2001 News Archives

JCAHO Launches Program for Critical Access Hospitals
December 17, 2001
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) launches a new accreditation program for Critical Access Hospitals, with the first surveys conducted last month. JCAHO is seeking deemed status for the program from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). For more information about the Critical Access Hospital accreditation program, please call Kurt Patton, executive director, Hospital Accreditation Services, JCAHO, at 630-792-5810 or email kpatton@jcaho.org.

PA Office of Rural Health Training Program Wins Award
December 12th, 2002
The Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health and Penn State Cooperative Extension have received a 2001 Program of Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service for their Swimming Pool Pesticide Applicators Training Program. The Program was one of 36 chosen nationwide to be showcased in a database that serves as a resource for cooperative extension educators and stakeholders. The press release can be found at http://porh.cas.psu.edu/publications/award.doc, and the database can be found on the Web at http://www.reeusda.gov/f4hn/fdrm/fdrm.htm.

New Report on Nation's Progress Against Cancer
December 11th, 2001
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has recently released Cancer Progress 2001, the first in a new series of reports designed to make scientific information on cancer more accessible and understandable. You can find the press release here: http://newscenter.cancer.gov/pressreleases/cpr2001.html.

E-Mail Discussion About Pennsylvania's Rural Issues
December 10, 2001
The Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly is launching a mailing list on rural issues. The purpose of the mailing list is to present, discuss and determine rural needs, issues and opportunities that could benefit from state intervention either legislatively or through executive or local policy. In particular we will be looking for issues, opportunities and needs that might warrant inclusion in the Center's annual research program. If you are interested in signing on to this mailing list, please visit The Center for Rural Pennsylvania at http://www.ruralpa.org/.

NRHA Calls for Appropriate Rural MedPAC
December 6, 2001
Today the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) announced the endorsement of a slate of candidates for nomination to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). The Commission is an independent federal body that advises Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program. The NRHA strongly urges improved representation on MedPAC for the 22 percent of Medicare beneficiaries and sixty-one million Americans living in rural areas. For further information about NRHA, visit the association's Web site at http://www.NRHArural.org/.

2002 National Rural Women's Health Conference
December 6, 2001
The 2002 National Rural Women's Health Conference in September will explore the correlation between mental health and the quality of life for rural women. This broad perspective integrates mental well-being with physical health, social structures, age, poverty, ethnicity, culture, environment, and other factors impacting the quality of life for women living in America's rural communities and regions. To learn more about the conference, please visit the conference web site at: http://www.outreach.psu.edu/C&I/RuralWomensHealth/.

Hearing-loss Screening for PA's Newborns
November 30, 2001
The American Academy of Pediatrics cites significant hearing loss as one of the most common major abnormalities present at birth. If undetected, it can impede speech, language and cognitive development. Early identification and appropriate intervention can lead to improvements in speech and language development in affected children, thereby improving the likelihood of positive social, emotional, cognitive and academic development. The National Institutes of Health recommends that infants with hearing loss be diagnosed before three months of age and receive early intervention services no later than six months of age. For the press release, visit the PA Department of Health on the web.

Samantha Skunk
November 1, 2001
What are you doing to influence k-2nd grades relative to tobacco and other drugs? Health Departments, Dare Police officers, hospital personnel and other health professionals are using Samantha skunk. Samantha is a like size skunk acted by peer leaders, health professionals and community leaders to initiate discussions with this impressionable age group. Check out http://www.samanthaskunk.com/ to see how Samantha can be in your community.

America's Children Report
October 29, 2001
The annual America's Children report looks at 24 Key National Indicators of Well-Being. The data tell a story of success and failure about how America treats its children and youth - their economic security, health, behavioral and social environment, and education. This important but underutilized report, a collaborative effort by 20 federal agencies, is available from the National Maternal and Child Health Clearinghouse (888-434-4624 or nmchc@circsol.com) and on the web at http://childstats.gov/.

Interactive Video Visits Offer Cost-Effective Aid
October 2, 2001
A Penn State-led study shows that substituting interactive video sessions for up to half of a visiting nurse's in-home meetings with post-surgical or chronically ill patients can be a cost-effective way to provide care. The study identifies the costs associated with the new technology and shows that while the new approach imposes additional initial expenses for care delivery, it contributes substantial savings without compromising quality. It sis the first comprehensive study to link patient outcomes with the use of telehomecare. A team led by Kathryn Dansky, associate professor of health policy and administration, found that over a typical 60 days of care, savings of $300 per patient could be achieved by substituting video visits for seven in-home visits and $700 per patient was if half of the visits were made via advanced communication technology. For the full story by Barbara Hale, visit http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/videovisits.html.

Tools for Recruiting for Rural Practices
February 11th, 2001
A tool for recruiting others to rural practice is available. The 16-minute video entitled, The Path Less Traveled, was produced by the Committee on Rural Health, and features five rural FPs and a discussion guide. The updated monograph, Rural Family Practice: You Can Make a Difference, is another helpful tool. To order either, call 1-800-944-0000 and ask for item T721 (Video at $7.50) or item T717 (monograph at $7.50.)  You can also order the monograph on the Web at https://secure.aafp.org/cgi-bin/catalog.pl?uid=cat100681.

Federal Legislation Relevant to Rural Health
February 11th, 2001
Available on the Web A collection of brief summaries of health legislation relevant to rural areas that has been introduced during the 107th Congress is available on the Web. In some cases, the bills may focus specifically on rural health. In others, the bills have the potential to affect rural health care delivery through changes to programs such as Medicare or Medicaid. This information is distributed by the Office of Rural health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration, Rockville, MD. Keep in mind that these summaries are brief and very general. For more information on these bills it is recommended that you consult the actual legislative language or contact the bill's sponsor. The summaries are located on the Web at http://ruralhealth.hrsa.gov/legislate.htm.

HRSA Announces Managed Care Technical Assistance Center
February 11th, 2001
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) launched the Managed Care Technical Assistance Center (MCTAC) in June 2000. For the past several months, MCTAC has provided managed care technical assistance to HRSA grantees, including health professionals and organizations that serve medically underserved, special needs, Medicaid, disabled and dually eligible Medicare and State Children's Health Insurance Program populations. For more information about MCTAC services, visit the Web at http://www.jsi.com/hrsamctac.

Nursing Career Outreach Publications Available
February 8, 2001
The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania has developed two publications to assist members in career outreach, promote nursing as a career, and increase the number and quality of students entering nursing. The two publications entitled, Nursing: Opportunities Unlimited and You Can Be a Nurse, Too!, are resources that can be used to discussion nursing career opportunities with young people in your community. Samples of the brochure and activity book are available online at http://www.hap2000.org/ under Products and Services, or can be ordered by calling 717-564-9200.

Public Health Guidelines for Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence Released
February 3, 2001
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (ARHQ) has released the Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline for Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence. This update includes the state-of-the-art science information on what works best to help smokers quit, along with other forms of tobacco use. ARHQ is asking for participants to support and promote this initiative. For more information, contact Nate Robinson or call 301-594-6619.

The Medicare, Medicaid, and S-CHIP Benefits Improvement
and Protection Act of 2000 Receives Congressional Approval
January 25, 2001
The Medicare, Medicaid, and S-CHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 received Congressional approval on December 15, 2000. This act provides $35 billion over five years to offset the unintended consequences of the Balanced Budget Act, and offers funding to Critical Access Hospitals, managed care providers, nursing homes, and home health agencies. The full text of Act 5661 can be accessed at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/fullcomm/106cong/bbafix/hr5661.pdf and a summary by the Rural Policy Research Institute is located at http://www.rupri.org/pubs/archive/reports/p2000-16/index.html. Additional information can be obtained from the National Rural Health Resource Center at http://www.ruralresource.org/ by clicking on TASC.

Lagging Access to Internet Costly for Rural Workers
January 25, 2001
A report on a study conducted by Amy Glasmeier, professor of geography, Penn State, shows that a sizeable number of Americans, particularly those who live in rural America, minorities, and the economically disadvantaged, are far from having easy access to Internet technology like their counterparts in urban and suburban areas, and the social and economic costs of being left behind are growing. More than a million rural Americans still do not have access to cable or telephone service, and, therefore, are unable to connect to the Internet. Telecommunications access is limited for a number of reasons. Government deregulation and big corporate mergers have left technological industries with little incentive to move into areas where the demand for services would not cover the costs of installation. Populations without Internet access cannot buy the goods and services available online, nor can they work for an e-business. According to Glasmeier, some telecommunications companies have already taken the initiative to provide better access to remote areas but state and federal government, as well as community leaders, need to act now to prevent the gap from widening. For more on this study, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/ruralinternet.html.

New Checklist enables Nursing Assistants to Effectively
Monitor the Health of Nursing Home Residents
January 25, 2001
Early detection of illnesses in nursing homes is sometimes difficult because residents may not be able to report physical complaints due to cognitive and communication impairments. Also, many preexisting physical, mental, and behavioral findings, which are unique to each resident, can impede recognition of a change in their condition. A new illness warning checklist allows nursing assistants who work closely with residents each day to assess changes in the residents' functional behavioral status that may signal the onset of acute illness. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality supported a study of the checklist and found that it demonstrated fair sensitivity and high specificity for acute illness among nursing home residents. For more information on this, see the article entitled, Nursing Assistant Detect Behavior Changes in Nursing Home Residents that Precede Acute Illness: Development and Validation of an Illness Warning Instrument, Journal of the American Geriatric Society, September, 2000, pp. 1086-1091.

President Clinton Gives Address on the CHIP Program
January 17, 2001
President Clinton addressed the Nation on Saturday, January 6, 2001, on the CHIP Program. To view this address, go to the White House Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/html/Saturday_January_6_2001.html.

Pennsylvania Rural Development Council to Hold Live Webcast
January 17, 2001
On Friday, January 26, from 9:30 a.m. to Noon, EST, the Pennsylvania Rural Development Council will host a live Webcast to discuss the rural Digital Divide and other rural telecommunications issues. The Webcast will be accessible by visiting the Council's Web site at http://www.ruralpa.state.pa.us. If you have not viewed a Webcast before, you will need to download the appropriate software which will be available free on the Council's Web site. You may choose to view the Webcast from your own computer or you may join the Council and its partners at one of the local viewing sites throughout Pennsylvania: Altoona, Harrisburg, Honesdale, Meadville, St. Marys, Towanda, and Wellsboro. For more information on the Webcast or locations for the viewing sites, visit the Web site.

Healthy Families--Health Communities Videoconference to be Held
January 17, 2001
A National satellite videoconference entitled, Healthy Families--Healthy Communities: Building Supportive Policies, will be held on Thursday, February 1, 2001, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. EST. The downlink is available for viewing at 301A Ag Administration, Penn State, University Park Campus. If you wish to downlink this conference to your site at no cost, visit the Web at http://www.human.cornell.edu/centennial/.

Counts Named Fellow of Nurse Practitioners Academy
January 17, 2001
Mona M. Counts, professor of nursing, was recently named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She is the Eberly Chair of Nursing and is based at Penn State Fayette. Her work is focused on the development and implementation of innovative health programs in rural communities, especially in southwestern Pennsylvania. Dr. Counts is also clinical director for the primary care center of Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, in partnership with the University's School of Nursing.

Publication Created to Help Increase School Safety
January 8, 2001
A 16-page bulletin recommending a comprehensive, collaborative approach to increasing school safety through juvenile accountability has been developed. It describes key elements of effective school-based accountability programs, delineates the steps essential to successful program implementation, and provides examples of promising programs and best practices. The bulletin is available from the Web at http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org.

Director of HRSA's Office of Rural Health Policy Named
January 8, 2001
Marcia K. Brand, Ph.D., has been named director of HRSA's Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP). Dr. Brand most recently held the position of deputy director of ORHP. Prior to that she led HRSA's effort to implement the State Planning Grant program and coordinated agency activities in the State Children's Health Insurance Program. She also coordinated the Secretary's Initiative on Children's Health and the President's Federal Interagency Task Force on Children's Health Insurance Outreach. Dr. Brand holds a doctoral degree in higher education from the University of Pennsylvania, and master and bachelor of science degrees in dental hygiene from Old Dominion University.

Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP
Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000
January 8, 2001
The major provisions of the recently passed Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA) as they relate to Rural Health Clinics is available on the Web. The vast majority of the provisions in the Bill are intended to address problems created by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA). The Bill, H.R. 5661, is available online at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/whatnew.htm. Additional information on the Bill is available at the Rural Policy Research Institute Web site at http://www.rupri.org/, click on updates, then on Rural Implications of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000.

Medicare Ambulance Fee Schedule Delayed
January 8, 2001
Implementation of the Medicare Ambulance Fee Schedule has been delayed. The program memorandum is available on the Web at http://www.hcfa.gov/pubforms/transmit/ab00118.pdf. In addition, there is a Health Care Financing Administration page with information on all aspects of the fee schedule. It is located on the Web at www.hcfa.gov/medlearn/refamb.htm.

FIRSTGOV for Seniors Web Site Online
January 8, 2001
FIRSTGOV for Seniors is a service created, hosted, and maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) that allows seniors to obtain valuable health and security information and services at one location on the Internet. To visit the site, go to http://www.seniors.gov/.

Breast Cancer Income Tax Check Off Program
January 8, 2001
The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition's (PBCC) Income Tax Check Off Program has now raised more than $700,000 for breast and cervical cancer research in Pennsylvania. Last year nearly 26,000 Pennsylvania taxpayers contributed an average of $7.52. The program is the result of legislation initiated by the PBCC. Every penny of the money raised goes into grants to breast and cervical cancer researchers at medical facilities across Pennsylvania. The check off option will again be available on Pennsylvania tax forms this year.

PA Receives $111.3 Million Tobacco Payment
January 8, 2001
Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher announced that Pennsylvania is scheduled to receive $111.3 million on January 2, 2001, as part of its $11 billion settlement with the tobacco industry. The payment is the fourth the state has received since December 1999 and brings the total payments to nearly $576 million. Fisher urged the state General Assembly to use the tobacco payments to fund vital health care initiatives that would greatly benefit Pennsylvanians and urged them to make funding these initiatives a top priority for the new session.

Health Centers Receive $150 Million Increase
January 8, 2001
The Health Centers program will receive the full $150 million increase that was requested in the 2001 budget. The increase started out at $50 million early in budget negotiations. However, efforts by health centers resulted in bipartisan support for the program on Capital Hill, resulting in the full increase for the new year.

Game to Address the Cultural Safety
Needs and Concerns of the Amish Community is Created
January 8, 2001
A game to address the cultural safety needs and concerns of the Amish community was released last year. It was co-created by researchers from the School of Nursing, Penn State University College of Health and Human Development, the Lancaster County SAFE KIDS Coalition, and the Clinic for Special Children. It sells for $14 and can be obtained by contacting the Clinic for Special Children at 717-687-9407.

Congress and White House Approve BBA Relief Package
January 8, 2001
The Congress and White House have approved a federal budget package that addresses the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA). The new $35 billion BBA package will provide relief for health care providers across the country, particularly the nation's major teaching hospitals. Of specific importance are provisions in the legislation related to indirect medical education payment (IME), which call for the IME rate to be held at 6.5 percent in 2001 and 2002. This will return an additional $700 million to teaching hospitals. Congress has also finalized funding increases for the federal agencies that support research, education, and public health programs. These include a 14 percent increase ($2.5 billion) in the NIH's budget and a 35.8 percent increase ($71 million) in funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. A statement by the Association of American Medical Colleges about this package can be found on the Web at http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/pressrel/001219.htm.

Seeking Nominations of Organizations
Addressing Health Disparities
January 8, 2001
The Office of Minority Health will convene 1,000 community leaders on September 4-7, 2001, in Washington, D.C., to prepare a digest of effective strategies that can be used by public and private health policymakers and legislators for eliminating health disparities. The office invites nominations for names of organizations that are effectively addressing health disparities to participate in the meeting. Forward names and contact information for participant recommendations by fax to 301-657-4258 or by e-mail to skeeling@betah.com.