Pride of Rural Virginia is a grant-funded initiative to address LGBTQIA+ health & healthcare priorities in rural areas across Virginia.  The June 12^th kickoff will be a virtual event to invite community members and health providers from around the state to learn more about “The Pride of Rural Virginia” project and the opportunity to attend a virtual “Pride of Rural Virginia” community chat in your area.

The Pride of Rural Virginia

Introducing the new Rural Health Maternal Health Toolkit! This toolkit is designed to support rural communities implementing maternal health programs across the United States, by compiling  evidence-based and promising models and resources.

The modules in the toolkit contain resources and information focused on developing, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining rural programs to address the factors that affect and influence maternal health.

Dr. Amanda Cohn, MD serves as the Chief Medical Officer of the National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) and Executive Secretary of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. She additionally just completed service as Chief Medical Officer on CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force. In the attached article, Dr. Cohn discusses challenges that rural communities face in getting the COVID-19 vaccination and explains how the CDC is providing funding, creating resources, and partnering with other organizations to increase vaccination rates in underserved communities such as rural, tribal, and communities of color.

Vaccinating Rural America: Q&A with Dr. Amanda Cohn

GMEC is delighted to offer a special homecoming Head for the Hills in a luxurious setting. COVID has changed many things. Head for the Hills normally enjoys circulating between state parks. This year, because of pandemic restrictions, parks would require us to bring our own linens and limit capacity at gatherings. We are THIS YEAR ONLY going to the Martha Washington in Abingdon, November 4-6, 2021. Lectures will be November 5 and 6, 2021 from 8-12:30.

Because of the additional costs associated with this beautiful setting, it is essential that you provide accurate information on accommodation and meal needs for everyone in your party, as well as babysitting information for those with children.

PLEASE NOTE HOUSING POLICY: If you plan to stay Thursday night or Friday night, a $100 per night check to GMEC will be required to offset room charges and guarantee use. Checks not received within 45 days of registration will result in room cancellation. Registration deadline is July 31, 2021.

In the midst of this global pandemic, a more silent enemy is creeping in, taking the form of burn out and mental health fatigue. One ysytem of hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and long-term care facilities based in Central Minnesota, CentraCare has developed programs in the form of a cmprehensive webpage that offers ” virtual presentation detailing symptoms of chronic stress, fliers detailing the importance of “emotional PPE,” daily 15-minute “wellness reset” meetings, spiritual care support, free mental health video visits with behavioral health providers, virtual guided meditations focused on finding balance, and mini-presentations on self-care during stressful times”.

Mental health supports help rural care providers weather a COVID surge

A coliseum in Dalhart, Texas and some dedicated healthcare workers are setting the pace for vaccine distribution in rural counties and surrounding areas. Braving the cold temperatures and the wind chill, this community worked together to administer over a thousand doses of the COVID-19 Vaccine by Pfizer in just over 6 hours. With the help of the local fire and police department , the clinic ran smoothly and socially distanced for both doses of the vaccine.

1,232 Doses of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Distributed at Coliseum in Dalhart, Texas

Meet the newest member of the residency program: Manny the Model! The residency program has been gifted a new central line training model by the Southwest Va. GME Consortium. This model provides extremely realistic anatomy of the upper thorax and neck in order to help residents to skills and confidence to comfortably progress to live patients. Manny will help with both blind and ultrasound-guided placement and cannot wait to work with all our residents!

The inauguration of a new president is the story that has dominated headlines this past week. Top of mind for much of the country are questions surrounding what will be different under this new administration. The Daily Yonder has worked with some rural health community leaders to better understand what they expect and hope to see under President Biden. Click the link below to read what they had to say.

As Biden Presidency Begins, Rural Thought Leaders Look Ahead

The Virginia Rural Association is hosting a series of quarterly market updates for rural healthcare stakeholders to stay current on the changes in the healthcare marketplace in order to strategize responses to ensure vital services for rural communities. These hour-long sessions are designed with rural providers in mind and will provide crucial updates of the effect of the pandemic on the industry at large. The first event of 2021 is taking place on January 26th, 2021. For more information and registration, please visit link below.

State of the Healthcare Industry: Market Updates for Rural Strategy

With all of the buzz around the approval of the vaccines for COVID-19 from Moderna and Pfizer, the next question naturally how to get the vaccine to those that are most susceptible to the virus. As it stands currently, the federal government will lean on pharmacies to help distribute vaccines as soon as they become available, however a new study shows that nearly a third of rural counties in the US do not have a pharmacy that is connected to a network that can participate in the federal COVID-19 vaccination program. This study, done by the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy and Analysis states that 750 of the nearly 2000 nonmetropolitan countries do not have a pharmacy listed in the HHS vaccine distribution partnership. The populations of these counties account for nearly 13% of the total rural population, which is nearly 5.6 million people. Currently there is not a fix to mitigate this challenge.

One Third of Rural Counties Lack Pharmacy Listed in Initial Vaccination Plan