The Rural Health Roundtable
October 2-3, 2008
Where: Maryland Department of Agriculture Building,
50 Harry S Truman Parkway, Annapolis
Register Now.
Hosted by the Rural Maryland Council in partnership with the
State Office of Rural Health, with
thanks to our Sponsors and Friends.
See the tentative agenda
The purpose of the Rural Health Roundtable is to develop an action
plan that helps to implement the top priority of the 2007 Maryland Rural Health
Plan, which is to increase recruitment and retention of rural health
care providers. The Roundtable will offer an overview of
Maryland's health care workforce shortages as well as current attempts to study
and address these challenges, with particular emphasis on rural needs. Roundtable
participants will then develop an action plan with short- and long-term goals.
Who should attend? Rural Health Care Advocates; Policy Experts and Analysts;
Rural Health Providers, Practioners and Educators; Rural County Health Officials;
Elected leaders on the State, County and Local levels; Agency Representatives; and
Concerned Citizens
Tentative Agenda
Updated August 20, 2008
Thursday, October 2: Setting the Stage
9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Registration, Networking and Continental Breakfast.
(No On-Site Registration!)
10:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Welcome and Introduction. Charlie Ross, Chairman,
Rural Maryland Council.
10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.: Setting the Stage. This session will provide
a round up and summary of the various task forces, studies and commissions
throughout the state who have been working to study and address health care work
force shortages, especially as they relate to rural areas.
- 10:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. -- Michelle Clark, Program Director, State Office of Rural Health:
Implementing the Maryland Rural Health Plan. Ms. Clark will provide an overview
of the Maryland Rural Health Plan, which was released in July 2007, and discuss
the priorities identified in the plan, especially the need to address workforce
shortages and retention across all health care specialities in rural areas.
- 10:45 to 11:15 a.m. -- Robert Barish, M.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine:
An Overview of Physician Workforce Shortages. Dr. Barish will discuss the results and
reality of a Physician Workforce Shortage Study recently completed by the
Maryland Hospital Association and Med Chi. The shortages in rural areas will be
highlighted.
- 11:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. -- Catherine M. Crowley, Ed.D., Vice President, Maryland Hospital Association:
An Overview of Nursing and Allie Health Shortages. Dr. Crowley will provide an
overview of the activities of the Maryland Healthcare Workforce Shortage Committee and
the Governor's Workforce Investment Board. She will also discuss nursing recruitment and
retention initiatives as well as the Who Will Care? plan.
- 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. -- Ben Steffen, Maryland Health Care Commission:
An Overview of State Initiatives and Programs. Mr. Steffen will review
the work of the Governor's Task Force on Health Care Access and Reimbursement,
the Loan Assistance Repayment Program, and the Maryland Health Care Commission
on Health Information Technology.
12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Lunch -- Speaker Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton
will discuss the work and recommendations of the Task Force to Review Physician
Shortages in Rural Areas. Senator Middleton chairs the task force which was created
by a bill he introduced in the 2008 General Assembly session.
1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. -- Grow Your Own: An Overview of How Other States Have
Created a Pipeline of Health Care Professionals.
Presenter: April Vestal, Associate Director, Site Liaison for the West Virginia
Rural Health Education Partnership. Other speakers are being confirmed. Moderator:
Susan Stewart, Executive Director,
Western Maryland Area Health Education Center.
3:00 to 3:15 p.m. -- Break.
3:15 to 4 p.m. -- Telehealth. This session is currently in development.
4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. -- Wrap Up and Planning for Tomorrow's Work Session!
(Dinner on your own.)
Friday, October 3: Developing An Action Plan
Participants will review the recommendations of the Task Force, which relate
to recruitment and retention, and then meet in break out Action Groups to prioritize
those which they think would be most effective in rural areas over the short- and
long-term. Participants will also help identify the steps that need to be
taken to achieve the desired results. Each group will report out to the larger
session. The Rural Maryland Council will use this information to develeop an
action plan and establish a legislative agenda for 2009.
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. -- A Status Report on Maryland. This session
will outline the models, programs and policies that Maryland currently has in
place and can be used to build on the group's priorities and recommendations.
9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. -- Developing an Action Plan Participants will break
into three Action Groups. Each group will review and study a section of the task force
recommendations and determine which are the most important to pursue over the
short- and long-term.
Facilitator for the Day is Dr. Annie Kronk. Dr. Kronk spent nearly
two decades with the Johns Hopkins Institutions, where she managed Hopkins'
government affairs program and served as its registered lobbyist in Annapolis.
She occasionally teaches courses in politics and policy, and regularly consults
with higher education organizations and others on educational and rural health
policy issues. She served two terms on the Rural Maryland Council Board and
is the former Chair of the RMC Health Care Working Committee.
11:30 p.m. to Noon -- Action Group Reports.
12:00 to 12:30 p.m. -- Next Steps.
12:30 p.m. -- Lunch and General Networking.
Nearby Hotels
There are several hotels very close to the MDA building. A few are listed below.
Roundtable participants who plan to spend the night in Annapolis will have to make
their own arrangements.
Major Sponsors
Sponsors
Rural Maryland Council :: 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway :: Annapolis, MD 21401 :: 410-841-5772
