Oregon Rural Health Conference







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
Documented Compliance in an RHC
Tressa Sacrey, Director, Compliance and Education, Health Services Associates, Inc.
Care Management Services in an RHC
Charles James, North American HMS
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
Suicide and Rural Areas: Why the Higher Rate?
Debra Darmata, Adult Suicide Prevention Coordinator, OHA
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
Behavioral Health Services for RHC
Charles James, North American HMS
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
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
Health Communications During Crisis, Pandemics and in an Era of Misinformation
Vanessa A. Becker, PIO & Public Health Modernization, Douglas Public Health Network
Federal Policy Update for RHCs
Sarah Hohman, NARHC
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
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+
Oregon's Health Information Technology Strategic Plan Update
Shannon Cengija, Health IT Policy Analyst, OHA; Hope Peskin-Shepherd, Lead Policy Analyst, OHA
Medicaid’s Alternative Payment and Advanced Care Model
Bill Roller, Billing and Administrative Director, Orchid Health; Adrienne Cooke, Operations and Policy Analyst, OHA
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
Delivering Prenatal Care in a Rural Oregon Health System: An Implementation Case Study to Improve Rural Family Health
Candice Hunter, FNP, Orchid Health
Case Study: Asymptomatic Bacteriuria Quality Improvement Projects in Critical Access Hospitals
Natalia Martinez-Paz, Program Manager; Rupali Jain, PharmD, Center for Stewardship in Medicine
The Best Health Care Includes Good Culture
Jeff Harper, InQuiseek, LLC
Novel Strategies for Stabilizing the Pharmacy Technician Pipeline in Central Oregon
Sheila Salido Jordan, Managing Director, workability, LLC
Health Promotion and Access for Rural Oregonians with Disabilities
Lindsay Sauve, OHSU; Kelsey Weinstein, Linkage Coordinator, OHSU
Improving Access to Subspecialty Pediatric Care
Henry Lin, Attending Physician, OHSU; Linda Muir, MD, OHSU; Jamie Klapp, OHSU medical student
Rural Health Clinic Development: Start to Finish
Patty Harper, InQuiseek, LLC
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
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
Making Your Quality Program Stick
Angie Charlet, VP Education & Development, Canopy Associates
Strategies for Ongoing RHC Compliance
Kate Hill, The Compliance Team
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
VA Health Care Use and Decision Making: Rural Aging Veteran Perspectives
Traben Pleasant, Qualitative Researcher, Portland, Veterans Affairs
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
The State of Rural Health Care: Looking Forward
Katie Jo Raebel, Wipfli; Eric Volk, Wipfli
Reproductive Healthcare in the Post-Roe Era: A Guide for Rural
Shaalini Ramanadhan, MD, Assistant Professor, OHSU Center for Women’s Health
Breakfast and Plenary: Breakfast Brings Benefits: and Other Nutritional Strategies in Community Health
Erin Fredericks, MScN, FAMILIAR Foods
Creating Health Equity for Klamath County's Hispanic Population Through Community Partnerships
Oscar Herrera, Chair, Healthy Klamath Coalition’s Hispanic Health Committee
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.
School-Based Rural Clinics
Clayton Ipsen, President, HealthForce
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
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
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
Promoting Access to Care for Rural LGBTQ+ Patients
Bari Laskow, MD, Full Circle Idaho; Camille Evans, LCSW, Cornerstore Whole Health Care Organization
Barriers and Solutions to Nursing Workforce Retention and Attraction in Rural Areas
Rick Allgeyer, Research Director; Dawne Schoenthal, Program Director, Oregon Center for Nursing

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 Presentations
The Rural Health Landscape
Alan Morgan, NRHA President
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
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
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
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
How to Move Your Practice to a More Value-Based Payment Model
Bill Roller, Orchid Health
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
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
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
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
Rural Public Health - Challenges and Opportunities
Michael Baker, PhD. Public Health Director at Jefferson County Public Health
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
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
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
Healing After Disaster - Guide with Support
Lucy Zammarelli, MA - Supervisor, Lane County HHS and Human Services Liaison for the McKenzie Valley Wildfire Response
Crisis de Nuestro Bienestar: Latino Mental Health Barriers & Recommendations in Oregon
Commissioner Irma Linda Castillo, MS; Commissioner Melina Moran, FNP; Commissioner Josefina Riggs
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
A Comprehensive Plan for Aging - Making Oregon an Age Friendly State
Keren Brown Wilson PhD. CEO Age+; Stephanie Hooper, President, Age+
Community Collaborations: Reaching Vulnerable Populations Through Partnerships
Rylie Tiffin, Region 2 Testing Coordinator, Santiam Hospital & Clinics SCoPE Lab
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
Rural Health Clinic Workshop 2022
PRESENTATIONS
Washington Update
Nathan Baugh, BA, Executive Director, National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARC)
Preparing for Your RHC Survey
Janis McDowell, RN, BSN, MA, Patient Safety Surveyor, Oregon Health Authority
Tools: Medical Record Review, Personnel Record Review, RHC Entrance Needs List, RHC Walk Through Check List, Rural Health Clinic Survey Worksheet
Understanding Commingling in an RHC
Charles A. James, Jr., President and CEO, North American HMS
Value-Based Care in the RHC
Charles A. James, Jr., President and CEO, North American HMS
Getting Back to Normal: What to Expect After the PHE Ends
Jeff Harper, inQuiseek, LLC Consulting
Strategizing with New RHC Payment Regulations
Katie Jo Raebel, CPA, Partner-Health Care Practice, Wipfli LLP
RHC Medicare Billing Update
Patty Harper, RHIA, CHTS-IM, CHT-PW, CHC, CEO inQuiseek, LLC Consulting
Rural Health care Workforce:
Recruitment for Retention: Top Strategies
Michelle Varcho, Director of Operations and Education Outreach, 3RNET
Media
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
Media
Rural Health Clinic Workshop
Exploring New RHC Scheduling Models to Improve Patient Access
Patty Harper, RHIA, CHTS-IM, CHT-PW, CEO, InQuiseek, LLC
Media
Intro to Workforce at the Oregon Office of Rural Health
Bill Pfunder, Program Manager, Incentive Programs, ORH
Stacee Reed, Program Manager, Recruitment & Retention, ORH
Media
A Prescription for Your Clinic: What’s the Best Option?
Katie Jo Raebel, CPA, Partner-Health Care Practice, Wipfli LLP
Media
Washington Update
Nathan Baugh, Director of Government Affairs for the National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC)
Media
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
Media
Advanced RHC Billing 2021
Charles James, Jr., President and CEO, North American HMS
Media
Understanding the RHC Program Evaluation
Charles James, Jr., President and CEO, North American HMS
Media
Is Your RHC Survey Ready?
Janis McDowell, BNS, MA, RN, Patient Safety Surveyor, OHA
Media
ORH Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF) Project
Anne Mitchell, Sky High Consulting
Rachel Weinstein, Sky High Consulting
Media
Oregon Health Authority RHC Billing and Coding
Jennifer Smith, MPA, Safety Net Clinics Program Manager, OHA
Media