Eastern WV Rural Health Education Consortium
Board Meeting Minutes
DATE: 10/21/03 TIME: 11:00 a.m. PLACE: The Bank of Romney Community Center, Romney, WV
The following persons were present:
Sandra Baker, former Community Representative
Cindy Barr, Shenandoah Valley Medical System
Berdell Bishoff, Love Memorial Clinic
Jaime Bland, RHEP Administrative Assistant
Annette Boggs, Community Representative
Patty Dorsey, Community Representative
Robert L. Harman, Grant Memorial Hospital
Lisa Hileman, Community Representative
Bonita Jackson, Community Representative
Lisa Jacobs, RHEP Community Service Assistant
Gary Johnson, E.A. Hawse Health Center
Julie Kesner, RHEP Community Service Assistant
Kimberly Kline, Community Representative
Kim Martin, RHEP Secretary
Gaye Mitchell, Community Representative
Pat Nolan, War Memorial Hospital
Barbara Norton, Community Representative
Jane Sullivan, RHEP Coordinator
Malinda Turner, RHEP Coordinator
Jeanne Wooten, Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Jessica Woy, PA-C
Mrs. Mitchell, Board Chairperson, provided the welcome and opening remarks. Attendees introduced themselves. She thanked the group for their commitment to the program and their willingness to donate their time to improving health care. She commended the group for the services that are provided to the community through the program and the successes the consortium has experienced in the past year.
Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Sullivan provided a PowerPoint presentation on the accomplishments of the consortium during the past fiscal year. The highlights included training 227 health science students, coordinating 283 community service projects that benefitted 20,783 residents, coordinating three residency rotations, and most importantly, recruiting and retaining 89 health care providers in the consortium service area. The group was provided a copy of the consortium 2002/2003 Annual Report. Mrs. Mitchell encouraged the group to talk with their legislators regarding the accomplishments of the program.
Mrs. Mitchell introduced the guest speaker, Jessica Woy. Ms. Woy is a former RHEP student who is now a practicing physician assistant at the office of Dr. Charles Bess in Keyser. Ms. Woy discussed her experiences as an RHEP student. She expressed appreciation for allowing her to do her rotations in the Petersburg area and providing free housing. With assistance from Mrs. Turner, she applied for and received a SEARCH stipend for her rotation with Dr. John Hahn and educated parents on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). She participated in the first Eastern Area Health Education Center (AHEC) team in Jefferson County that addressed end-of-life care issues such as advanced directives, medical power of attorneys, and the POST form. She praised RHEP for providing her the rotations that assisted in her being offered a job with Dr. Bess. She discussed her challenges and experiences as a young female health care provider in a rural area. She felt she stayed in her hometown due to two reasons: the West Virginia mountains and the small town atmosphere. She jokingly said she judges a town by the number of stoplights it has. Her advice to future students is to try new experiences. The connections that are made through community service and the rural rotations may lead to future employment. Mrs. Mitchell thanked Jessica for her presentation.
The Nominating Committee presented the following slate of candidates for the Board of Directors positions: Lisa Hileman - community member representing Hampshire County Gary Johnson - representing E.A. Hawse Health Center Kimberly Kline - community member representing Pendleton County Jeanne Wooten - representing Martinsburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Nominations were opened from the floor. A motion was made to close the nominations (Nolan, Boggs). Motion passed to accept the above individuals for a three year term to the Board of Directors.
The following community representatives were recognized for their volunteer efforts during the past year: Sandra Baker, Annette Boggs, Patty Dorsey, Lisa Hileman, Bonita Jackson, Kimberly Kline, Gaye Mitchell, Rusty Morgan, Barbara Norton, and Tammy Ware. Mrs. Mitchell closed the meeting by encouraging the consortium to look towards the future. There are many challenges ahead including reauthorization of the program and reduced funding. She stressed the importance of good health, preventative medicine, and the need for quality health care providers. Mrs. Hileman commended Mrs. Mitchell for her hard work and serving as Chairperson. The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 noon.