2007 Flex Program Quality and Strategic Planning Meeting
On June 13 and 14, Virginia held a strategic planning meeting in Staunton, VA. Over 40 experts were in attendance at the two-day meeting. Participants represented an array of organizations, including: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Small Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) hospitals, health districts of CAH areas, Virginia Health Quality Center (VHQC), Virginia Rural Health Association (VRHA), Office of Telemedicine at the University of Virginia, Virginia Center for Diabetes Professional Education at the University of Virginia, Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) of the Virginia Department of Health, United States Department of Agricultural Rural Development, Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, Center for Rural Virginia, and Virginia Community Healthcare Association.
The second part of the two-day meeting was dedicated to revising Virginia’s Rural Health Plan. The original plan was developed in 2000 and focused primarily on converting hospitals to CAH status. Over the past five years, Virginia’s focus has evolved into building and sustaining rural health care delivery systems. The new revised Rural Health Plan will provide a roadmap to achieve this new goal. The plan is divided into four main workgroups: access, quality, data and rural definitions, and workforce.