Advisory Panel
September 11, 2006
Days Inn, Flatwoods WV
Members in Attendance:
Dennis McCutcheon, Richard Meckstroth, Carla See, Norman Ferrari, JoAnn Raines,
Alison Witte, Tom Hefner, Mike Callaway, Penny Asbury, Imogene Foster, Shirley
Neal, Jill Cochran.
Others in Attendance: Kathryn Greenlief, Gina Sharps, Sharon
Hanna, Crystal Welch, Georgianna Tillis, Debbie Curry, Vanessa Linger, Sandra
Pope, Chuck Conner, Sharon Giles, Haylee Heinsberg, Rose Albert, Elaine Mason,
Alicia Tyler, Jodie Jackson, Lew Holloway, Anna Reno, Malinda Turner, Sonnie
Strader, Dalena Riggs, Lora Adkins, Elizabeth Richmond, Carla Campbell, Mike
Callaway, Nanette Van-Dyke McDonald, Stephanie Schuler, Hilda Heady
Staff: April Vestal,
Sandra Pope, Rhonda Carpenter
Call to Order: 2:30 pm
Dennis McCutcheon, Chair
Motion to consent agenda
(I. Foster/N. Ferrari). Correction to minutes of July 5, 2006 – Imogene Foster
and Mike Callaway were also in attendance. With correction noted, motion
passed.
COMMITTEE REVIEWS AND
GROUP REPORTS:
Alicia
Tyler attended a meeting with Duane Napier, the director of the new WV Center
for Nursing. A board of directors has been organized. A new scholarship program
has been created for undergraduate nurses. It is funded through the center and
the center is funded by an increase in licensure fees for LPN and RNs. The Center for Nursing
will disperse the scholarship funds to those schools applying to the program.The statue creating the center specifies that one
third of their funding goes toward scholarship programs. Duane Napier and Dr.
Cynthia Persily are scheduled to make a presentation at the WV Rural Health
Conference in October. Alicia reminded
the group that the Health Sciences Scholarship application deadline is October
15, 2006. Seven applications have been received thus far. She also notified the
group that the WV Health Careers manual has been updated.
April Vestal informed the
group that there is a one-day Faculty Development Conference scheduled at the
WV School of Osteopathic Medicine on September 30, 2006. There is also a one day conference scheduled
for March 3, 2007 at the Waterfront Place Hotel in Morgantown. Date saver post
cards will be sent out when the final arrangements are made.
Hilda Heady introduced
Gina Sharps to the panel. Gina will be working, beginning November 1, 2006,
with the Childhood Oral Health project that the Benedum Foundation has funded
to the WVU Foundation. The project will include adding an oral health screening
into the CARDIAC Kinder project. The other primary objective of the project is
looking at ways to start a Dental Pediatric Residency Program at WVU. New faculty member, Dr. Elliot Shulman will
be starting that program. Other parts of the project include continuing
education. Gina Sharps spoke briefly
about her role in the project.
Hilda also introduced Rose
Albert who is working with Jodie Jackson. Rose briefly told the group about
herself and her role.
The Advisory Panel was
reauthorized during the last legislative session. Panel appointments are being
updated. There were some changes and
some slots that needed filled. This has been completed and sent to the Governor’s
office during the first part of July. Hilda is expecting to hear back from that
office today or tomorrow. The only people who will receive letters of
appointment will be the community-designated members. She requested that those
who receive that letter please forward a copy of it to her.
Sandra Pope reported that
the next AHEC grant (for three years of funding) will be due in early February
2007. In the very near future, a
decision has to be made in regard to submitting an application for Basic/Core
funding versus Model funding. If we
choose to make a request for Basic/Core funding, one Center (Eastern) will not
be eligible in the next grant cycle, as they will have received the maximum
funding of 6 years. As each Center
approaches their 6 years of funding, more consideration must be given to moving
the program to Model funding, which is considerably less than the Basic/Core
funding. The program office can receive
Basic/Core funding as long as a Center is eligible. During the next round of funding, we are also moving forward with
plans to expand our number of Centers to include the Central Counties. In addition, options for bridge funding for
Centers no longer eligible for Basic/Core funding, while the program as a whole
continues to receive this funding, is being pursued.
Hilda Heady pointed out
that one of the issues that must be decided is at what point do we move from Basic/Core
support to Model funding. There is a requirement that once one Center moves off
the Basic/Core support, all Centers must move at one time. Because the Centers
came up staggered over a three year period when this move happens some Centers
will not be receiving the full six years of basic core support money. The
Eastern AHEC will have reached the end of Basic/Core dollars 15 months from
now. There is significantly less money available through Model funding than Basic
funding. The timing of the movement is under consideration now.
Hilda
distributed a handout with three major points that must be covered in the
upcoming Legislative Advocacy session. The points are 1) RHEP/AHEC is making a
difference in the state (supported by data) 2) the funding needs to be
continued, and 3) the funding needs to be increased to support the increased
enrollment in the health care programs. Hilda’s plan has two primary goals; 1)
maintain an annual program to education legislators and locally elected
officials about the value of AHEC and RHEP to their state and local community,
2) to develop a partnership plan for the future of community-based health
professions training within the state.
Hilda asked the panel to
read the handout and contact her with comments and suggestions.
An orientation is planned
for all Advisory Panel members on the November 13, 2006 meeting date.
Motion to adjourn (T.
Hefner/C. Campbell). Passed. The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 pm.