The Office works closely with a large number of
organizations involved in rural health including the National
Association for Rural Mental Health, the American
Academy of Family Physicians, the American
Psychological Association, the The
National Association of Rural Health Clinics, the American
Nurses Association, the American
Academy of Physician Assistants, the American
Hospital Association, the National
Association of County and City Health Officials, and numerous
state and local associations.
The Office and the National
Rural Health Association collaborate each year on a number of
projects designed to assist rural populations and communities. Many
of the office's most requested publications are jointly produced
with the NRHA and many projects, such as the Journal
of Rural Health and the annual minority health conferences,
have received substantial office support over the years. Rural
Health: A Vision for 2010 is a report from an invitational
workshop co-sponsored by the Office and the National Rural Health
Association in February 1998.
In August of 1998, the NRHA, with support from
the Office, jointly sponsored the Southwestern Conference on Rural
HIV/AIDS in Albuquerque. Clinicians, educators, counselors, and
business people in the region gathered to learn about the latest
strategies for delivering care to people in rural areas who are
at risk for or suffering from HIV/AIDS. The conference was modeled
on the 1997 Rural HIV/AIDS Conference held in Atlanta. A report
on methods for overcoming rural barriers to such care is available
from the Office: Southeastern Conference on Rural HIV/AIDS:
Issues in Prevention and Treatment Conference Report.
To improve the recruitment and retention of health
professionals in rural areas, the Office currently supports development
of the National Rural Recruitment
and Retention Network. This network consists of organization
in 46 states committed to assisting health professionals locate
suitable practices in rural and frontier areas throughout the country.
Network participants have information regarding rural practice sites
in their respective states and staff to help health professionals
and their families identify resources and meet their personal and
professional requirements. The toll-free number of the network is
1-800-787-2512.
The Office is also currently supporting the development
of a National Rural
Health Resource Center at the Minnesota
Center for Rural Health, which will help meet the critical need
of rural communities for technical assistance, information and training
in the current environment of market reform.
To foster education about rural health issues
and enlarge the circle of organizations interested in rural health
policy, the Office has been a sponsor of the Capital
Area Rural Health Roundtable. George Mason University hosts
forums several times a year that keep Washington-area leaders up-to-date
on the latest developments in rural health. Meetings have briefed
attendees on the new universal service discounts for rural telemedicine
and on the new State Children's Health Insurance Program, both of
which can mean several million dollars in new resources to rural
America. To join the Roundtable and receive a Roundtable
Directory of Contacts, Resources and Parties of Interest, call
the Roundtable Office at (703) 993-1907.
For more information, Contact: HRSA, Federal Office
of Rural Health Policy, Room 9-A-55, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville,
MD., 20857. Phone 301-443-0835.
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