Slideshow for 41st Annual Arizona Rural Health Conference

Enjoy some highlights from the 41st Annual Arizona Rural Health Conference

Arizona sunset.

Sunset

David Sayen, Region 9 CMS Administrator and Dan Derksen MD

David Sayen, Region 9 CMS Administrator, Dan Derksen MD CRH Director. David Sayen gave the keynote address on “Unfolding the Affordable Care Act.”

Sean Clendaniel, Director, Northern Arizona AHEC, North Country HealthCare

Lynda Bergsma and Joyce Hospodar, UA Center for Rural Health after Lynda’s award from the Arizona Rural Health Association for her years of service on behalf of rural Arizonans.

Yanitza Soto ADHS Community Health Worker Program Manager, Anna Alonzo ADHS Office Chief of Tobacco & Chronic Disease, and Floribella Redondo, Board President Arizona Community Health Outreach Workers/Promotores participate in a panel on the CHW role in Arizona’s workforce, and efforts toward credentialing.

Gail Emrick, Director, Southeast Arizona AHEC.

Jean McClelland MLS, Program Director for Community Based Health Information Resources, Brad Dreifuss MD, Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine UA College of Medicine, and Martha Monroy, REACH Program Director in the UA Center of Excellence in Women’s Health.

Jill Bullock and Joyce Hospodar UA Center for Rural Health, introduce Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center presenters Jendean Sartain, Board Member and Neal Jensen CEO.

Will Humble, Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), revealed the draft of the Arizona Health Improvement Plan (AzHIP) for the state.

Les Caid, Fire Chief, Rio Rico Fire District, spoke about the role of community paramedics in rural areas.

Arizona AHEC Directors – Gail Emrick (SEAHEC), Patti Taylor (GVAHEC), Ines Pampara (WAHEC), Jeri Byrne (EAHEC), Sean Clendaniel (NAHEC)

Arizona AHEC Directors – Gail Emrick (SEAHEC), Patti Taylor (GVAHEC), Ines Pampara (WAHEC), Karen Holder (NAHEC), Sean Clendaniel (NAHEC).

Thomas Ryan and Amanda Aguirre from the Regional Center for Border Health listen intently during a general session.

Debbie Johnston, Senior VP, AzHHA spoke about the need to adapt to the evolving health system in the wake of ACA transformation.

Chery O’Donnel, Director Arizona Enroll America and Kim VanPelt, Director Arizona Health Initiatives at St. Luke’s Health Initiative, reviewed Arizona’s lessons learned during Marketplace open enrollment with Allen Gjersvig, Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers and Floribella Redondo, Campesinos Sin Fronteras.

Joe Tabor, UA Assistant Professor, Brad Dreifuss MD, UA Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, and Tony Cappa MD, EM resident.

Another beautiful AZ sunset.

Jennifer Zuniga, Assistant Director of the Arizona Area Health Education Centers and Sally Reel, Director of AzAHEC and Associate VP for health sciences interprofessional education, collaboration and community engagement.

Maru Serino, AHEC Administrative Associate and Sally Reel, Director of AzAHEC and Associate VP for health sciences interprofessional education, collaboration and community engagement.

Tom Betlach, Director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arizona’s Medicaid program, gave an in depth AHCCCS update. Through July, the state had restored AHCCCS coverage to 250,000 uninsured Arizonans, and expanded coverage to another 50,000 through ACA provisions.

Rebecca Ruiz, UA Center for Rural Health and Kris Erps, Associate Director Administration Arizona Telemedicine Program.

Avra Valley

Anna Roscetti receives an award from Patricia Tarango.

Len Kirschner MD, AARP exhorts the attendees about Medicaid and the Marketplace in two concurrent sessions that led to invigorating discussions about health insurance coverage and access to health care.

Jeff Stelnik, VP, BCBS, Len Kirschner MD, AARP and Bruce Cash, Director at Health Net (not pictured) discussed rural provider networks in Arizona’s federally facilitated Marketplace.

Sheila Sjolander, Assistant Director of Prevention at ADHS, reviewed the Arizona Guidelines to Prevent Prescription Narcotic Misuse and Abuse, along with Bob Amend, who gave a demonstration of online continuing education for prescribing providers.

Rural Arizona

Melissa Kotrys, CEO Health-e Connection & Health Information Network of Arizona and Amanda Aguirre, President & CEO, Regional Center for Border Health in Yuma.

Ann King White, Partner BKD, LLP discussed financial issues for Critical Access Hospitals in the CAH Performance Improvement Track.

MPH students Jay Smitt and Sara Andrus were active participants in the 41^st Annual Rural Health Conference.

Jendean Sartain, Board Member Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center and Neal Jensen, CEO presented on the Center’s community health needs assessment and plan.

Dan Derksen MD, Director UA Center for Rural Health gave the Andrew W. Nichols Rural and Border Health Policy Lecture. As Proposition 203 in 1996, and Proposition 204 in 2001 demonstrated, citizen led policymaking can prevail even when political leadership and vested interests oppose health insurance coverage and access to quality health care.

The Wigwam, conference site.

Janet Major, AZ Telemedicine Program, Amanda Aguirre, Regional Center for Border Health, Ana Maria Lopez MD AZ Cancer Center and Medical Director Telemedicine Program, Melissa Kotrys AZ Health-e Connection, Tracy Lenartz, Lenartz Consulting after Dr. Lopez received her award from the Arizona Rural Health Association for the Vida Educational Series.

Sandy Severson, VP Care Improvement for the Arizona Hospital & Healthcare Association, gave a general session presentation on leadership.

Jonathan Sprague, Rocky Coast Consulting and Amy Waer MD, Associate Dean, UA Medical Student Education gave a pre-conference session on building and sustaining general surgery and other needed health services in rural areas.

Htay Hla, Director of Health Information Technology at the UA Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Martha Monroy REACH Program Director in the UA Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, Dan Derksen MD, Director Center for Rural Health and Jim Welden CEO Mariposa Community Health Center in Nogales enjoy the opening evening’s reception.

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