Rural nurses are required to have a breadth and depth of knowledge unparalleled in other specialty nursing fields. The immense generalist role of the rural nurse often leads to early burnout and high turnover rates when compared with urban nurse roles.
     Idaho State University (ISU) has developed the Northwest Rural Nurse Residency (NWRNR) program. Participants receive all of their training (64 hours of seminars and a 104-hour supervised clinical experience) 'at home' in their own facilities and communities from top-notch rural nurse experts. Using new technologies like web-conferencing and high tech simulation it is possible to offer the program at no cost to participants. Program faculty and staff provide support and information for preceptors, residents and nurse administrators to help ensure a flexible, locally adapted, successful completion of the 12-month program.
   The next session begins in June 2010. Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, so apply today! Be one of the first facilities in your area to boast the employment of rural nurse specialists while enjoying the benefits of improved clinical performance and lower nurse turnover.
   To learn more about the Northwest Rural Nurse Residency please call the ISU Office of Professional Development (208-282-2982), email at nurseopd@isu.edu or visit the NWRNR website at www.isu.edu/nursing/opd/nwrnr.shtml

The Idaho SEARCH (Students/Residents Experiences and Rotations in Community Health) Program, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, provides opportunities for health professions students and residents to serve on multidisciplinary health care teams in underserved comunities. IPCA has successfully managed the program for 10 years, placing health professions students and residents in rotation opportunities, many of which led to permanent placement in Idaho's rural and underserved communities.

Community leaders from Ada County and the City of Boise recently broke ground on a new Substance Abuse and Mental Health Crisis Center in Boise which will open its doors March, 2010. During a press conference at the construction site, it was announced that Terry Reilly Health Services had been awarded the operations contract for the new facility.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held September 5 in Aberdeen, Idaho, for a new Health West Clinic.  U.S. Senator Mike Crapo, local dignitaries, and Health West board members assisted Clinic Manager Ardis Parsons in breaking ground for the new clinic building, which will have an estimated 3300 square feet on the main floor for two providers as well as visiting specialists. In addition, there will be a larger waiting area that  will include a play area for children and a restroom.  

Anita Monoian, CEO and President of Yakima Neighborhood Health Services in Yakima, Washington, recently assumed the office of Chair of the Board of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) at NACHC's 40th annual Community Health Institute in Chicago, Illinois. A long-time leader within NACHC, Ms. Monoian is the recipient of the Grassroots Hall of Fame Award and the John E. Gilbert Award for Outstanding Leadership. As CEO and President of Yakima Neighborhood Health Services for almost thirty years, Monoian has built a community health center that serves the urban and rural populations of Washington state's Yakima Valley. Monoian's two year term begins at a time when community health centers are putting to work $2 billion dollars in Economic Stimulus funding to expand the reach of health services to the uninsured and underinsured, and when Congress has recognized the cost-effectiveness of health center programs in promoting and prevention and providing access to affordable health care.

The Idaho Business Review has announced the recipients of its 2009 Idaho Health Care Heroes awards. Now in its fourth year, the Health Care Heroes program recognizes the invaluable contributions made by individuals and organizations statewide in the health care field. Ms. Denise Langston-Groves, Executive Director of Adams County Health Center, and Idaho Primary Care Association Board President, has been selected as an honoree in the Health Care Innovator category. Ms. Langston-Groves and awardees will be honored at a dinner event October 1 at the Boise Centre. Further details, click on Idaho CHC News.

Idaho Primary Care Association is saddened by the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy and joins the nation in remembering this great statesman and national leader for his skills and tireless energies in making our nation a more just and more equal society. 

In a statement released by the National Association of Community Health Centers CEO and President Tom Coverden,  "The Community Health Center movement has lost its founding father, its greatest champion, its truest leader, and most fervent supporter and believer in what community health centers were created to accomplish--true justice and equity in health care for all. Senator Kennedy played a role in the birth of community health centers--December 11, 1965--when the doors of America's first community health center opened in the Columbia Point neighborhood of Boston. He secured the first Congressional funding directed toward health centers one year later. In 1975 he authored the federal law that defines health centers still in effect today. He reached across the aisle to work with legislators and President George W. Bush to grow the national community health center network to reach the 20,000,000 Americans it serves today. For all who work in community health,  the daily work is and will always be a lasting tribute to the memory and legacy of Senator Kennedy, and the cause to which he devoted his life of public service: health care for everyone as a fundamental human and civil right."

"...the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."

The 2009 Community Health Institute (CHI) and EXPO, hosted by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) was held in Chicago, Illinois, August 21-25. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was among federal officials to address this national conference of more than 2,000 Community, Migrant and Homeless Health Center representatives from across the country. Secretary Seblius  announced that more than $25.7 million in grants are being awarded to increase and improve health and support services at Community Health Centers. "These grants could not be coming at a better time, with more than 14.5 million Americans out of work, and 47 million without health insurance, the health centers are seeing more patients now than ever before." (More information on Secretary Sebelius' speech.) 

The Community Health Institute is an opportunity for thousands of health center administrators, clinicians and others to learn about the changing health care environment from top health officials and share perspectives from the front lines of public health.

Boise, ID, May 12, 2009 -- The Idaho Primary Care Association (IPCA) has been selected to serve as one of five Regional Coordinating Centers (RCC) across the nation for the Safety Net Medical Home Initiative by the Commonwealth Fund and Qualis Health. IPCA will receive $500,000 over the course of the four-year initiative to work with 13 Idaho safety-net primary care clinics to facilitate their transformation into Patient-Centered Medical Homes.

The four-year initiaitve builds on the work of the Governor's Select Committee on Health Care and will include work with the safety-net primary care clinics to help them reach high benchmark levels of quality, efficiency, and patient experience.

Click here for further information, and the complete Press Release
 

Idaho Community Health Centers and the communities they serve will benefit from a grant opportunity announced by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on May 1, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). It is estimated that Idaho's Community Health Centers will be eligible to apply for up to $6.5 milion statewide for much-needed Capital Improvement projects such as facility renovations or construction, equipment, and Health Information Technology and Electronic Health Records systems. This is an unprecedented opportunity for health centers to serve more patients, stimulate new jobs, and meet the significant increase in demand for primary health care services among Idaho's underserved populations.