NRHP Member CEO and NRHP Regional Chief Information Officer named "Healthcare Heroes"

Nevada Rural Hospital Partners congratulates Joan Hall, BSN, Administrator of South Lyon Medical Center in Yerington, on being named Northern Nevada Healthcare Hero for 2007 in the "Hospital Administrator" category. The 2nd annual Healthcare Heroes Awards recognized and honored individuals who have made significant contributions to healthcare in Nevada. Proceeds from the awards dinner benefited students pursuing careers in healthcare education at the University of Nevada School of Medicine.

Joan graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Orvis School of Nursing in 1983. Ms. Hall has been employed at SLMC for 24 years, first as an RN and for the past 12 years as administrator. A former recipient of the March of Dimes Nevada Rural Nurse of the Year award, Joan's commitment to quality care is unparalleled and unwavering. Her commitment to meeting the needs of her community, whether through hospital-based services or not, is well known; if the community needs it, Joan looks for a way to make it happen. An example of her leadership is the atmosphere in the long term care unit. It is not unusual to hear laughter from both staff and residents when visiting there because of the many activities routinely provided for residents. Ms. Hall encourages her staff to participate in networking activities through NRHP and other organizations, and supports their interest and efforts to expand their skills and enhance their knowledge base.

In addition to her duties running the hospital, the long term care unit, and several clinics, Joan has served on many nursing task forces through the years. She is the current Chair of the Nevada Rural Hospital Partners Board of Directors and has served as the Chair of both the Nevada Hospital Association and the Liability Cooperative of Nevada (LiCON). Ms. Hall is an active member of several NRHP and LiCON committees and is a participant in the NRHP Nursing Education Workgroup - a collaborative group of rural hospital administrators, rural nurses, and educators from Western Nevada Community college who are working together to address the shortage of nurses in Nevada's rural communities.

NRHP also congratulates our own Todd Radtke, Regional Chief Information Officer on being named the Northern Nevada Healthcare Heroes "Innovator" for 2007. With over 24 years of experience in the field of information technology management, and a particular emphasis on network development, Todd has worked tirelessly to develop health information technology systems and services that can be successfully shared by independent entities. Todd recognizes that there are significant economic and productivity benefits to be gained through shared technology. What makes Todd's work unique is his ability to bring the independent entities together to work toward a common goal.

Mr. Radtke was the lead NRHP staff for the HRSA Legacy Systems Integration project, the DISRN program, (Diagnostic Imaging Solution for Rural Nevada) the PACS program (Picture Archive Communication System) and an ongoing digital medical records program. As a result of Todd's technical and team-building skills, NRHP's technology partners include: University of Nevada School of Medicine, the Nevada Office of Rural Health, the Northeastern Nevada Area Health Education Center and the NRHP member hospitals throughout the state.

Todd Radtke's vision has been translated into the practical relationships and systems that directly improve Nevada's rural residents' access to services in their communities. Todd's efforts and expertise have: increased the availability of specialty services via the telemedicine network; provided a WAN that gives members the ability to attend educational programs and meetings from their facilities; provided access to shared hardware and software programs that link systems within each hospital and each hospital with the NRHP office in Reno; and, because of his dedicated and personal support of the programs and systems, he has directly impacted the quality of services available and the cost of healthcare for our rural residents.

NRHP President Robin Keith, also President of the National Cooperative of Health Networks, is pleased to announce that Rebecca J. Davis, Ph.D. has been selected to serve as the Executive Director of NCHN.  Ms. Keith, in making the announcement, said that she was proud that the NCHN Board found someone like Rebecca, who brings a wealth of experience to the organization. 

Dr. Davis most recently served as the Executive Director of the Virginia Rural Health Resource Center and Virginia Rural Health Association.  During her tenure she served on a number of state level boards addressing rural health needs.  In addition, she has been active at the state and national level with Partners for Rural America and State Rural Development Councils, serving as the first Chair of the newly formed Council for Rural Virginia.  She was also appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates to serve as a founding trustee of the Center for Rural Virginia from 2004 - 2006.

Dr. Davis has presented at both state and national conferences on rural health and rural development topics. Prior to her work in the healthcare field, she worked in education at both the secondary and post-secondary levels.  She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Virginia Tech. 

Dr. Davis and her husband Michael have recently relocated to Hardinsburg, Kentucky.  Michael is the Fire Management Officer for the Hoosier National Forest.

NRHA Joins House Representatives Pomery and Walden in Unveiling Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act of 2006

(Washington, D.C.) NRHA joined Greg Walden (R-OR) and Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), and many of their colleagues from the House Rural Health Coalition, to unveil a new rural health care bill designed to increase equity and improve access to high quality care in rural America. 

The Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act of 2006 (H-CARE) contains many important rural health provisions, including fair rural representation on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).  Despite an existing requirement for balance between rural and urban representation, MedPAC currently has only one rural health commissioner out of the 17 appointed to represent the nearly 27 percent of Medicare beneficiaries that live in rural America.  H-Care would ensure proportional representation of rural health interests on MedPAC.

The bill also furthers the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) recommendation to implement demonstration projects in rural communities that test innovative ways to improve health care quality.  The H-CARE Act contains many important rural health provisions, including:

• The creation of a Rural Community Hospital (RCH) program, providing the option of Medicare cost-based reimbursement for inpatient and outpatient services for hospitals with 50 or fewer beds.
• The requirement that Medicare Advantage plans pay Critical Access Hospitals at least as much as they would receive under the traditional Medicare program.
• The authorization of $140 million over five years for grants to rural providers to help with the cost of implementing health information technology.
• The mandate of prompt payment to rural pharmacies by Medicare prescription drug plans.
• The re-authorization of rural Outreach and Network grants.  These important programs provide capital investments so that rural communities can plan and launch innovative projects that build networks across providers, increase access to care, and are specifically designed to become self-sufficient.