The Statewide Rural Roundtable

The Rural Maryland Council is pleased to be partnering with the Maryland CASH Campaign and the State Office of Rural Health to host a Statewide Rural Roundtable -- a one day event where rural leaders from around the state will be invited to discuss the issues most important to rural areas and ways organizations can collaborate. Issues to be addressed will include rural health, rural economic development and family asset building. A limited number of scholarships and stipends will be available for those who do not have travel budgets in FY 2010.

When: Thursday, October 22, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Where: Annapolis Doubletree Hotel
Partners: The Maryland CASH Campaign, the State Office of Rural Health, the Maryland Rural Health Association

FINAL Agenda

Welcoming and Introductory Remarks

9:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Rural Roundtable Welcome

9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.: Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton, a strong advocate for rural issues, will deliver opening remarks. Sen. Middleton is Chairman of the Sentate Finance Committee and recently chaired the Task Force to Review Physician Shortages in Rural Areas.

Rural Health Track

10:15 a.m. to Noon: Brainstorming and Strategy Session:
Creating A Vehicle for Funding Primary Care Education in Rural Communities
This session is specifically focused on economic developers
The Rural Residence Workgroup, chaired by Del. Eckerdt, has been meeting with health care professionals and University of Maryland Medical School officials to determine the best way to establish a rural residency program on the Eastern Shore to help address the shortage of rural primary care physicians. The work group is now looking for ways to set up a type of economic development engine that would provide sustainable funding to finance rural medical students and physicians through a variety of means, such as insurance set asides, rate structure charges, revolving loans, community contributions, etc. Economic development professionals are invited and encouraged to join this discussion and help identify a way to develop sustainable funding for rural physician training, relying on other experiences in the state such as a MEDCO-type organization.
Presenters: Delegate Addie Eckardt, Work Group Chair; Michael Fadden, M.D., Chief Medical Officers, Choptank Community Health System, Inc.; and Michael Franklin, President and CEO, Atlantic General Hospital.

1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Workshop Presentation:
The Case for Health Literacy: Working Together to Decrease Costs and Increase Health
Rural residents with limited health literacy tend to use preventative care less and emergency services more. Estimates of costs incurred because of low health literacy range between $106 billion and $238 billion dollars. This workshop will explore ways that health literacy can be part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce health care costs by incorporating it into the workplace, health care clinics and education sites; through a community working together and through public policy. Participants will leave this interactive workshop with tools they can use to start collaborative actions.
Presenters: Bonnie Braun, Endowed Chair and Director, Hershel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy, University of Maryland School of Public Health; and Elaine Anderson, Professor and Family Science Department Head, and Director, Maryland Family Policy Impact Seminar.

2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Workshop Presentation:
The Maryland P3 Program: An Example of Collaboration Across Governmental and Private Entities
The Maryland Patients Pharmacists Partnerships (P3) Program trains pharmacists to serve as health care coaches, providing patients with chronic diseases step-by-step guidance in medication adherence, lifestyle changes and self-care skills. The Maryland P3 Program, which began in 2006, exemplifies collaboration among the private sector (self-insured employers), academic institutions (University of Maryland School of Pharmacy), Government (Maryland General Assembly and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene) and a professional association (Maryland Pharmacists Association). Maryland P3 currently works with five self-insured employers in Maryland and two in Virginia serving more than 350 enrollee participants with diabetes.
Presenters: Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, Pharm.D, and Christine Lee, Pharm.D, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.

3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Workshop Presentation:
Recruitention - Rural Healthcare Workforce Programs to Help Recruit and Retain Health Professionals in Your Community
During the past year, the state and federal government have made policy changes and new implementation directions that will impact the rural healthcare workforce. This session will provide a comprehensive overview of all healthcare workforce programs in Maryland, including the new Maryland Loan Assistance Repayment Program, the National Health Services Corps, the J-1 Waiver Visa program; efforts to build a better rural Grow Your Own Pipeline; and related efforts.
Presenter: Sarah Orth, Director, State Office of Rural Health, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

The Rural Development Track

10:15 a.m. to Noon: Opportunities and Challenges to Wood Energy Generation in Rural Communities
Many rural communities have access to forest resources that can be burned as wood chips to produce a sustainable source of heat or electricity using traditional boiler technology or combined heat and power technology. This presentation will show how rural communities in Maryland can generate energy from wood biomass to save money and provide a stable source of energy for schools, public buildings, small manufacturing and other applications.
Presenter: Jonathan Kays, Western Maryland Regional Extension Specialist.

11:15 a.m. to Noon: Tools for Rural Entrepreneurs through the Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center
Many business development agencies don't have expertise in the underpinnings of agriculturally related businesses to provide business planning support for agricultural and natural resource businesses. The Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center (www.mredc.umd.edu) provides farmers, agricultural entrepreneurs, and new and beginning farmers with business development resources along with actual production and processing advice. Learn more about what you can learn at MREDC at this workshop.
Presenter: Ginger S. Myers, Director, the Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center

1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Farm to School: Growing Healthy Kids and Healthy Communities in Maryland
The Farm to School program is a statewide effort among educational, health and agricultural entities to bring farm fresh foods directly into the schools so that students learn about the connection between farms, food and nutrition. This workshop will provide county officials with tools to enhance economic, educational, and environmental benefits through the Farm to School program. In addition, the Second Annual Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week will be held in September 2009, and this workshop will report on successes and next steps.
Presenter: Jane Storrs, Director, National Marketing, Maryland Department of Agriculture

2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Farms, Communities and Collaboration: Resolving Farm-Neighbor and Other Rural Conflicts
When farmers and non-farmers live together as neighbors in rural communities, disputes and conflicts sometimes arise due to differing and conflicting expectations. This workshop will provide information about the services offered by the Maryland Department of Agriculture to improve farm-neighbor relationships, understand Right to Farm legislation, and use collaborative problem solving to overcome disputes among neighbors and others.
Presenter: Mae C. Johnson, Mediation Coordinator, Maryland Conflict Resolution Service, Maryland Department of Agriculture.

3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Lighting up Rural Maryland: The Rise of A Rural Broadband Network
Rural interests worked together for more than ten years to bring high speed broadband services to rural Maryland. That effort began paying off in 2006 when the State created the Rural Broadband Coordination Board and began, with the federal government, appropriating funds for the network. Rural Regional Councils formed the Maryland Broadband Cooperative, a nonprofit which has made significant strides in deploying the network over the past three years. Hear how they did it, where the network is, where it's going and how your community or facility can tie into it.
Presenters: Patrick Mitchell, President & CEO, Rural Broadband Cooperative; and John Dillman, founding president, Rural Broadband Cooperative and Executive Director, Upper Shore Regional Council.

Brainstorming and Strategy Sessions

Several projects are underway that need input from rural leaders. Attend these sessions to listen to others, share your thoughts and help clear the path for moving forward.

10:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Building a Strategy for Rural Maryland Prosperity
The Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund was authorized in 2006 to help fund regional projects related to planning, infrastructure improvement, entrepreneurship, and other rural community development initiatives that would help bring Rural Maryland's standards of living up to statewide averages by 2020. In addition to completing projects, the fund's goals are to build local and regional capacity and encourage federal and private investment in rural-serving projects and programs; and to promote intergovernmental cooperation as well as public/nonprofit collaboration in rural regions. This session will describe the fund and brainstorm ideas for getting it funded in the next two to three years. Facilitator: Michael Pennington, Chairman, Rural Maryland Council, and Executive Director, Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore

1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.: How to Reach Seniors in Remote and Isolated Areas (SMPI Partner Meeting. Guests Welcome!)
The Maryland Department of Aging is leading a federally funded effort to expand the Senior Medicare Patrol program into six rural counties that do not currently have one. The SMP is an anti-fraud program that helps seniors identify potentially fraudulent activity and protect themselves against identity theft. This project is primarily focused on developing innovative ways to reach seniors in remote and isolated communities. Several organizations around the state have been trying out new ideas and will meet to share their results. The Rural Maryland Council is pleased to be a partner helping to develop the long-term outreach plan for rural areas.
Facilitators: Vanessa Orlando, Executive Director, Rural Maryland Council; and A Cassaundra Brown, Health Insurance Specialist, Maryland Department of Aging.

1:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.: Fostering and Facilitating a Viable Agricultural Community At the Local Level: A Listening Session Hosted by the Governor's Intergovernmental Commission on Agriculture (GICA)
GICA's mission is to promote the economic profitability of agriculture in the State by ensuring that all appropriate State agencies work in a cooperative, coordinated manner with local government and industry groups in planning, implementing, overseeing and evaluating intergovernmental initiatives related to agricultural affairs of the State. The goal of the listening session is to facilitate dialogue between the agriculture sector and local officials. This listening session will ask for input on a number of issues, including: planning and zoning terms and regulations, slaughter houses, interpretation of health regulations and varying health regulatory requirements at the local level, how agriculture is changing, Main Street revitalization, backyard farmers, water issues, and much more. The GICA has been tasked as part of the strategic plan for agriculture to develop a toolkit and needs your input.
Facilitator: The Honorable Earl Hance, Secretary of Agriculture, Maryland Department of Agriculture.

Asset Building Training

10:15 to 11:00 a.m.New Tools for the Trade: Credit Cafes, FAFSASs and more: Preview new resources available to practitioners working with families on financial issues. New tool-kits outline how to offer credit report events and the basics of various asset building programs. Participants will also learn about a new initiative to link free tax preparation and federal financial aid forms

11:15 a.m. to Noon. Financial Education 2.0, The Next Generation of Programs: Learn about new financial education games for the whole family. Financial games can range from casual games with minimal financial content to interactive games based on making sound financial decisions. Participants will discuss how technology can expand access to financial information and improve financial outcomes.

1:30 to 2:15 p.m. Moving a Family�s Financial Bottomline, Data and Outcomes for 2009: Asset building programs use a range of indicators and outcomes to track clients over time. Funders at all levels are increasingly interested in tracking outcomes that move families to financial self-sufficiency in defined periods of time. This workshop will focus on recent evaluations in the financial education field and on an outcomes/indicators report by the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers.

2:30 to 3:15 p.m. Asset Building and the Maryland CASH Campaign: This general workshop will introduce you to the many asset-building programs and training available to community and economic development professsionals and how you can become involved in offering these important services.