The Quality Council met to discuss progress on their goals of addressing recommendations from the Virginia Rural Health Plan, hosting a rural health quality summit, increasing health promotion programs through community grants, and creating a database of rural health quality data. They reviewed membership, provided training grants to hospitals for staff to attend conferences on chronic disease prevention, and worked to centralize available quality data. Questions remain about the council's role in directly implementing community-based health programs and how to engage communities more in the council's work.

1. Quality Council Update Edna Rensing, Chair, Quality Council

2. Quality Council RepresentativesAmerican Heart Association (Virginia)Anthem Blue Cross/Blue ShieldAppalachian College of PharmacyCritical Access HospitalsHealthy Appalachia InstituteNorthern Neck Middle Peninsula TelehealthLong-term CareRural HospitalsVirginia Business Coalition on HealthVirginia Department of HealthVirginia Health InformationVirginia Rural CenterVirginia Telehealth Network

3. Goal 1Address the recommendations of the Virginia Rural Health Plan Objective 1: Maintain the function of the Quality CouncilThree teleconferences, 1 face-to faceMinutes are postedThank Mara for keeping track of us – no easy task

4. Goal 2Host a statewide Rural Health Quality Summit.Objective 1: Provide means for small rural and critical access hospitals to attend quality improvement conferences or summits.Quality Council reviewed available data and determined 1-2 specific areas of need and topics to address.Healthy lifestyles and risk factor reduction for chronic illnessBased on VDH data, selected health districts Cumberland Plateau, Lenowisco, and Mount Rogers.Offered training grants to hospitals in those regions, specifically related to programs addressing healthy lifestyle/disease management offerings.Application process as well as follow-up to receive funding up to $750 per applicant.First invitation to participate - December 2010.

5. SHIP Training Grant ApplicationTraining Grant GuidelinesConferences and other educational events should address one or more of the following risk factors:Arthritis

6. Asthma

7. Diabetes

8. Sedentary lifestyle

9. Obesity

10. High blood pressure