West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships/Area Health Education CentersWest Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships/Area Health Education Centers

Advisory Panel Agenda, 6/9/2008

West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships

West Virginia Area Health Education Centers

Rural Health Advisory Panel Meeting

2:30 PM - 4:30 PM

June 9, 2008

Days Inn Flatwoods, WV

Members in Attendance: Allison Witte, Grace Mitchell, Dennis McCutcheon (Chair), Shirley C. Neel, Nannette Van Dyke-McDonald, Lora Adkins, John M. Callaway, Norman Ferrari, Richard Meckstroth, David Brown, Walter McNutt, Carla See

Guests: Anna Reno Georgianna Tillis, Debbie Curry, Dalena Riggs, Kathryn Greenlief, Patricia Crawford, Kendra Sullivan, Brenda Michael, Jenny Ostien, Carla Campbell, Kristi Pritt, Chuck Conner, Chris Dodge, Susan Pinto, S. Barbara Kupchak, Malinda Turner, Lew Holloway

Staff: Sharon Giles, Jodie Jackson, Margaret Novacich, Kimberly Robinson, Hilda R. Heady, April Vestal, Sandra Y. Pope, Derrick Day, Rose McCluskey 

Call to order: 2:35 PM Dennis McCutcheon, Chair

Motion to approve the Consent Agenda: (Tom Hefner/Norman Ferrari) Motion Passed.

Introduction of new members or guests:  Guest:  Susan Pinto, Instructor of Nursing from the WVU School of Nursing was introduced and welcomed to the meeting.

Committee reviews and group reports:

Evaluation Committee:

Jodie Jackson reported that the evaluation staff will be going to the Institutional Review Bard (IRB) with a new nursing Baseline Questionnaire  (pre-rotation questionnaire) and a nursing Student Evaluation of Rural Field Experience (SERFE), (post questionnaire)..  She will report back to the panel once it has been approved.  Upon approval, it will be uploaded onto TRACKER and ready for utilization by nursing students.

Jodie also reported on the status of the WV Physician Survey.  The data has been entered into a database and the evaluation staff has started to analyze the data.   The survey was given to those physicians who graduated between the years1990 to 2004 and who were currently in active practice in West Virginia and not a resident. She will report back to the panel in September on the progress of

the data analysis.

IT Committee:

Web Conferencing:

Derrick Day reported on a request from the March 10, 2008 Advisory Panel meeting to look into alternative technology for holding meetings.  He found multiple sights that offered web conferencing for meetings, but found only one that was both user friendly and affordable.  It allowed many participants, and was a reasonable price.  He presented AT Conference to the panel.  The cost is 5 cents per minute per person for the call-in link and 15 cents per minute per person for the web conference link.  Included in the presentation was a budget cost comparison for meeting face to face or on AT Web Conference for an entire day of Panel Committee meetings.  The projected savings for the program would be $2,300.00 per meeting to meet via web conference in place of the face to face panel and committee meetings.   

Derrick stated that the web conferencing has no limits on the number of individuals who can participate.  If committees plan to use this as an option for their meetings, they will need to participate in a short training on the program.  Committees will also need to have their own account so they can schedule meetings simultaneously if needed.  Derrick can assist with account setup and training.  Other questions were raised about dial up internet ability.  Derrick stated that it would take longer for the shared information on the call to appear on that person's screen, but should not pose a problem.

Motion to try a trial run of the Panel Committee meetings via web conference on September 8, 2008. (Norman Ferrari/ Richard Meckstroth)  Motion was passed.

Derrick will set up dates for training sessions on the web conference during the last week of August. He will send out an email to everyone informing them of the dates, times, and other information in the near future. .

Web site:

Derrick and Rose presented the WVRHEP/AHEC joint web site to the panel. 

They will send out the link for all to view and provide feedback.

Rose stated that the web page needed more photos showing students working with the community.  If you have photos, please send these to Rose at rmccluskey@hsc.wvu.edu.  Please make sure photos have a description or caption.

If you have questions about the web site, please contact Derrick Day at dday@hsc.wvu.edu or by phone at 304-293-2006 or you may contact Rose McCluskey at rmccluskey@hsc.wvu.edu or by phone at 304-293-1707.

Report from Chancellor Brian Noland:

Kristi Pritt from WVHEPC reported on behalf of Chancellor Brian Noland that effective August 1, 2008, Dr. Robert Walker will be the Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences.  He will be retiring as the Executive Vice Dean of the John C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, and will retain the role of Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences part-time. If you have any further questions regarding this information, please contact Hilda R. Heady at hheady@hsc.wvu.edu or by telephone at 304-293-1027, or you may contact Brian Noland's office at 304-558-0699. 

Executive/Associate Director's Report:

WVRHEP Update:

Hilda R. Heady reported that the Schools Committee and Joint Community Outreach and Curriculum committee is in the process of looking at how we define and incorporate Service Learning throughout other policies.  They are working on the DRAFT Policy 2008-03 "Guidelines for Service-Learning Projects for Health Profession Students" that will be the guiding policy for Service Learning Projects within the RHEP/AHEC program.  It is currently being reviewed by both committees and the Joint Coordinator and Center Directors Committee will review it at their meeting June 10, 2008.   April is also in the process of creating a standard format that will allow the Service-Learning Projects to be inventoried and categorized.

Any questions concerning DRAFT Policy 2008-03, please contact April Vestal at avestal@hsc.wvu.edu or by telephone at 304-438-3009.

Audits:

The Legislative Post Audit Division is still conducting their audit on fiscal records.  Consortia should expect a potential visit to their sites.  They are planning to do a sampling of the sites and not visit them all, but we do not have the information of which sites and when at this time.

The Legislature passed a bill that they will no longer conduct Performance Reviews for reauthorization automatically.  Performance reviews will be done only if the President of the Senate and/or the Speaker of the House feel there is a need for a Performance Audit of a program.  At this time there has not been a request for our program to undergo a Performance Audit.

Suttle and Stalnaker, a company from Charleston, WV, will be reviewing our structure and policies.

The Chancellor has asked Dr. Mike Friedland to review the parameters of RHEP/AHEC and other issues related with the schools.  Dr Friedland has already met with most of the Health Science Vice Presidents, and will be meeting with various people within the partnership and those that work with the program for an Administrative Overview from HEPC.

Hilda reported that the Defense Secretary appointed her to the National Advisory Committee on Rural Veterans for Veterans Affairs.

AHEC Report:

The $600,000 that was to be placed in the Governor's budget for AHEC, was rewritten in the budget bill under the line item Rural Health Outreach Activities Fund.  The $600,000 was divided, giving $200,000 for each school.  The division of the money was to make it equal among the schools, but it was not equal to the direct impact of the AHEC program.   WVU's $200,000 will be shared with the Central AHEC Administration office and 3 of the AHEC Centers (NWVRHEC, Eastern AHEC and Central AHEC).  WVSOM will not being using their $200,000 to support AHEC.  They will be using it to fund their residency program.  Hilda expects to meet with WVSOM representatives to discuss their planned residency activities that could be termed AHEC-like activities, so that they could be eligible for future federal AHEC funding.   Marshall will be closing their AHEC effective August 31, 2008.  They will be using their funding to continue rural outreach and pipeline programs.

Other Business:

The Reverend Walter McNutt, PhD, a member of Northern West Virginia Rural Health Education Center (NWVRHEC) will be retiring and moving to Ohio in June, 2008.  He was the Pastor of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), of Cameron, West Virginia, where he served since 1992.

Walter joined the local governing board of Rural Ohio Valley Education Resources, (ROVER) on March 2, 1998. He is a few months past his 10th anniversary as an active member of the board.  He was a member of the steering committee, attending organizational meetings, and helping to guide ROVER through the challenges of the merger, helping to bring about the exciting opportunities created by joining forces with West Virginia Area Health Education Centers (WVAHEC) and creating Northern West Virginia Rural Health Education Centers (NWVRHEC).  In addition to serving on the State Rural Health Advisory panel, he continued to provide support on a local level as part of the NWVRHEC advisory board.  He has attended the annual legislative days in Charleston to help advocate for WVRHEP/AHEC, contacting each and every Senator and Delegate in our local area by phone, mail, or in person on a regular basis.  He also kept our representatives up to date on the activities of WVRHEP/AHEC.  He has been a dedicated supporter and true friend to WVRHEP/AHEC and will be missed.

A certificate was presented to Dr. Walter McNutt by Dennis McCutcheon, Rural Health Advisory Panel Chair and Hilda R. Heady, WVRHEP/AHEC Executive Director on behalf of WVRHEP/AHEC for his outstanding 10 years of service.

Motion to adjourn the meeting (Carla See/Richard Meckstroth) Motion approved

Meeting Adjourned at 3:40 PM, Dennis McCutcheon, Chair.