1. health and fitness

Michigan Rural
Health Quarterly
Inside this issue:
M-SEARCH
2
Michigan Health Alert
Network
2
Grand Round Information
3-5
Additional Webinars
5
Healthy Lifestyles at
Bell Memorial
5
Enhancement of Services for Sexual Assault Victims
6
NOSORH Award of
Merit Winner
6
Baraga County Memorial Hospital receives HUD Loan
7
Borgess Lee– Memorial Hospital, A Campaign about Life.
7
“What about Bob?”
8
Michigan Rural Health
Quality Improvement
Awards
8-9
MCRH Annual Sponsors
1011
13th Annual Rural
Health Conference
Dates
12
Volume 17, Number 1
Winter 2010
From the Desk of the Executive Director
It is with sadness that I inform you
that former MCRH board member
State Representative Mike Simpson
died of a heart attack on Friday,
December 18, while returning
home from the Cleveland Clinic
where was receiving treatment for
a rare blood disorder called lightchain deposition. Mike was a long
time health care advocate who
represented his district with a
tireless work ethic. He never let
anything get in the way of his work
serving the people of Jackson
County. Our sincere condolences
go out to his family.
these very lean revenue times all
appropriations were on the table.
We appreciate the decision to keep
us whole and we will work even
more efficiently and continue to leverage the appropriation to find more
rural federal grants. Secondly, at our
national association conference last
November, the Michigan Center for
Rural Health received the Merit
Award. This award is basically the
“State Office of Rural Health of the
Year” award. It is an honor to be
voted by your peers as having an
office that makes an outstanding contribution to advancing rural health,
both federally and state-wide. Please
I am sure by the time this newslet- read the press release inside this
ter hits your monitor there has
newsletter.
been a flurry of Washington DC
activity. As you know, in Decem- You will soon be receiving a “Saveber 2009 both the House and the the-Date” from us for the 13th AnSenate passed health care reform nual Rural Health Conference; it is
legislation. It is now in conference scheduled at the Mt. Pleasant Casino
committee to iron out the differ& Resort on May 6-7. Sessions will
ences; after that it is voted on by
focus on rural hospital and clinic
both chambers. This legislation
issues, quality improvement, and
has consumed our elected officials health information technology.
time and energy; however, it apThere will be presentations on how
pears some type of reform will be to successfully implement electronic
passed. We must watch and weigh medical records, creating a patient
in to make sure rural is not
centered medical home, and the imharmed; we want rural health im- pact of health care reform legislation.
proved, not damaged. Many of you Check our website for up-to-date
are on our distribution lists; we
information.
will send you updates as appropriThe Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibilate.
ity Program, commonly referred to
Here are couple bits of good news. as the Critical Access Hospital proFirst, thank you to all who congram, began in 1997. During those
tacted your state elected officials
13 years I have seen the increase in
and advocated for the MCRH.
the number of Michigan CAHs, witWhen the final State budget bills
nessed the development of the nawere signed on October 30 we
tionally recognized Michigan CAH
were in the budget and received
Quality Network and watched as the
our full state appropriation of
rural health care delivery system was
$126,000. It may appear to be a
strengthened. It takes people in our
small amount of money, but in
rural communities to do that work
and that has been the best part,
assisting rural people as they
improve health care in their
communities. Many have become our friends and one of
our rural friends, Wayne Hellerstedt, CEO, Helen Newberry Joy Hospital, retired on
December 31. Wayne is a top
shelf administrator and person;
a friend to all in his community
and to his colleagues. Wayne
was one of the first administrators to convert a PPS hospital
to CAH status and he used
that status to add and improve
services, and strengthen the
financial health of the organization. He was also involved in
national organizations and
boards. We will miss his leadership and sense of humor.
We wish Wayne and Cindy
happy travels to Florida and
Sturgis…and enjoy the pontoon!
As always, please contact the
MCRH staff with issues as
needed. We are your rural
single point of contact.
The MCRH staff and board of
directors wish you a prosperous New Year.
Volume 17, Number 1
Page 2
M-SEARCH
Submitted by Steve Shotwell, Recruitment and Retention
Services
The M-SEARCH program will
enable health professional students and medical residents to
participate in primary care clinical rotations on multidisciplinary health care teams in underserved communities across
the state. M-SEARCH is designed to improve provider
recruitment and retention for
health care facilities in underserved areas and to enhance
collaboration among health
professional training programs.
The program also includes the
development of an electronic
matching system for students
and primary care clinical rotations at underserved sites that
supports multi-disciplinary
training.
The Michigan Center for Rural
Health (MCRH) in partnership
with the Michigan Department
of Community Health and the
Michigan Primary Care Association is seeking to identify primary care sites interested in
participating in the M-SEARCH
Program.
Benefits for Clinical Practice
Sites and Communities
nity.
Students who will complete
community service projects
tailored to the specific
Recruiting
Opportunities to introduce
needs of your patient popuhealth care students to your
lation and community at
organization and community
large.
and to evaluate how well they
might fit into your practice site Students and residents
working for free who are
in the future.
covered by liability insurance
The option of your preceptor from their home educational
or recruiter maintaining conor institutional/program.
tact with students during the
remainder of their professional Students
training and at graduation for Students and residents with
an allowance to help cover
future recruitment purposes.
their costs of transportaCounseling to students
tion, housing, and meals.
residents on loan repayment
Improved academic and
programs.
practice site linkages.
Community
Preceptorship opportunities
Opportunities to promote
primary care practice to fulfill for clinical staff. In addition
the needs of your commuto the intrinsic personal
benefits of teaching, preceptors may be eligible to receive specific benefits from a
trainee’s home academic institution, such as CME programs, hours toward relicensure, & e-library privileges.
Access to an online auto-
mated rotation scheduling
system.
If you are interested in more
information about participating in the M-SEARCH program please contact:
Steve Shotwell
Recruitment and Retention
Services Manager
Michigan Center for Rural
Health
517-355-7758
[email protected]
Michigan Health Alert Network (MIHAN)
Submitted by Kevin Chau, Office of Public Health Preparedness, Michigan Department of Community Health.
The Michigan Health Alert Network (MIHAN) system provided a valuable alerting
communications capability during spring
2009 and fall 2009 novel H1N1 response.
As communication from federal, state, and
local partners were developed and disbursed, the MI-HAN provided support in
assuring members on the system received
the information expediently. Activities
included alerting MI-HAN users the availability of the information and accessing the
information at a central location. The MIHAN will be going through an upgrade
enhancement in February 2010 which will
provide new features for rural health clinic
users in password resetting, new user
interface and access to the document cen-
ter as read only access. The password
reset feature will allow users to reset
their own password though a Security
Question and not require additional
support from your MIHAN support
representative. The new user interface
will be improved due to system upgrade from Microsoft Office SharePoint 2001 to Microsoft Office SharePoint 2007. The interface will provide
additional selection capabilities in the
Document Center. Lastly, the upgrade
will permit rural health clinic users
with alert only licenses to access the
Document Center to retrieve communication provided by federal, state and
local partners.
The upgrade enhancement will be gradually
completed and may require an upgrade MIHAN training for users. Please contact your
MIHAN support representative for additional information, training or registration.
Kevin N. Chau
ASPR MIHAN Healthcare Support and MI
Volunteer Registry Analyst
Office of Public Health Preparedness
Michigan Department of Community Health
Capitol View Building
201 Townsend Street
Lansing, Michigan 48913
Ph: 517.335.8797
Fx: 517.335.8392
Michigan Rural Health Quarterly
Page 3
Grand
Round
Series
Don’t have
Videoconference
Equipment?
You can still participate
in the any Grand Round
program LIVE via audio
(phone). There is no
cost to participate except phone charges.
Please contact Phyllis
Ball at least two days
prior of the program
date to make arrangements.
Arthritis Grand Rounds Via Videoconference/
Teleconference
Held quarterly; 12:00-1:00
p.m.
Speaker: Wendy Marder,
MD
Recognition Award.
Each physician should
claim only those hours
Sponsored by: Michigan
Accreditation: St. Mary
that he/she actually
Arthritis Collaborative &
Mercy Hospital, an organiza- spent in the educational
Michigan Center for Rural
tion accredited by the MSMS activity.
Health.
Committee on CME Accreditation, designates that this
2010 Program Dates:
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 10th activity meets the criteria for April 14, September 15,
a maximum of one (1) credit & November 10
Topic: Pregnant Women
hour in Category 1 credit
with Rheumatic Diseases
towards the AMA Physician’s
Geriatric Grand Rounds Via Videoconference/
Teleconference
Held monthly except June,
July & August; 12:00-1:00
p.m.
Provided by: The MSU
Geriatric Education Center
and the Michigan Center for
Rural Health.
sity is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to
provide continuing medical
education for physicians.”
Please contact Phyllis
Topic: Diabetes in the Older
Adult
Ball, Education
Speaker: Ved Gossain, MD
Michigan State University
designates this educational
activity for a maximum of 1
credit. AMA PRA Category1
Credit(s) TM. Physicians
should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of
their participation in the activity.
Coordinator, at (517)
Accreditation:
CME:
“The Michigan State Univer-
Nursing:
Michigan State University
College of Nursing (OH-294,
For more information
on Grand Rounds:
355-8250 or e-mail:
Date:Wednesday, Feb. 3rd
08/14/09) is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Ohio Nurses Association (OBN-001-91), an accredited approver by the
American Nurses Credentialing
Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
2010 Dates:
March 3, April 7, May 5, September 1, October 6, November
3, & December 1
[email protected]
EMS 12 Lead Interpretation Webinar Series
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 16th
6:00-7:00 p.m.


Topic: 12 Lead 101— Basic Introduction to the Waveforms of
Both Normal and Abnormal 12
Lead ECG’s

Speaker: Gary Lindquist, EMTP I/C, CCEMT-P
Course Description:

Basic review of the electrical conduction system of
the heart and coronary
blood flow.


Lead placement with a discussion of what each lead views.
Characteristics of a normal 12
lead ECG, contiguous leads,
normal ST segments, and Twaves.
Systematic approach to identify the rate, rhythm, and
QRS width, signs of ST elevation, depression, and T-wave
abnormalities.
Differentiate signs of ischemia
and infarction.
Ability to indentify a ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction
(STEMI) on a 12 lead ECG.
Series Information
12 Lead 101 is the first part of a three part
series. 12 Lead 102 (Bundle Branch Block
Recognition) and 103 (Putting it all together. Forming a Systematic Approach to
Interpreting 12 Lead ECG’s) will follow.
Please register for each session separately. The information in these sessions
are intended to build off from each other.
Each session in the series is approved for
1 Advanced Cardiology Lecture Credit.
To register please visit
www.mcrh.msu.edu or contact [email protected] for more information.
Volume 17, Number 1
Page 4
Psychiatry Grand Rounds via Videoconference/Teleconference
pregnancy that affect
drug pharmacology.
Held quarterly from 12:00 1:00 p.m.
Provided by: The MSU Department of Psychiatry and
Michigan Center for Rural
Health.

Date: Wednesday, April 28th
Topic: Psychotropic Drugs in
Pregnancy & Lactation
Speaker: Jeanette Scheid, MD
Objectives:

Practitioners will describe
physiological changes in

Practitioners will be able
to provide a risk: benefit
analysis with a patient
regarding prescribing
psychotropic medications.
Practitioners will describe the side effect
profile and pregnancy
categories of common
psycho-tropic medications.
Accreditation:
CME: “The Michigan State
University is accredited by
the Accreditation Council for
Continuing Medical Education
to provide continuing medical
education for physicians.”
pharmacists and Pharmacy
technicians.
“No commercial support was
obtained for this educational
activity”.
The Michigan State University
Upcoming Programs:
designates this educational
activity for a maximum of 1
 July 28—Psychosis
AMA PRA Category 1 Credit
TM
(s) . Physicians should only  October 27– Anxiety &
Depression in children
claim credit commensurate
with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Pharmacy:This program is
pending approval by the
MDCH Board of Pharmacy for
continuing education for
Social Work Grand Rounds via Videoconference/Teleconference
Held quarterly from 12:001:15 p.m.
Provided by: MSU School of
Social Work and Michigan
Center for Rural Health
Date: Thursday, March 4th.
Topic: Reflective Supervision
Speakers:
Cheryl Williams-Hecksel,
LMSW, JoAnn McFall, LMSW,
ACSW, RN, Julie Navarre,
LMSW
Objectives: As a result of
this program, participants
will be prepared to:

Define reflective supervision.

Identify the benefits of
reflective supervision
as a tool for supporting professional development.

Understand the influence of professional
development stages on
supervisory processes.
Accreditation: Michigan
State University School of
Social Work (Provider No.
Upcoming Programs:
1136) is approved by the
October 7, December 2.
Association of Social Work
boards (ASWB) approved
continuing Education (ACE)
program: www.aswb.org:
1-800-335-6880. ASWB
ACE-approved programs
are recognized in Michigan.
In addition, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana recognize
ACE-approve providers.
Social workers should verify
recognition of ACE approval
with their state boards.
Nursing Grand Rounds via Videoconference/Teleconference
Held quarterly from 12:00 1:00 p.m.
Topic: TBD
Speaker: TBD
Provided by: The Michigan
Center for Rural Health and
MSU College of Nursing
Date: Thursday, March 25th
Accreditation:
Michigan State University College of Nursing (OH-294,
08/14/09) is an approved pro-
vider of continuing nursing
Upcoming Programs:
education by the Ohio Nurses May 20, September 30,
Association (OBN-001-91),
December 9
an accredited approver by
the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission
on Accreditation.
Pharmacy Grand Rounds via Videoconference/Teleconference
Held quarterly from 12:001:00 pm
Date: Tuesday, May 13th
12:00 - 1:00 p.m. EST
Provided by: The Michigan
Center for rural Health and the
Michigan Pharmacists Association.
Topic: TBD
Speaker: TBD
Accreditation:
Provided by the Michigan Department of
Community Health,
Board of Pharmacy.
Upcoming Dates:
September 23, November 11
Page 5
Michigan Rural Health Quarterly
Special Topics Grand Round Webinar
Provided by: The Michigan Center for
Rural Health and the Social Security
Administration.
Date: February 17th, 2010 12:00-1:00
p.m. EST
Topic: Social Security Administration’s
Children/Adult Disability Claims! “By the
way doctor, will you fill out this disability
form?”
Speaker: James Parrish, SSA
Profesional Relations Officer and Robert
Simpson, SSA, District Manager for the
Traverse City Field Office
Objectives: By the end of the presentation the participant will be able to
 Appreciate the difference between
a childhood and adult disability
claim.
 Overview of the medical impairments that automatically qualify,
or meet the requirements of our
definition of a disability and learn
how claims that do not meet these
requirements are handled.
 Develop a better understanding of
the primary care physician’s role
and the key elements of your
medical records that are involved
in the disability decision process.
Accreditation: This program is
approved by the Michigan Social
Work Continuing Education Collaborative.
Requirements: In order to receive
continuing education credit, each
site must assign one person as a
monitor. The monitor must sign
each participant’s form indicating
that the individual was in attendance during the presentation. Attendance Form & Evaluation form
must be returned to our office.
Free Webinars!
Offered by the Midwest Alliance for Health Education Health with Phil Hirsch, PhD
Interpreting the Changing Culture of
Healthcare.
Wednesday, February 3rd, 12 p.m. EST
Do you feel like your not always heard or
understood? Language and culture barriers
can have a significant impact on medical care
resulting in misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatments, medication errors, and poor delivery
of care. As health care organizations face the
additional challenges to accommodate diverse patient populations, effective communication is the key. Accrediting bodies are
now focusing on these issues and pro-posing
new requirements for hospital certification.
Evidence Bases Practice for Telemental involuntary commitments and incarcerHealth with Phil Hirsch, PhD
ated populations.
For more information or to register visit
www.midwesthealthed.org or please
Thursday, February 4, 2010. 1p.m. EST
contact:
The American Telemedicine Association reDavid Smith
leased new evidence based practice for teleProject Coordinator
mental health in 2009. Dr. Hirsch will discuss Midwest Alliance for Health Education
guideline changes.
Phone: 906.225.4733
Email: [email protected]
Emphasis of this webinar: Mental Health
Evaluations, Ongoing Mental Health Care,
Populations of Special Focus, i.e. geriatric,
children and adolescents. Special Topics on
medication management, psychotherapy, seclusion and restraint, emergency assessments,
Healthy Lifestyles at Bell Memorial
Submitted by Angie Emge, Hospital Programs Manager
Bell Hospital in Ishpeming Bells Buddies Youth Wellness Umbrella is multifaceted approach to childhood
healthy lifestyles. Virtually every aspect of a child’s health is addressed
maximizing healthcare resources and
tailoring care to each child’s needs.
The Bell Buddies Fit Program is element
of Bell Hospital’s Youth Wellness Umbrella. Bell Fit Kids is a Saturday morning program that combines group and
individual exercise aimed at addressing the inactivity related health issues
that have grown to epidemic proportion among the nation’s youth.
The Bell Fit Kids is part of the Michigan Healthy Lifestyles community
matching grant program. With established collaboration with local
school districts, physicians, dieticians, youth behavioral specialists
and parents, Bell Hospital has expanded their program into a comprehensive wellness strategy for the
youth in their area.
Volume 17, Issue 1
Page 6
Collaboration to Provide Training to Enhance Services for Sexual Assault Victims
Submitted by the Michigan Crime Victims Services Commission and the Michigan Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board
Michigan’s sexual assault service provider
agencies endeavor to assist and support
victims at every stage in their healing journey
and from wherever they are located in the
state. However, many victims do not have
access to these services in their local area.
Victims in rural areas may face specific challenges as there may be only one sexual assault service agency serving several counties,
and local health and social service providers
may be under-trained on these issues. Providing comprehensive services for sexual
assault survivors throughout the state requires commitment, coordination and consistency.
To that end, the Sexual Assault Resource
Analysis (SARA) project, located at Michigan
State University, investigates, analyzes, and
evaluates sexual assault service availability
and assists with the development of a coordinated plan to enhance responses to survivors of sexual assault statewide. The SARA
project is funded by the Michigan Department of Community Health Crime Victim
Services Commission (CVSC). This project
works collaboratively with the CVSC and
the MDVPTB - Michigan’s state agency
working to eliminate domestic and sexual
violence, which is administratively housed in
the Michigan Department of Human Services. Contact information for the CVSC,
MDVPTB and the SARA project is listed at
the end of this article.
As part of these coordination efforts, the
SARA project will soon be working with
the Michigan Center for Rural Health and
others to plan and implement trainings on
sexual assault response. Two face-to-face
trainings will be conducted on sexual assault
best practice models for allied professionals, with a special focus on health care providers in late summer 2010. More will follow by way of announcements and registration information for the trainings.
Other statewide collaboration goals to
benefit sexual assault survivors include:

Providing resource analysis and training in support of the state’s efforts to
improve post-assault care for sexual



assault victims in Michigan.
Providing evidence-based, best
practice information in support of
sexual assault service providers
statewide.
Assisting State government agencies
and other stakeholders in coordinating service providers’ responses
to sexual assault victims.
Compiling state-of-the-art, victimcentered sexual assault educational
resources.
Information about the State of Michigan
agencies mentioned in this article can be
accessed via the Internet:
CVSC: www.michigan.gov/crimevictim
MDVPTB:
http://www.michigan.gov/
domesticviolence
SARA Project
E-mail: Julie Hagstrom
[email protected]
Michigan Center for Rural Health Receives National Award
The Michigan Center for Rural Health
(MCRH) received the 2009 Award of
Merit from the National Organization of
State Offices of Rural Health
(NOSORH). MCRH Executive Director
John Barnas accepted the award on behalf of MCRH on November 18 during
NOSORH’s annual meeting in Austin,
Texas. NOSORH presents the Award
of Merit each year to the state office of
rural health that has made outstanding
contributions, developed innovative
programs and/or conducted significant
activities that advance the missions of
state offices of rural health and improve
the health status of rural Michigan.
In the past few years alone, MCRH has
played a key role in the development of
a state rural health plan; providing continuing education to rural providers via
distance learning; helped develop innovative Critical Access Hospital quality
and financial networks; led efforts to
improve the rural healthcare workforce; and has garnered support
from national policymakers on work
being done by MRCH and State Offices of Health throughout the
United States. MCRH also hosted
NOSORH’s 2008 Annual Meeting in
Traverse City, Michigan.
“In these challenging economic
times, it sometimes can be difficult
to think of doing something extra or
going beyond the normal call of
duty,” says NOSORH Executive Director Teryl Eisinger. “But that is
exactly what the Michigan Center
for Rural Health does. The entire
staff should be commended for its
diligence, innovation, commitment
and meritorious service to citizens
and communities of Michigan and for
serving as a model to other State
Offices of Rural Health throughout
the nation.”
John Barnas accepting Award of Merit from
Lynnete Dickinson, 2009 NOSORH President
Page 7
Michigan Rural Health Quarterly
Baraga County Memorial Hospital
Submitted by Angie Emge, Hospital Programs Manager
The federal Department of Housing
and Urban Development will insure a
$28.3-million loan to replace an Upper Peninsula hospital.
The mortgage loan to Baraga County
Memorial Hospital in L'Anse is being
made through the Federal Housing
Administration’s Section 242 Hospital
Mortgage Insurance Program and will
go toward a new 71,000-square-foot
facility with 15 acute care beds, a
retail pharmacy and an attached outpatient center. The construction
project will support 103 full-time
jobs.
HUD says the existing hospital was
constructed in 1969 and is ill-suited for
the volume of outpatient traffic and doesn’t provide adequate space for new inpatient technology and services.
The loan allows the hospital to obtain
low-cost financing, saving an estimated
$43.8 million in interest expense over the
life of the loan.
Source: Detroit Free Press 10.16.09
A CAMPAIGN ABOUT LIFE COMES TO LIFE AT BORGESS– LEE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL COMMUNITY CELEBRATION
Submitted by Angie Emge, Hospital Programs Administrator
Thanks to the generosity of residents and donors, A Campaign
about Life officially came to life at
a community event held Sunday,
October 18, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Approximately 500 people turned
out to recognize the completion of
Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital’s
new, significantly expanded emergency department.
“This was the culmination of a great
deal of hard work, and we sincerely
thank everyone who joined us to
mark this important milestone in
Borgess-Lee’s history,” said Joy
Strand, administrator and chief operating officer, Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital. “We are proud to give
our patients and their families access to faster, high-quality emergency care in a more private, secure
and comfortable healing environment.”
The free community celebration
began with a dedication and blessing by The Most Reverend James
A. Murray, Bishop Emeritus, and
Diocese of Kalamazoo. Bishop
Murray blessed the emergency department, as well as the hospital’s
new chapel. Following the blessing,
special guided tours were given of
the newly completed phase 2 area of
the emergency department. Guests
also had the opportunity to tour an
Air Care helicopter, two area ambulances and six fire engines, and enjoyed refreshments in a tented area.
Expanded from 2,833 square feet to
7,008 square feet, the new emergency department now features:
 Eleven patient rooms, including nine private exam
rooms, a dedicated trauma
room and a decontamination
room.
 A confidential triage area.
 A family consultation room
 An expanded and more efficient nursing and physician
workspace.
 A new ambulance entrance
and covered patient transfer
area.
 Advanced equipment and
technology.
emergency department has seen 94
percent of patients in 30 minutes or
less. For more on the hospital or its
services, go to:
www.BorgessLee.com .
Community Celebration
Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital
staffs eight emergency medicine
physicians and cares for about 9,000
patients every year. Since launching
the 30-minute service guarantee, the
New patient room
Volume 17, Number 1
Page 8
“ What About Bob” Article reprinted with permission from the National Rural Health
Association, Rural Roads Magazine, Fall 2009.”
Rural Roads first featured Bob Springstead’s story in fall 2008. Springstead was
planning weight-loss surgery when Gerber Memorial health services (GMHS)
opened Tamarac, the Center for Health
and Well-Being, in Fremont, Michigan, in
December 2007.He was 40 and nearly
400 pounds.
On Tamarac’s one-year anniversary,
Springstead reached his goal and was
back to his high school weight of 230
pounds.
Springstead couldn’t walk a mile when he
met his trainer and dietician at Tamarac.
He’ll run in his first marathon this month.
And he’s already completed a charity
triathlon, finishing 47th out of 225 participants. “The best part was beating my
trainer by six minutes!” Springstead
laughs. “I find great support in my workout friends. We run, swim, bike and
enter races together. We challenge each
other to set higher goals and try to help
each other make the decision to live
healthier lives.”
“I never set out to be an example in the
community, but several times a week
some stranger tells me I inspired them to
change their life too,” he says.
Six other Tamarac members have lost
more than 100 pounds, says Gretchen
Bush, fitness manager. And the center is
surpassing goals too. In a community of
4,200, Tamarac has 2,500 members, well
beyond the three-year target originally set
by GMHS. The fitness center, which also
features a restaurant, retail shop and spa,
is making a profit now too.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen for five
years,” says Stephanie Zinn, GMHS marketing manager.
2009 Michigan Rural Health Quality Improvement Award
Thirty-five Michigan Critical Access Hospitals were recognized at a special ceremony at the annual Critical Access Hospital Annual Conference October 29th, 2009 at Boyne Falls, MI. The 2009 Michigan Rural Health Quality Improvement Award is comprised of two award
categories:

Inpatient Clinical Performance Award

Emergency Room Transfer Performance Award
Within the two categories, there are two award levels in each clinical area. Award determination is based on a composite score, known
as the Appropriate Care Measure (ACM):

Quality Improvement Achievement Award (ACM score of 80-93%)

Award of Excellence (ACM Score of 94-100%)
Hospital award recipients are honored for embracing evidence-based medicine to advance systems and processes to improve the quality
and safety of care delivered to their patients.
Hospital Name
Emergency Room Transfer
Inpatient Clinical
Emergency Room Transfer Quality Improvement Achievement Award
Inpatient Clinical Quality Improvement
Achievement Award
Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital & Clinics
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Inpatient Clinical Quality Improvement
Achievement Award
Baraga County Memorial Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
NA
Bell Memorial Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
NA
Borgess– Lee Memorial Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Inpatient Clinical Quality Improvement
Achievement Award
Bronson Lakeview Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Inpatient Clinical Quality Improvement
Achievement Award
Clinton Memorial Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Inpatient Clinical Quality Improvement
Achievement Award
Deckerville Community Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
NA
Allegan General Hospital
Page
Page
9 9
Michigan Rural Health Quarterly
EMERGENCY ROOM TRANSFER
INPATIENT CLINICAL
Eaton Rapids Medical Center
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Caro Community Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Inpatient Clinical Quality
Improvement
Achievement Award
N/A
HOSPITAL NAME
Grand View Hospital
Hackley Lakeshore Hospital
Harbor Beach Community Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital
Emergency Room transfer
Award of Excellence
Helen Newberry Joy Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Quality Improvement
Achievement Award
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Herrick Medical Center
Hills and Dales General Hospital
Ionia County Memorial Hospital
Kalkaska Memorial Health Center
Mackinac Straits Hospital and Health
Center
Marlette Regional Hospital
McKenzie Memorial Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
MidMichigan Medical Center-Gladwin
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Munising Memorial Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
NorthStar Health System
Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital
Scheurer Hospital
Schoolcraft Memorial hospital
Sheridan Community Hospital
Spectrum Health Kelsey Hospital
Spectrum Health Reed City
St. Mary’s of Michigan Standish Hospital
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Emergency Room Transfer
Award of Excellence
Inpatient Clinical Quality
Improvement
Achievement Award
NA
Inpatient Clinical Quality
Improvement
Achievement Award
Inpatient Clinical Quality
Improvement
Achievement Award
NA
Inpatient Clinical Quality
Improvement
Achievement Award
NA
Inpatient Clinical Quality
Improvement
Achievement Award
NA
NA
NA
Inpatient Clinical Quality
Improvement
Achievement Award
Inpatient Clinical Quality
Improvement
Achievement Award
NA
NA
NA
NA
Inpatient Clinical Quality
Improvement
Achievement Award
NA
Inpatient Clinical Award
of Excellence
Inpatient Clinical Quality
Improvement
Achievement Award
NA
Michigan Rural Health Quarterly
Page 10
Michigan Center for Rural Health Corporate Sponsors
The following sponsors support the Michigan Center for Rural Health’s mission to “coordinate, plan and a
advocate for improved health for Michigan’s rural residents and communities”.
Berner Medical Systems, Inc.
Contact Person: William Berner
(989) 892-7722
Fax: (989) 892-7455
Berner Medical System specializes in RHC billing
with over 17 years of experience in this arena. We
know the ins and outs of Rural Health billing, and
are on top of all the changes that come along. Not
only can Berner Medical garner the best possible
reimbursement for your claims, but you will also
have your own employees freed up to do other patient care and processing duties. A timely receipt of
increased collections for your practice is our goal. If
you would like more information on how we can
work with you to achieve that goal, call us today to
find out how Berner Medical Systems Inc. can
help you streamline the billing aspects of your practice and allow you to focus on patient care.
• 2nd largest health care law firm in the nation according to
Modern Healthcare Magazine, 2009.
• 40+ years in the health law business.
• More than 130 attorneys serving health care clients.
• Representing 500+ health care organizations nationwide
IF IT’S HEALTH CARE, WE
WILL BE THERE.
Michigan
201 West Big Beaver Road
Suite 1200
Troy, MI 48084
248.740.7505
2369 Woodlake Drive
Suite 280
Okemos, MI 48864
517.706.0920
hallrender.com
Community Health Associates, Inc.
(CHAI)
Contact Person: John D. Esselink
(586) 777-4220, ext. 203
Fax: (586) 777-4823
www.communityhealthassoc.com
Community Health Associates, Inc. (CHAI) provides
consulting and management services to healthcare
providers and other public and private health-related
entities. Since 1988, the firm has earned a distinctive national reputation for providing personalized,
practical and effective consulting services to hospitals, local health departments and state and national
health care associations. CHAI is also recognized
nationally as a provider of technical assistance services for the Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) programs.
Health Services Associates, Inc.
2 East Main Street
Freemont, MI 49412
(231) 924-0244
www.hsagroup.net
Promoting Access to Health Care
Assisting with the Development of Operations
and Management of RHC's and FQHC's; meeting all of your RHC Cost Report, Policy and Procedure, Billing and Consulting needs. We offer
electronic medical billing services to rural health
clinics as a part of our complete consulting services available for RHC's. HSA is also a nationally recognized expert in the area of nonphysician reimbursement and payment policy.
Volume 17, Issue 1
Page 11
Lancaster Pollard
Contact person: Tanya K. Hahn
(614) 224-8800
Fax: (614) 224-8805
www.lancasterpollard.com
One of the nation's largest groups of finance professionals dedicated to the senior living sector,
Lancaster Pollard specializes in expansion, renovation and new construction financing as well as
debt refinancing so senior living organizations can
expand and improve their services. The firm offers
a full range of investment banking, financial advisory, mortgage banking and investment advisory
services. As a leading underwriter of bonds and
mortgages, Lancaster Pollard has earned a reputation for delivering sound financial advice and the
most cost-effective financing options available.
Midwest Alliance for Telehealth &
Technology Resources (MATTeR)
Contact Person: David R Smith
Director/Project Coordinator
Marquette General Hospital
IT Department
(906) 225-4733 or (866) 603-4733
[email protected]
www.midwesttrc.org and
www.midwesthealthed.org
MATTeR leverages the capabilities of four major organizations to provide technical assistance for organizations interested in using telehealth. Programming funded through the
Office for the Advancement of Telehealth; Office of Health
Information Technology; Health Resources and Services
Administration (Grant Number G22TH07758). MATTeR is
one of five regional Telehealth Resource Centers established
in 2006 to assist the health care community in utilizing telehealth to increase access to quality patient care.
www.midwesttrc.org
The Rybar Group, Inc.
Contact Person: Claudine Hildreth
3150 Owen Rd
Fenton, MI 48430
(810) 750-6822
Fax: (810) 750-6733
www.TheRybarGroup.com
The Rybar Group, Inc. has spent the past twenty
years developing into a premier healthcare consulting firm. With services covering financial, reimbursement, clinical, HIM, and organizational needs, we
work to ensure that you are optimizing the reimbursement and financial benefits available to your
organization. We offer a variety of services that
have been tailored to meet the special needs of
Critical Access Hospitals.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SAVE THE DATE
Page 12
Dianna L. Schafer, MPA
Michigan Association for Local
Public Health
President
Alfonso C. Ferreira, M.D.
Michigan State Medical Society
Vice President
William J. Hart, Jr., MPH,
Michigan Department of
Community Health
Secretary/Treasurer
Thomas Fasbender, D.O.
Michigan Osteopathic Assoc
Immediate Past President
David Jahn
Michigan Health & Hospital
Association
Marylee Pakieser, MSN, RN
Michigan Nurses Association
Representative Kate Segal
Michigan House of
Representatives
Pam Yager
Advisor, DCH/Financial Services
Office of the Governor
Senator Cameron Brown
Michigan State Senate
Linda Shively
Michigan Primary Care
Association
William D. Strampel, Dean
MSU College of Osteopathic
Medicine
John Hubinger
State Division of EMS
STAFF
John E. Barnas
Executive Director
[email protected]
Angela Emge
Hospital Program Administrator
[email protected]
Phyllis Ball, Education &
Communications Coordinator
[email protected]
Steve Shotwell
Recruitment & Retention Svcs
[email protected]
Leah Vreibel & Ashley Nardone
Administrative Assistants
[email protected]
Crystal Barth
Program Assistant
[email protected]
The Michigan Rural Health Quarterly newsletter is distributed via email. If you are not currently receiving the newsletter, please e-mail
[email protected] to be added to the list.
Michigan Center for Rural Health
Our Mission:
"To coordinate, plan, and advocate for improved health for Michigan's
rural residents and communities."
Our Vision:
"The Michigan Center for Rural Health will be universally recognized as
the center of expertise for rural health in Michigan through creative
visionary education, service,, and research.”
Michigan Center for Rural Health
B-218 West Fee Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824