POSTPONED 

The Wild, Wonderful and Healthy WV sessions will be held at the 2020 West Virginia Rural Health Conference on October 15, 2020. Details will be posted on our website later this Spring. 

Join us May 1-2, 2020 for the
Appalachian Health Leadership Forum

The Resort at Glade Springs, Daniels, WV

Investing in the Health of Appalachia

Whether you serve on the local subsidiary board of a health system, a board of a local health department, or the board of a community health center, critical access hospital or rural hospital, the Forum is for you. Health care and public health boards and leadership are beginning to work collaboratively with other sectors in their communities to address social determinants of health to create a culture of health and unleash economic prosperity in their communities. This is the next step beyond the “population” health work you are currently doing to improve the health outcomes of the patients you serve to focus on the health of your community which impacts the health of all who live in the communities you serve.

The Appalachian Health Leadership Forum will focus on two areas. First, regardless of what type of organization you serve, board members must consider the way they govern to ensure that they are performing at the highest level. The consequences of mediocre governance can have significant impacts on the performance of the organization as well as the health of those who live in the communities you serve.

Secondly, we know that the community conditions where we live, work and go to school have a great impact on our health long before we ever see a health care provider. Thus, the Forum will explore strategies related to community health improvement planning to strengthen your capacity to work with business, government, religious, school, and other leaders to develop a more coordinated, strategic approach to identifying community priorities and taking coordinated action to achieve local economic and health priorities.

Conference Overview:

Friday, May 1st

10:00 am – 4:30 pm  Governance 101:  Intentional Governance to Strengthen Organizational Performance

Topics include:

• Developing a Disruption Mindset,
  Sven Berg, MD, MPH, CPE, CEO, Quality Insights
• The Role of Governing and Advisory/Subsidiary Boards in Community Health Improvement,
  Kevin Barnett, DrPH, MCP, Senior Investigator, Public Health Institute and Governance Institute Faculty
• CEO Turnover in Rural Communities: Solutions for Boards to Consider,
  Alexander Yaffe and Brittney Frazier, Yaffe & Company
• Education v. Lobbying: Making Your Case Without Crossing the Line,
  Richard Heath, Attorney, Bowles Rice
• A Discussion of Current Substance Use Issues Facing Your Community,
  Brandon Henderson, PhD, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University
• Framework for Intentional Governance,
  Sharon Lansdale, RPh, MS, President and CEO, Center for Rural Health Development

5:00 pm  Reception and Rural Health Leadership Awards Dinner

Each year the Center’s Board of Directors awards an individual in West Virginia, the WV Rural Health Leadership Award. This award recognizes an individual for leadership and noteworthy initiative in improving access to and quality of health care in West Virginia’s rural communities.

Keynote: Unleashing Abundance in Our Communities, Somava Saha, MD, VP; Institute for Health Improvement

Saturday, May 2nd 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Wild, Wonderful and Healthy West Virginia

Join us as community leaders from health care, economic development, local government, schools, and other sectors work to enact policies, system changes and strategies to support active living, healthy eating and other strategies to create community environments supportive of economic growth and diversity, and improve the health of local residents.

Topics include:

• How to Mobilize for Better Health: Why We Need to Unite Around Impactful Action,
  Brian Castrucci, DrPH, MA, CEO, De Beaumont Foundation
• Investing in Kentucky’s Future: Community Driven Strategies for Obesity Prevention and Building Resilience in Children,
  Amalia Mendoza, MA, Senior Program Officer, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
• Leadership in Response to West Virginia’s Opioid Crisis,
  Cathy Slemp, MD, MPH, Commissioner, WV Bureau for Public Health and Bob Hansen, MS, Executive Director, WV Office of Drug Control Policy
• CDC’s Health Impact in Five Years (HI-5) Initiative: Community-Wide Approaches to Population Health,
  Megan Roney, MPH, CDC Foundation and Elizabeth Skillen, PhD, CDC
• Common Goals: Community Development and Community Health Development,
  Stephanie Tyree, JD, Executive Director, WV Community Hub and Elaine Darling, MPH, Senior Program Director, Center for Rural Health Development

Continuing Education:

CEUs are pending for physicians, nurses, pharmacists and CHES.  More information to come.