Eastern WV Rural Health Education Consortium Board Meeting Minutes

DATE: 6/17/03 TIME: 9:30 a.m. PLACE: Instructional Resource Center, Romney, WV

The following persons were present:

• Jaime Bland, RHEP Administrative Assistant
• Annette Boggs, Community Representative
• David Fant, Shenandoah Valley Medical System
• Sandria Glasscock, Grant County Health Department
• Robert L. Harman, Grant Memorial Hospital
• Hilda Heady, WVRHEP Executive Director
• Lisa Hileman, Community Representative
• Bonita Jackson, Community Representative
• Kimberly Kline, Community Representative
• Gaye Mitchell, Community Representative
• Rusty Morgan, Community Representative
• Patrick Nolan, War Memorial Hospital
• Barbara Norton, Community Representative
• Jane Sullivan, RHEP Coordinator
• Malinda Turner, RHEP Coordinator

The meeting was called to order by Mrs. Mitchell, Board Chairperson. Mrs. Mitchell introduced Jane Sullivan the new Site Coordinator in Martinsburg.

AGENDA ITEM: APPROVAL OF MINUTES

DISCUSSION: There were no corrections or omissions to the April minutes.

ACTION: The minutes were approved as circulated (Motion: Boggs, Harman). Motion passed.

FOLLOW-UP: None required.

AGENDA ITEM: UPCOMING BUDGET AND USE OF CARRYOVER FUNDS

DISCUSSION: Mrs. Turner reported on the progress of improvements at the Warm Springs house in Martinsburg. An update was provided on the following: the Preceptor Honorarium's are being processed, the new copiers are being purchased, and the company cars will not be traded. The Harpers Ferry Funding Proposal will not invoice the consortium until each of the rotations have been completed. The cost of this program will be covered by the consortium's fund balance in the 03/04 fiscal year.

ACTION: Received as information.

FOLLOW-UP: An update will be provided at the next meeting.

AGENDA ITEM: AHEC UPDATE

DISCUSSION: The workgroup has not met since our last Board meeting to review combining the AHEC and RHEP Boards.

ACTION: Received as information.

FOLLOW-UP: An update will be provided at the next meeting.

AGENDA ITEM: HSTA UPDATE

DISCUSSION: Mrs. Turner reported the consortium has received and Mr. Harman has signed an agreement to receive $5,846 from the Health Sciences & Technology Academy (HSTA) program. These funds are a reimbursement for consortium expenses for supplies, travel, and personnel time for Jane Horst.

ACTION: Received as information.

FOLLOW-UP: None required.

AGENDA ITEM: DRAFT PROPOSAL FOR THE EASTERN DIVISION

DISCUSSION: The Board reviewed a draft proposal from Dr. Michael Friedland, Dean of WVU's Eastern Division Campus. The proposal is recommending that student rotations in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties no longer be considered RHEP. Ms. Heady clarified that there are two issues to this proposal. One issue is a curriculum issue and is the responsibility of the WVRHEP Schools Committee. The second issue is a geographic issue and is the responsibility of the local consortium Board with approval by the WVRHEP Advisory Panel. The Board expressed some concern that these issues were not presented at the last meeting.

Ms. Heady received a separate proposal from Barry Linger at the Eastern Campus regarding the curriculum issue. The Board reviewed this proposal and developed a list of the following comments/questions:

-Where will these students receive their RHEP experience?

- Is it only the 3 eastern counties or all 9 counties in the consortium?

- How will the Eastern Division Campus ultimately affect all the 9 counties it serves?

- How will the Eastern Division Campus students fulfill the interdisciplinary and community service requirements of RHEP?

- Who will be responsible for coordinating the Eastern Division Campus student rotations? Will it be the Eastern Campus or RHEP?

- How will this variance affect other schools/programs in RHEP?

- Will this change affect the definition of an RHEP student?

Ms. Heady also provided the Board with data on Health Profession Shortage Areas (HPSAs). Some areas of Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan counties may be changing this year. There was some confusion as to how the HPSA and Medical Underserved Areas (MUAs) relate to the proposal by Dr. Friedland. Ms. Heady clarified that in the past, HPSA and MUA designations have been used to determine RHEP status.

The Board will wait to receive a response on the questions above before further discussing the second issue of geographic representation. It was Ms. Heady's recommendation that the Board consider adding Martinsburg to the forbidden cities list instead of removing Berkeley and Jefferson counties as stated in Dr. Friedland's proposal.

ACTION: A letter detailing the consortium's comments/questions to Barry Linger's proposal will be sent to Ms. Heady. The HPSA and MUA designation information will be reviewed by the respective hospital administrators.

FOLLOW-UP: An update will be provided at the next meeting.

AGENDA ITEM: WVRHEP ADVISORY PANEL REPORT

DISCUSSION: Mrs. Turner reported on action taken at the May 19th Advisory Panel meeting. The Rural Ohio Valley Education Resources (ROVER) Consortium will be adding Whetzel County. The Country Roads and Rural Mountain Consortia will be combining under the new name of the South Eastern Education Consortium. St. Joseph's Hospital has resigned as the Lead Agency at the Mountain Health Consortium. The Performance, Evaluation, and Research Division (PERD) will be evaluating the RHEP program for reauthorization next year.

ACTION: Received as information.

FOLLOW-UP: None required.

AGENDA ITEM: BOARD ORIENTATION & REFERENCE MANUALS

DISCUSSION: The Board discussed the Orientation & Reference Manual that contains Board information such as bylaws, directories, and other consortium materials. This manual is updated on a yearly basis. The Board discussed the usefulness of this material given that this information is available on-line. Mrs. Boggs does not use the Internet, so her information will continue to be sent by hard copy. The Board minutes will continue to be mailed as well as available on-line.

ACTION: The Orientation and Reference Manual will not be updated.

FOLLOW-UP: None required.

AGENDA ITEM: TRAVEL REQUESTS

DISCUSSION: The Board discussed the travel budget for the 03/04 fiscal year. Travel requests are to be approved on an annual basis. Due to the budget constraints this year, travel requests will be approved individually on a case-by-case basis dependent upon available funds.

ACTION: As stated above.

FOLLOW-UP: Continue to monitor.

AGENDA ITEM: ANNOUNCEMENTS

DISCUSSION: The Board reviewed a letter from Sandra Baker. She has resigned her position on the Board of Directors and will be sent a letter thanking her for her years of service. Mrs. Mitchell announced that Dr. Robert D'Alessandri will be stepping down from one of the positions he currently holds at WVU. He will remain the Vice President for Health Sciences but will resign the position of Dean of the WVU Medical School.

ACTION: Received as information.

FOLLOW-UP: None required.

AGENDA ITEM: LEGISLATIVE UPDATE/REAUTHORIZATION

DISCUSSION: The Board discussed the reauthorization of the RHI Act including the process and the time period. Ms. Heady's office is currently working with the Site Coordinators to answer questions being asked by the Performance, Evaluation and Research Division. This division is responsible for making a recommendation on reauthorization. Ms. Heady asked if any Board members were aware of questions being asked by legislators in the three eastern counties in the consortium. None were aware of this.

ACTION: Received as information.

FOLLOW-UP: An update will be provided at the next meeting.

ADJOURNMENT: 12:35 p.m.

Gaye Mitchell, Board Chairperson