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The Center for Health Policy Concludes a Busy Year

The Center for Health Policy (CHP) has accomplished a lot this spring, including presenting their research in rural physician recruitment and retention to the prestigious Association of American Medical Colleges and extending this research to rural nursing recruitment and retention. Among their accomplishments include several peer-reviewed publications, externally funded technical reports, and many presentations.

Alex Reed, PsyD, MPH, director of behavioral science, mental health, and research at Family Medicine Residency of Idaho (FMRI), Dr. Dave Schmitz, M.D., affiliate faculty at CHP and associate director of rural family medicine at FMRI, Ed Baker, PhD, director of CHP, Ayaka Nukui, graduate research assistant for the CHP, and Dr. Ted Epperly, M.D., FAAFP, program director and CEO of FMRI, co-authored the paper, “Examining the Trait of Grit and Satisfaction in Rural and Non-Rural Primary Care and Specialty Physicians.” The paper will be published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

Baker, Schmitz co-authored two externally funded technical reports with graduate research assistants Sean Wasden and Lisa MacKenzie and undergraduate research assistant Bradley Morris. “Assessing Community Health Center (CHC) Assets and Capabilities for Recruiting and Retaining Physicians: The Maine CHC Community Apgar Program” was funded by and produced for the Maine Primary Care Association. “Assessing Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Assets and Capabilities for Recruiting and Retaining Physicians: The Wisconsin CAH Community Apgar Program” was funded by and produced for the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health and The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

Schmitz and Baker joined Aaron Ortiz, a workforce specialist with the University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health, in presenting “Assessing Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Assets and Capabilities for Recruiting and Retaining Physicians: The North Dakota CAH Community Apgar Program” at the 2012 Annual Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health, held May 30 through June 1 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Schmitz and Baker presented “Assessing Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Assets and Capabilities for Recruiting and Retaining Physicians: The Wisconsin CAH Community Apgar Program” at the 2012 Wisconsin Rural Health Conference, held June 27-29 in Elkhart Lakes, Wisconsin.

Schmitz and Baker also made a presentation to the Nevada Hospital Association in Lake Tahoe, Nev. on “Bringing the Community Apgar Program to Nevada: A Process for Improving Communities’ Recruitment and Retention of Physicians.”