Oregon Office of Rural Health

Oregon Rural Health Conference

CEO's provost pic from OHSU Now
Balloon Arch 2023
ORH Conference Banner
Balloon Arch 1
Quality Award Winners
Begin the Conference
CDC Director of Rural Health Diane Hall

The 40th Annual Oregon Rural Health Conference

Thank you for celebrating 40 years of Rural Health in Oregon with us at our Conference in  Sunriver, October 11 – 13, 2023!

You can access presentations below.

If you have questions about the 2023 Conference or upcoming ORH Annual Oregon Rural Health Conferences, contact Laura Potter .

Workshop: Providers Clinical Support System Buprenorphine Training

Eleasa Sokolski, OHSU

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Documented Compliance in an RHC

Tressa Sacrey, Director, Compliance and Education, Health Services Associates, Inc.

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Care Management Services in an RHC

Charles James, North American HMS

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Plenary: The CDC’s New Office of Rural Health: Purpose and Priorities

Diane Hall, M.S.Ed., Ph.D., Director, Office of Rural Health, CDC

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Suicide and Rural Areas: Why the Higher Rate?

Debra Darmata, Adult Suicide Prevention Coordinator, OHA

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Improving Access to Mental Health Treatment in Rural Oregon

Jonathan Betlinski, MD, Director OPAL-A and Public Psychiatry, OHSU; Linda Schmidt, Assistant Professor, OPAL-A

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Behavioral Health Services for RHC

Charles James, North American HMS

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Resilience for Retention: Practical Retention Strategies for Rural Health Organizations

Allison Whisenhunt, LCSW, Director of Behavioral Health and Care Management, Columbia Memorial Hospital; Rebecca Larson, MSW, LCSW, Care Management Supervisor, Columbia, Memorial Hospital

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Sharing is Caring: How De-monopolizing Knowledge Improves Mental Health Care

Jonathan Betlinski MD, Director OPAL-A and Public Psychiatry, OHSU; Ruth Tadesse PhD, OHSU

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Health Communications During Crisis, Pandemics and in an Era of Misinformation

Vanessa A. Becker, PIO & Public Health Modernization, Douglas Public Health Network

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Federal Policy Update for RHCs

Sarah Hohman, NARHC

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Northwest Tribal Community Health Provider Programs: Building a Bridge from Community Health Representative to Community Health Practitioner, Behavioral Health Aide Practitioner, Dental Health Aide, or Dental Health Aide Therapist

Carrie Sampson Samuels, NWPAIHB; Kari Ann Kuntzelman, Dental Health Aide Education Specialist, NWPAIHB; Katie Hunsberger, BHA Student Support Coordinator, NWPAIHB

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Health Equity in Our Aging Communities: A Conversation with Three Rural Providers

Diana Burden, Medical Director, Mosaic Community Health, Prineville; Katie Plumb, Health &Human Services Director, Crook Co. Health Dept.; Maureen (Paulie) Bruns, MD, Medical Director, Samaritan Medical Group, Corvallis.; Moderator: Julia Brown, Community Outreach and Engagement Manager, Age+

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Oregon's Health Information Technology Strategic Plan Update

Shannon Cengija, Health IT Policy Analyst, OHA; Hope Peskin-Shepherd, Lead Policy Analyst, OHA

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Medicaid’s Alternative Payment and Advanced Care Model

Bill Roller, Billing and Administrative Director, Orchid Health; Adrienne Cooke, Operations and Policy Analyst, OHA

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Boosting the Rural Workforce through Community Health Support

Madison Riethman, Grant Project and Data Manager, Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials (OR CLHO); Janessa Wells, Workforce Navigator, OR CLHO; Katie Irvine Minich, THW Doula & Program Director, Doula Training Center; Beck Low, CHW Training HUB Coordinator, Benton County Health Services; Patricia Card, Older Adult Behavioral Health Specialist & Peer Support Coordinator, Klamath Basin Behavioral Health

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Delivering Prenatal Care in a Rural Oregon Health System: An Implementation Case Study to Improve Rural Family Health

Candice Hunter, FNP, Orchid Health

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Case Study: Asymptomatic Bacteriuria Quality Improvement Projects in Critical Access Hospitals

Natalia Martinez-Paz, Program Manager; Rupali Jain, PharmD, Center for Stewardship in Medicine

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The Best Health Care Includes Good Culture

Jeff Harper, InQuiseek, LLC

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Novel Strategies for Stabilizing the Pharmacy Technician Pipeline in Central Oregon

Sheila Salido Jordan, Managing Director, workability, LLC

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Health Promotion and Access for Rural Oregonians with Disabilities

Lindsay Sauve, OHSU; Kelsey Weinstein, Linkage Coordinator, OHSU

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Improving Access to Subspecialty Pediatric Care

Henry Lin, Attending Physician, OHSU; Linda Muir, MD, OHSU; Jamie Klapp, OHSU medical student

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Rural Health Clinic Development: Start to Finish

Patty Harper, InQuiseek, LLC

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Improving Wellbeing and Retention Within the Rural Health Care Workforce

Lisa Ladendorff, Development and Training Program Director, Northeast Oregon Network (NEON); Jenn Rolfes, DBH, President and CEO, Health Equity Solutions

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Bridges to Recovery: Addressing Substance Use Disorder and Overdoses in Lincoln County

JoAnn Miller, Director of Community Health Promotion, Samaritan; Shelagh Baird, MPH, Community Health Improvement Specialist

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Making Your Quality Program Stick

Angie Charlet, VP Education & Development, Canopy Associates

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Strategies for Ongoing RHC Compliance

Kate Hill, The Compliance Team

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Giving It Our Best Shot: How EMS Can Play a Significant Role in Public Health in Rural Communities

Hailey Palmore, Director of Public Health Services, Mist-Birkenfeld Rural Fire Protection District

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VA Health Care Use and Decision Making: Rural Aging Veteran Perspectives

Traben Pleasant, Qualitative Researcher, Portland, Veterans Affairs

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Clearing the Air for Cancer Screening

Durinda Haukap, Admin. Dir. CMH/OHSU Knight Cancer Collaborative; Chris Laman, VP of Strategy, Columbia Memorial Hospital; Julian Dillon, Executive Director, American Lung Association

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The State of Rural Health Care: Looking Forward

Katie Jo Raebel, Wipfli; Eric Volk, Wipfli

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Reproductive Healthcare in the Post-Roe Era: A Guide for Rural

Shaalini Ramanadhan, MD, Assistant Professor, OHSU Center for Women’s Health

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Breakfast and Plenary: Breakfast Brings Benefits: and Other Nutritional Strategies in Community Health

Erin Fredericks, MScN, FAMILIAR Foods

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Creating Health Equity for Klamath County's Hispanic Population Through Community Partnerships

Oscar Herrera, Chair, Healthy Klamath Coalition’s Hispanic Health Committee

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Data-Driven Rural Health Care: Identifying Barriers and Access Needs

Brent DeMoe, Director, Polk County Family & Community Outreach; Dave Guile, President, Sounds of Silence Inc.

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School-Based Rural Clinics

Clayton Ipsen, President, HealthForce

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Oregon Recruitment and Retention Efforts: A 5-Year Review and Look to the Future

Jill Boyd, Health Care Provider Incentives Project Coordinator, OHA; Leah Festa, MPA, Health Care Provider Incentives Coordinator; Bill Pfunder, Incentives Program Manager, Oregon Office of Rural Health

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Mental Health Crisis Assessment and Stabilization Facilities in Rural Oregon: A Case Study

Brianna Manfrass, Associate Principal, Pinnacle Architecture; Adam Goggins, Crisis Program Manager, Deschutes County Health Services

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From Chaos to Clarity: A Lean Culture Transformation in Rural America

Jodi Thompson, Outpatient Quality Review Nurse, Good Shepherd Health Care System; Devin Goldman, Director of Quality Management, Good Shepherd Health Care System

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Promoting Access to Care for Rural LGBTQ+ Patients

Bari Laskow, MD, Full Circle Idaho; Camille Evans, LCSW, Cornerstore Whole Health Care Organization

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Barriers and Solutions to Nursing Workforce Retention and Attraction in Rural Areas

Rick Allgeyer, Research Director; Dawne Schoenthal, Program Director, Oregon Center for Nursing

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2024 Conference

The 41st Annual Oregon Rural Health Conference will be held October 2 – 4, 2024 at the newly renovated Riverhouse on the Deschutes, and you can book your room here. If you book directly from the Riverhouse website, use this code: OORH24.

Contact Laura Potter with any questions potterla@ohsu.edu .

Upcoming ORH Conferences

2024 - Oct. 2-4 - Riverhouse, Bend, Oregon

2025 - Oct 1-3 - Riverhouse, Bend, Oregon

2026 - TBA - Riverhouse, Bend, Oregon

Past ORH Conferences

The 39th Annual Oregon Rural Health Conference - Thank you to the 47 speakers, 27 partners, and 275 attendees of the 39th Annual Oregon Rural Health Conference, held at Sunriver Resort from October 12 – 14, 2022. 

2022 conference agenda.

2022 Presentations

The Rural Health Landscape 

Alan Morgan, NRHA President

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Building Community Infrastructure to Address Social Determinants of Health and Equity Through Community Information Exchange (CIE) 

Jennifer Gustafson, CCM, CGAC II Manager, Compliance, AllCare Health

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Care Compare Methodology Changes & Response for Agile Improvement

Meg Linza, MSN, RN, CPHQ - Director of Quality, Risk, Clinical Education, & Employee Health, & Brett Byers, BSN, RN, CPHQ - Quality Nurse Specialist

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Increasing Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Workforce in Eastern Oregon: Outcomes, Lessons Learned & Next Steps

Meredith Lair, Executive Director at Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center (NEOAHEC) & Patricia Barfield, PhD., Assistant Professor of Nursing, OHSU School of Nursing, La Grande campus

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Achieving Quadruple Aim: Rethinking Our Organizational Operating Systems to Become More People Positive and Complexity-Conscious

Orion Falvey, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Orchid Health

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How to Move Your Practice to a More Value-Based Payment Model

Bill Roller, Orchid Health

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Project ECHO and a Rural Advisory Panel: Tools to Help Create a Community Health Infrastructure in Rural Oregon

Maggie McDonnell, MPH - Oregon ECHO Network (OEN) Director; Project Director of HEAL-OR & Kate McKenna, MD, One Community Health

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The Intersection of Oral and Behavioral Health Services at AllCare

Laura McKeane, EFDA, Director of Oral Health Services at AllCare & Kelli Beaumont, EPDH at Capitol Dental Care

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Project Firstline: Infection Control in Health Care

Judith Guzman-Cotrill, DO - Pediatric Infectious Diseases Contractor for Oregon Health Authority COVID-19 Response and HAI Program

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Building a CAH Quality Network to Enrich Peer-to-Peer Learning and Connections

Stacey Karvoski, Quality Improvement Director and Risk Manager, Wallowa Memorial Hospital; Meg Linza, Director, Quality, Clinical Education, & Employee Health, Columbia Memorial Hospital; Barbara Snyder, Quality and Risk Manager, Southern Coos Hospital; Stacie Rothwell, Field Services Program Manager, ORH 

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Rural Public Health - Challenges and Opportunities

Michael Baker, PhD. Public Health Director at Jefferson County Public Health

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Broadband in Rural Oregon

Representative Pam Marsh, Oregon State Legislature; Didgette McCracken, OSU Extension Service/Cyber Mills Nonprofit; Dr. Time Powell, CEO at Evergreen Family Medicine

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HEART: Healing Ethno-Racial Trauma: A Culturally Designed Model for Trauma Informed Care

Trevor Whitbread, MA, MS, Marriage & Family Therapy Associate, South Lane Mental Health

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Public Health, CCOs, and Providers Working Together

KC Bolton, MA, MHA, CEO, Aviva Health; Robert Dannenhoffer, MD, Public Health Officer, Douglas County, Chief Health Strategist for Douglas Public Health Network, Pediatrician, Aviva Health; Teresa Mutschler, MS, Executive Director, Douglas Public Health Network

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Healing After Disaster - Guide with Support

Lucy Zammarelli, MA - Supervisor, Lane County HHS and Human Services Liaison for the McKenzie Valley Wildfire Response

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Crisis de Nuestro Bienestar: Latino Mental Health Barriers & Recommendations in Oregon

Commissioner Irma Linda Castillo, MS; Commissioner Melina Moran, FNP; Commissioner Josefina Riggs

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Pathways for Diversifying and Increasing the Number of Health Professional Learners in Oregon

Dr. Eric Wiser, Interim Director, Oregon AHEC; Meredith Lair, Executive Director, at Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center (NEOAHEC); Shellene Dougherty, BS, M.Ed., Samaritan Health Services; Stephanie Leapaldt, BS, MAT, St. Charles Health System; Hailey Hulse, BS, NEOAHEC

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A Comprehensive Plan for Aging - Making Oregon an Age Friendly State

Keren Brown Wilson PhD. CEO Age+; Stephanie Hooper, President, Age+

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Community Collaborations: Reaching Vulnerable Populations Through Partnerships

Rylie Tiffin, Region 2 Testing Coordinator, Santiam Hospital & Clinics SCoPE Lab

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The Role of Rural Facilities in Educating the Workforce

Dr. Eric Wiser, Interim Director Oregon AHEC; Dr. Joyce Hollander-Rodriguez, Program Director, Cascades East; Dr. Lesley Ogden, CEO Samaritan North Lincoln & Pacific Communities Hospital

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Rural Health Clinic Workshop 2022

RHC Workshop Agenda

PRESENTATIONS

Washington Update

Nathan Baugh, BA, Executive Director, National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARC)

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Preparing for Your RHC Survey

Janis McDowell, RN, BSN, MA, Patient Safety Surveyor, Oregon Health Authority

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Tools: Medical Record Review, Personnel Record Review, RHC Entrance Needs ListRHC Walk Through Check ListRural Health Clinic Survey Worksheet

Understanding Commingling in an RHC

Charles A. James, Jr., President and CEO, North American HMS

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Value-Based Care in the RHC

Charles A. James, Jr., President and CEO, North American HMS

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Getting Back to Normal: What to Expect After the PHE Ends

Jeff Harper, inQuiseek, LLC Consulting

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Strategizing with New RHC Payment Regulations

Katie Jo Raebel, CPA, Partner-Health Care Practice, Wipfli LLP

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RHC Medicare Billing Update

Patty Harper, RHIA, CHTS-IM, CHT-PW, CHC, CEO inQuiseek, LLC Consulting

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Rural Health care Workforce:

Recruitment for Retention: Top Strategies

Michelle Varcho, Director of Operations and Education Outreach, 3RNET

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Provider Incentive Programs and How They Can Help with Recruitment and Retention

Bill Pfunder, Program Manager, Incentive Programs, ORH
Stacee Reed, Program Manager, Recruitment & Retention, ORH

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Rural Health Clinic Workshop

Exploring New RHC Scheduling Models to Improve Patient Access

Patty Harper, RHIA, CHTS-IM, CHT-PW, CEO, InQuiseek, LLC

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Intro to Workforce at the Oregon Office of Rural Health

Bill Pfunder, Program Manager, Incentive Programs, ORH
Stacee Reed, Program Manager, Recruitment & Retention, ORH

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A Prescription for Your Clinic: What’s the Best Option?

Katie Jo Raebel, CPA, Partner-Health Care Practice, Wipfli LLP

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Washington Update

Nathan Baugh, Director of Government Affairs for the National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC)

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Community Health Workers (CHW): Roles and Partnerships in Rural Healthcare

Liberty Avila, MS, Executive Director, Northeast Oregon Network (NEON)
Shannon Cleveland, CHW, Grande Ronde Hospital
Jim Sheely, MSW, LCSW, Grande Ronde Hospital

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Advanced RHC Billing 2021

Charles James, Jr., President and CEO, North American HMS

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Understanding the RHC Program Evaluation

Charles James, Jr., President and CEO, North American HMS

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Is Your RHC Survey Ready?

Janis McDowell, BNS, MA, RN, Patient Safety Surveyor, OHA

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ORH Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF) Project

Anne Mitchell, Sky High Consulting
Rachel Weinstein, Sky High Consulting

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Oregon Health Authority RHC Billing and Coding

Jennifer Smith, MPA, Safety Net Clinics Program Manager, OHA

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