a streamlined application process to the federal Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF), which reduces prices… Continue reading Virginia Rural Health Telecommunications Consortium

It's common knowledge that medical school is a costly endeavor.  After student loans and years of residency post graduation, it may feel like daunting challenge to even begin planning for your financial future.  This doesn't have to be the case! Check out these 7 simple tips from AMA Wire on maximizing financial preparedness and start optimizing for your financial health… Continue reading Strategies to Encourage Financial Health

There's been a lot of buzz around telehealth recently as stakeholders brainstorm methods for expanding access to healthcare in rural areas. So that you can familiarize yourself with  this dynamic field, Kathy Wibberly (of the Mid Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center) has put together a presentation on some of the history and latest innovations in telemedicine.  We may even start seeing some of these… Continue reading What Doctors Need to Know About Telehealth

A new year means New Year's resolutions. Kick off 2017 the right way by brushing up on some best practices in clinical documentation to use at your facility, originally prepared and presented by billing and coding expert Nora Blankenbecler at Head for the Hills 2016. Clinical Documentation Toolbox

Fall graduations are now behind us, and that means a cadre of  newly minted healthcare professionals are now entering the workforce. With that in mind, we wanted to share some information from the Virginia Department of Health on health workforce incentive programs. Health Workforce Incentive Programs

Healthcare providers face many challenges in the field, but one of the most difficult remains how to communicate a difficult diagnosis to a patient. We were privileged to have Dr. Thomas Bishop lead us through a session at Head for the Hills 2016 on approaches providers can take to communicate bad news more effectively. For those of you who were not… Continue reading Breaking Bad News: Communicating a Difficult Diagnosis or Lifestyle Change