The following are projects funded by ARC that achieved notable results. Bluegrass Child Advocacy Outreach
Given the high incidence of reported child abuse cases in many counties in eastern Kentucky, the Commission contracted with the Children's Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass, Inc. to fund the Bluegrass Child Advocacy Outreach Project, a health program for children three months to 18 years who have been sexually abused.
The project's long-term goals are:
- To recruit and train additional rural physicians so the victims of child
sexual abuse receive the medical and psychological treatment they deserve;
and
- To provide telemedicine equipment for consultations at remote sites to
make available more exams and services for abused children.
Project activities include:
- Evaluating children in eastern Kentucky who are suspected victims of sexual
abuse.
- Providing the appropriate medical and psychological intervention.
- Recruiting and training physicians to provide clinical examinations to
children who have been sexually abused.
Outcomes
Twenty-four physicians are working in the program. During the grant year,
more than 250 children received sexual abuse examinations.
Project Dates: August 1, 1999 through June 30, 2003
Sources of Funding:
ARC: $307,459
State: $24,750
Local: $74,250
Total: $406,459
Local Contact:
Kelly Roberts
(859) 225-5437
email: kelly@kykids.org
Recruiting
and Retaining Nursing Professionals
To address the crucial nursing shortage in the Southern Tier West region of
Appalachian New York, the Commission contracted with Jamestown Community College
to enroll licensed practical nurses in a registered nurses' program.
The project intends to develop a regional recruitment strategy for Chautauqua,
Cattaraugus, and Allegany Counties. Part of this strategy involves encouraging
high school students in local school districts to pursue careers in health care.
To do so, health career fairs will be held in each county and will offer recruitment
incentives for students.
Outcomes
The grantee anticipates that at least 40 students will enroll in the training
program. And for first time in three years, the community college has a waiting
list to enroll in the program.
Project Dates: August 1, 2002 through the present
Sources of Funding:
ARC: $61,432
Local: $69,580
Total: $131,012
Local Contact:
Jesse Gugino
(716) 376-7500
email: JesseGugino@mail.sunyjcc.edu
Marietta College Master's-Level Physician Assistant Program
A recent study conducted for ARC by Project HOPE highlighted a shortage of
health care providers, particularly in the Region's distressed counties. One
solution to this physician shortage is to establish a group of second-tier providers
known as "physician extenders"—physician assistants, nurse practitioners,
and advanced practice nurses. So, ARC contracted with Marietta College to assist
in developing a master's-level physician assistant program that will graduate
20 to 25 new physician assistants each year.
Program activities include:
- Hiring key personnel for the program.
- Developing program curriculum.
- Preparing for program certification by the national certifying body, the
Council on Accreditation for Allied Health Education Programs.
Outcomes
During the past two years, 36 students were admitted to the program. The program's
first class of 16 students is doing clinical rotations and will complete 15
months of rotations in internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry/behavioral
medicine, orthopedics, OB/GYN, emergency medicine, and general surgery, with
over 2,500 hours of supervised instruction.
Ongoing Support for the Project
To ensure that Appalachian Ohio benefits directly from the PA Program, Marietta
College is offering a full scholarship each year to one student who agrees to
practice in Appalachian Ohio for at least two years after graduation. The college
has agreed to support the physician's assistant program through college funds
until it becomes self-sustaining through tuition payments in the next year or
two.
Project Dates: October 1, 2000 through March 30, 2003
Funding:
ARC: $200,000
Local: $378,748
Total: $578,748 Local Contact:
Sue DeWine
(740) 376-4741
Post-graduate
Training for Osteopathic Physicians
Doctors often practice close to the location of their three-year residency
training. Likewise, if graduates of the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic
Medicine (PCSOM), a new medical school in eastern Kentucky, move to other regions
of the country for postgraduate training, they are less likely to return to
Appalachia to practice medicine.
To train primary care osteopathic physicians who will remain in Appalachia
to treat the medically underserved, ARC contracted with PCSOM to fund the Appalachian
Osteopathic Postgraduate Training Institute Consortium (A-OPTIC), a health program
designed to create 200 new American Osteopathic Association accredited internships
and residency slots in nine Appalachian states: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
A-OPTIC training consists of a general medicine internship for the first year
after graduation, and either a family practice residency or an internal medicine
residency for the final two years of the program. Outcomes
Nearly 60 physicians have been placed in the region since the program's inception in October 2000. Project Dates: October 1, 2000 through October 1, 2003 Sources of Funding:
ARC: $370,000
Local: $92,500
Total: $462,500
Local Contact:
Dr. Michael K. Murphy
(606) 218-5153
email: mmurphy@pc.edu
Additional examples of ARC projects:
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