For those of you who live and work in the rural areas of Virginia, you know that it’s a bit different from the city. A traffic jam may mean being stuck behind a tractor, or the cows got out and are standing in the road again. Rural living is great, but when it comes to EMS it can pose some challenges.
Access to training to become certified or stay certified may be limited The drive to get to the patient can be very long, keeping up skills can be hard, because you may not respond to as many calls as an agency in an urban setting. There are several issues that are unique to EMS agencies and providers in rural areas.
That is why the Annual Virginia Rural Health Summit is going to have two days dedicated to Rural EMS. The Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Minority Health and Health Policy and the Office of EMS are working together to put together this summit that will be the beginning of many conversations and actions to help support rural health care, especially rural EMS care.
This summit will feature a hands-on budget model workshop and a roundtable discussion that you all are invited to attend. If you want to discuss some of the issues and initiatives that surround rural EMS care, then please come and share your thoughts.
The Rural EMS Summit is being held as a part of the Annual Virginia Rural Health Summit, which works to solve challenges for rural health care and support the state rural health plan. To learn more about the plan and the summit visit www.va-srhp.org/.
Visit www.vaems.org/rhs today to learn more and register! Or contact Carol Morrow with the Office of EMS at carol.morrow@vdh.virginia.gov to see how we may be able to help cover the cost of your hotel.
March 10 – 13, 2009
Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center
One Partnership Circle, Abingdon, VA 24210
