DRAFT MINUTES WVRHEP RECRUITMENT & RETENTION COMMITTEE MEETING March 20, Days Inn, Flatwoods Attending: Linda Atkins, Chuck Conner, Tom Hefner, Mike Holt, Mike Lewis, Imogene Foster /for E. Jane Martin, Jim Nemitz, Jo Ann Raines, Jessica Sharp, Amy Thomas, and Bob Whitler. Staff: Alicia Tyler. Absent: Norm Ferrari, Janet Frye, Jill Hutchinson, Jill McDaniel, and Lynne Welch. Guests: Elizabeth Degges, Jeff Werner, Elaine Mason, Glenna Michael, Ken Stone, Sharon King, Jodie Jackson, Annie McIntosh, Randy Lowe, and Sheri Payette. The Committee chairman, Dr. Mike Lewis, opened the meeting. He acknowledged Jim Nemitz, who was named Professor of the Year by the Faculty Merit Foundation of West Virginia. The minutes of the November 15th meeting were approved. Update on State AHEC Grant Application Dr. Lewis briefed the committee on the grant proposal, which was submitted in January. A statewide AHEC is proposed for 49 counties, which would complement ongoing rural health training efforts. The original 6 counties of the first AHEC in West Virginia, funded 25 years ago, are ineligible for funding. The proposal would add graduate education in rural areas, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry. The proposal is for $3.2 million over three years. Preliminary Recruitment & Retention Report: 2000 Jodie Jackson discussed the report, which was prepared for the WVRHEP legislative dinner in February, and distributed a handout on the types and limitations of data collected. The report was compiled under a short deadline and she welcomed feedback from the Committee on how to make improvements next year. Information was gathered from the schools, Dr. Weston’s office, the Division of Recruitment , the database on rural rotations, etc., and sent to site coordinators for verification. Can we determine if rural training is making a difference? We need to make comparisons over time and look at the impact of focused efforts, such as the Recruitable Communities Project. Bob Whitler suggested that the information be presented by geographic areas, because this is of interest to legislators. Include a map. Jim Nemitz said it’s important to look at retention. How long do they stay? Communities want to know why people leave. Tom Hefner suggested a succinct report for legislators and more detail for the Committee. Proposed WVRHEP Study Jodie discussed the proposed study, which had been presented earlier to the Evaluation Committee. A longitudinal study of WVRHEP is needed to answer questions such as: How do student attitudes and career plans change over time? Where do graduates locate? Do they stay? It was hoped that the study could be conducted by Dr. Ken Shannon (with Dr. Don Pathman as a consultant) under the RWJ Generalist Physician Faculty Scholars Program. Dr. Shannon was a finalist, but did not receive this fellowship, so alternative sources of funding, including the Special Projects Fund, will be sought. Jodie estimates that the study would cost between $40,000 - $60,000. Although a specific proposal was not presented, the Committee supported the project in general. Updated Needs Assessment Linda Atkins presented data from the Division of Recruitment’s survey of primary care centers, hospitals, mental health facilities, rural health clinics, and private practitioners. The summary chart showed primary care physicians by specialty and NPs and PAs and nurse- midwives by location (HPSA, MUA, and urban areas, and by regions). A total of 98 primary care physicians are needed in HPSAs and MUAs. A total of 21 NPs and PAs (most sites list both disciplines) are needed and 3 nurse-midwives. Discussion focused on the fewer number of opportunities for NPs and PAs. Annie McIntosh said that in rural communities patients don’t know what an NP or PA does; consequently they want to see the doctor. How do we educate communities about these providers? That’s part of the administrator’s role. Also, students can write articles for the local newspaper or discuss their role on radio, etc. Tom Hefner said that civic clubs and organizations are always looking for speakers. Mike Holt said that AB College has materials on PAs that could be useful to communities, and the school could help arrange for a speaker. Materials in the waiting room should be easy to read. Sharon King said that the Partners in Health Network (PIHN) needs ER physicians. Locum Tenens Project Sharon King reported on this project, which is supported under the RWJ/Benedum WV Rural Health Access Program. From a recent survey, she found that 157 physicians are interested in providing locum tenens and 105 facilities need this service. Fifteen residents responded. At first, she looked at the 16 county area served by PIHN and then expanded the survey statewide. She has the facility contract in place and is putting together practice profiles; she hopes to make the first placement in April. The cost is $60 an hour and $65 for ER coverage, which is a considerable savings for sites. Credentialing is the site’s role. PIHN will follow up with sites and doctors on satisfaction with the placement. At present the doctor pays for the service, but PIHN is working with the Primary Care Association to apply for funding for rural sites. PIHN has purchased databases on other disciplines: 719 allied health and 341 PAs. Health Sciences Scholarships - NP & PA Applications Alicia reported that she, Chuck Conner, and Jacki Masi had interviewed all the NP and PA candidates for HSSP, as planned in the November 15 meeting. The goal was to make awards by January, but most of the students had not yet explored opportunities, so the potential for employment couldn’t be assessed. Five were recommended in January, and all but one have solid job prospects: Physician Assistant Alan S. Humphrey AB College Nurse Practitioner Linda Jarvis-Parsons WVU - Chas. Donna Lee Linkous WVU - Chas. Judy Kay Lipscomb WVU - Morgantown Kathleen Rose Nissell WVU - Chas. Eleven other students were interviewed in March to determine their prospects for employment, including willingness to relocate. The following four were recommended: Physician Assistant Douglas Dalton AB College Nurse Practitioner Debra Ann Bostic WVU - Chas. Denice Gobble WVU - Chas. Christina L. Johnstone WVU - Chas. On motion, the Committee voted to approve the above students (Hefner, Atkins) Health Sciences Scholarship Trends Alicia gave a presentation with charts on the HSSP program over the past 4 years, showing awards made, awards accepted, and awards paid back. The total number of active awards include: 1995-96 $140,000 1996-97 $190,000 1997-98 $290,000 1998-99 $180,000 Most of the paybacks have been from NPs and PAs unable to find jobs where they were willing to work. The job market for these practitioners has dropped off. The number of paybacks can be expected to increase as physicians from the early years complete their residencies and enter the job market. Paybacks to date total $170,000, which gives the Committee an opportunity to consider adding other discipline(s) for eligibility. The HSSP law gives the vice chancellor for health sciences the authority to add other disciplines identified as shortage fields. Dr. Weston would do this in consultation with the Recruitment & Retention Committee. Alicia said that members of the Allied Health Subcommittee had discussed the need for the following: rehabilitation field (physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists), mental health (psychiatry is already eligible), and dentistry. In WVRHEP there are few preceptors for physical therapists. Bob Whitler said that he thought a long involved study was unnecessary, and that the Committee should consider expanding eligibility at the May 15th meeting. He agreed to serve on the subcommittee. HSSP Placement Alicia reported that she had recommended approval of Dr. Richmond’s request to fulfill his Health Sciences Scholarship service obligation in Lewisburg. Although Lewisburg is not a designated HPSA or MUA, Dr. Richmond presented data showing that two-thirds of his patients come from outside Lewisburg, the majority of which are from underserved areas. His request stated that he takes all hospital admissions for patients from Rainelle Medical Center and the Rupert Primary Care Center and that he located his practice in Lewisburg because of his desire for a hospital practice. Prior to making her recommendation, Alicia discussed the pros and cons of his request with several committee members, including Linda Atkins, Chuck Conner, Jill Hutchinson, and Jim Nemitz. Randy Lowe stated that he strongly objected to approval of Dr. Richmond’s practice because Lewisburg is not underserved and that it sets a dangerous precedent. He said that he did not have a formal agreement with Dr. Richmond regarding hospital care for Rainelle and Rupert, which is needed to guarantee that these centers get their patients back. Bob Whitler said that, in the future, data on the payor mix should be considered when evaluating similar requests. On the positive side, a hospital practice is important to retention. Randy said that Dr. Richmond could have located in Rupert and still had a hospital practice. The meeting was adjourned. Min320.wpd From sbaker2@wvu.edu Fri Apr 28 11:12:41 2000 Return-Path: Received: from dogwood.telcom.wvu.edu (dogwood.telcom.wvu.edu [157.182.140.74]) by medix.marshall.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id LAA08744 for ; Fri, 28 Apr 2000 11:12:41 -0400 Received: from sbaker (hsc-user.hsc.wvu.edu [157.182.105.1]) by dogwood.telcom.wvu.edu (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8/JLF-19981102) with SMTP id LAA27682 for ; Fri, 28 Apr 2000 11:14:47 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <200004281514.LAA27682@dogwood.telcom.wvu.edu> X-Sender: sbaker2@wvu.edu X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 4.0.1 Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 11:14:55 -0400 To: recruit@medix.marshall.edu From: Sandra Baker Subject: agenda.txt Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" WV Rural Health Education Partnerships Recruitment & Retention Committee Meeting Agenda - Flatwoods, WV May 15, 2000 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. 1. Welcome & Introductions Mike Lewis Community Residency Initiative 2. Expanded Eligibility for HSSP Alicia Tyler 3. Placement Policies Bob Whitler 4. Study on Financial Incentives Jodie Jackson (WV Rural Health Access Program)