It has been a very busy year. So busy in fact, that it is already time for the 2nd TORCH Leadership and Management Institute and believe us when we say that you won’t want to miss this year’s seminar. Once again, our top notch TLMI faculty has created a program that will help the management staff and directors at your hospital to learn about themselves and the skills that they need to take their on the job performance to the next level. The special TLMI newsletter,
       lluminations, gives overviews prepared by the faculty for the seminar topics.
TLMI offers hospital managers and executives the opportunity to strengthen their leadership and management abilities in order to address financial, operational and managerial challenges, among others, and successfully carry out the hospital’s mission to provide high quality healthcare for its patients. This year’s talented and knowledgeable faculty members include:

• John Ansbach, Recon Intelligence Services
• Deborah Leverett, Entera+Partners
• Paul Mellor, Success Links
• Mike Patrick, DMin, BCC, Hendrick Medical Center
• Kevin Tutt and Mike Daggs - Tutt & Daggs
• Judy White House, Capital Insights
• Tim Wright, MBA, Wright Results
• Norman York, York Career Development

TLMI provides training to help managers and supervisors improve their job performance, reach their true potential, and help create a workplace with motivated employees to reinforce the hospital’s image as an employer of choice and enhance its value to the community. Join your colleagues in this annual event designed specifically to fit the unique needs of the dedicated people who work in rural and community hospitals across Texas to: Inspire Your Managers - Empower Your Staff - Improve Your Outcomes.
       Make your hotel reservations at the Courtyard by Marriott, 300 East 4th Street, Austin, before October 19 by calling the hotel directly at (512) 236-8008 or (866) 816-8693; mention TORCH to ensure room and rate availability. Watch for the program brochure for the TORCH Leadership & Management Institute in your mail. We hope that you will attend on November 6th and 7th. For more information about TLMI, please contact the TORCH office.

The Northwest Texas Hospital Association elected new board members at their annual membership meeting immediately following the July annual convention in Abilene. Linda Mize of Mitchell County Hospital, Rick Montelongo of Eastland Memorial Hospital and Ted Matthews of Anson General Hospital joined the board. This year’s president is John Henderson, the president-elect is Joyce Crumpler, and the vice president is Lance Keilers. We appreciate their service to all of the NWTHA members.
      One of the board’s biggest responsibilities and rewards is to call for the annual NWTHA scholarship nominees for awards to students pursuing careers in the healthcare field. Since 1994 NWTHA has provided $500 awards to qualifying students that are matched by member hospitals. Each year, the association demonstrates its commitment to health careers training and education in rural Texas. This year the association awarded 9 scholarships bringing the grand total of awards made since the program’s inception to 83.
      The NWTHA board of directors further demonstrated its support for education in careers to benefit rural Texas with its recent vote to contribute $6,200 to the John F. Boff Fellowship Endowment. The endowment was created to honor John and his family by supporting students who are pursuing a degree in rural public health or health administration. If you would like to make your contribution, it may be made to the John F. Boff Endowed Fellowship Fund, payable to the HSC Foundation, and sent to the Texas A&M University Health Science Center, School of Rural Public Health, 1266 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843. It is anticipated that scholarships will be available from the endowment this year.

Over two weeks in September, TORCH and THA sponsored a series of Hospital Licensing Seminars in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Lubbock. These meetings were intended to provide hospital staff and executives the opportunity to understand the sweeping changes to licensing standards for general and special hospitals that the Department of State Health Services recently put into place.
      The Lubbock session was video recorded thanks to the generosity of the staff at Texas Tech University Health Science Center’s HealthNet distance education program. The staff at HealthNet is busy editing the raw video from last week’s session, including the Q&A. Once the final product has been completed, it will be available to HealthNet subscribers and also through TORCH. Details on how you can obtain a DVD copy of the final session will be made available soon.
      We want to express our gratitude to the entire staff of the DSHS Health Facility Program for taking time out of their schedules to provide this education to our members.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced recently that 13 community health centers in Texas will receive $7.1 million in federal funding and have gained Federally Qualified Health Clinic Status (FQHC). The funding and FQHC designation, which come through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will help these centers continue offering a wide range of preventive and primary health care services to medically-underserved areas.
       The FQHC designation allows community health centers to qualify for federal funding, reduced physician’s insurance, larger Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, and to participate in a low cost prescription drug program. The funding comes from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Consolidated Health Centers (CHCs) grant program, within HHS.
      Chambers County Public Hospital District 1 in Anahuac has received $600,000 as a High Poverty County New Access Point and will therefore now operate a fully funded Federally Qualified Health Clinic in addition to the Bayside Community Hospital. Congratulations to Bob Pascasio for his efforts to address the needs of the underserved residents of Eastern Chambers County.

We recently attended a meeting of all Health Resources and Services Administration grantees in Washington, DC, where the Office of Rural Health Policy was recognized for its 20th year of service. Staff at ORHP have come and gone and new functions have been added. At its core, however, ORHP’s original charge to be a focal point for rural health within the Department remains the same. To understand the impact ORHP has had, one needs to look back at the state of rural health prior to 1987.
       “There was little to no understanding of how private markets and government policy hurt or failed to help rural health care and rural communities,” said Tim Size, a longtime rural health leader and executive director of a rural hospital cooperative in Wisconsin. “It was policy development by feeling around in the dark. Without ORHP, we would not have the policy development and communication platform within the Federal Government, nor the means of financing rural-relevant health policy research outside of the government. Those of us in the field would continue to develop and advocate rural health policy, but with significantly less efficiency and efficacy.”
       The Office of Rural Health Policy continues to build on its successes from the past 20 years and learn from its challenges. With a staff committed to ensuring that the rural voice is heard in Federal health care policy, ORHP and its many allies around the Nation provide an active platform for rural health concerns in the Federal landscape. Those involved with ORHP in the past 20 years have witnessed how well-implemented, rural-focused programs and resources can make a lasting difference in the lives of those living in rural areas. Rural America matters, and thanks to the Office of Rural Health Policy, the special health and human service needs of rural Americans will continue to be addressed.
      TORCH congratulates the leadership and staff at ORHP on a job well done. As we look forward to our own 20th year anniversary, we hope that the Department of Health and Human Services will continue to exhibit the same or greater level of commitment to rural America as they have in the past. For our part, we will continue to support our members’ efforts to avail themselves of the grants and services that ORHP administers and to work with the Congress to ensure that all of the important rural health programs that are funded through HRSA remain as strong as they can be.
      If you would like to learn more about the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s accomplishments over the last 20 years, go to ftp://ftp.hrsa.gov/ruralhealth/ORHPhistory.pdf.

The West Central Texas Workforce Development Board is pleased to announce a cooperative agreement with the Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals (TORCH) to provide grant funds for training and development for employees of rural hospitals in the west central Texas area. Employees of TORCH member hospitals will be eligible to apply for assistance for education and training. The hospital employer will recommend employees to receive funds and will also match training funds awarded by TORCH.
       Ron Lehman, Commissioner Representing Employers with the Texas Workforce Commission, said, “Often one of the largest employers in their respective communities, TORCH member hospitals play the critical role of providing quality health care to our small and rural communities as well as sustaining economic vitality of these areas. I commend the West Central Texas Workforce Board and TORCH for their leadership and collaboration in pursuing the development and implementation of training programs that provide solutions to the workforce needs voiced by these employers.”
      For more information about the program or to apply, contact your local hospital or Susan Reed with TORCH at susan@torchnet.org.
       Please note that right now this opportunity is only available to hospitals that are located in the area that is served by the West Central Texas Workforce Development Board. The West Central Texas Workforce Development Board is one of 28 boards in the state charged with oversight and policy-making responsibility for workforce and training programs in a nineteen county region around Abilene.
       However, you may want to contact you own local workforce board and request a similar program for your region. Additional information about this program or any of the Board's other economic development efforts or services for business customers may be obtained by calling the Workforce Board at (325) 795-4200 or by visiting the website at www.workforcesystem.org.
       We’d like to thank the staff of the West Central Texas Workforce Development Board for exhibiting leadership by helping TORCH to develop and fund this valuable new career development resource for their rural and community hospitals.

In late July, TORCH sent a letter to TrailBlazer Health regarding comments we had received from our members about the marked delay in processing provider numbers for physicians under the Medicare Part B program. We expressed to the TrailBlazer staff that the slow-down was putting both hospitals and physicians in a financial bind and impeding their ability to properly care for the Medicare beneficiaries who reside in those local communities.
      At the time that our letter was sent, we had received anecdotal evidence that many of these delays were in the 6-12 month range. We asked to be given the name of a Trailblazer representative who could talk with the hospitals directly about the specific instances that had occurred. In response, TrailBlazer has provided us with a name and contact number for an expert who can research and resolve these situations in an expedited manner.
      Therefore, if this is still a concern at your facility we would encourage you to get in contact with Kay Martin in the TrailBlazer Part B Enrollment Division. Her direct line is 903-463-0382. Her fax number is 903-463-0374. She also said that there is a number of enrollment resources and information available on their website at www.trailblazerhealth.com. Just click on ‘Provider Enrollment’ in the box marked ‘Medicare Home Page’. She said she would be very happy to assist TORCH members in resolving any and all outstanding issues.
      Also, please be aware that the Texas Medical Board has scheduled another seminar to educate hospitals about the physician licensure application process and answer questions. Breakouts for individual sessions will be held starting at noon, where you may discuss particular applicants with TMB analysts. TMB must have a signed release form from each applicant you plan to discuss. Be sure the applicant signs the form, and bring it with you. The Physician Licensure Credentialing Seminar will begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9, in Room 100 of the TMB headquarters building, located at 333 Guadalupe St. in downtown Austin. Please RSVP for the seminar by Oct. 1 at amanda.bloodgood@tmb.state.tx.us.

This year, Texas will have the opportunity to host the NRHA national conference for both Rural Health Clinics and Critical Access Hospitals on our home soil. If you haven’t yet registered for one of these meetings, the NRHA would still love you to be in attendance. Also, stop by and see us at the TORCH booth in the exhibit hall during the CAH conference. Here is a brief description of each meeting:

Rural Health Clinic Conference – October 2-3
The 2007 Rural Health Clinic Conference has been tailored to provide firsthand information from key leaders in the field on the latest updates and research regarding the Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Program. This conference also offers attendees with a review, clarification and answers to questions on some of the fundamental administrative aspects of operating an RHC program.

Critical Access Hospital Conference – October 3-5
The purpose of the 2007 Critical Access Hospital Conference (CAH) is to highlight emerging information and research that can impact the day-to-day operations of these rural hospitals. This conference is a venue for CAH administrators, practitioners, and staff to learn from their peers and gain the skills necessary to keep their CAH competitive in a dynamic and changing environment.

For detailed registration information, please check out the program brochure at http://files.e2ma.net/10975/assets/docs/sanantonio_conf_final.pdf. It includes educational sessions, regulatory updates and networking opportunities galore. To register online, go to http://www.nrharural.org/conferences/index.html .

In August rural health clinic staff from across Texas traveled to Austin for the annual TARHC Conference for three days of education, networking and vendor exhibits. The program topics ran the gamut of vital concern for RHCs and the networking gave opportunities for clinic directors and staff to talk with their peers about shared issues. At its annual membership meeting, the association elected board members with the board positions filled by: Carolyn McCuine of Sulphur Springs, Steve Gularte of El Campo, Jerry Carbajal of Dilley, Kathy Bunch of Dumas, and Julie Sharp of Marlin.
      Another outstanding service of TARHC is the information packed newsletter written by Executive Director, Ramsey Longbotham. For information on joining the association call the office in Austin at 512-873-0045.

Bringing together the missions of TORCH and its subsidiaries to structure a cohesive program of member services was the task recently completed by the board members and staff of TORCH, TMSI, and the TORCH Foundation, CHFTX.
       In early August the directors and staff of TORCH Management Services, Inc. and Community Hospital Foundation of Texas held individual strategic planning sessions for each of their TORCH subsidiary organizations.
       In late August the boards of the subsidiaries participated with the TORCH Board members and staff in a three day strategic planning session to integrate the goals and objectives of TMSI and CHFTX into the goals and objectives of TORCH. The result was a far reaching comprehensive framework on which to build outstanding programs to benefit rural hospital in Texas and to guide the development of services into the future. Initiatives, outcomes, measures, and timelines will be developed and presented to the board later this year. The strategic plan document will be provided to the members upon completion. The Board and staff are all enthusiastically looking forward to implementing the strategies developed to strengthen TORCH, TMSI, the Foundation, and our member hospitals.