The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) will host the 29th annual West Virginia Rural Health Conference — the state’s largest meeting for professionals interested in improving rural health — on Oct. 20-22. The event will be presented virtually.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Reimagining Rural Health: Responding to Unprecedented Challenges.” The keynote presenter is Camara Phyllis Jones, M.D., Ph.D., MPH, a nationally renowned epidemiologist who has spent much of her career studying the effects of racism and social inequalities on health and well-being.
Jones is a former professor and Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University and former medical officer and research director on social determinants of health and equity for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her presentation, “Allegories on Health Disparities,” will take place at 12:45 p.m., Oct. 21.
James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, will deliver an opening speech at 11:15 a.m., Oct. 20. Other WVSOM presenters include Bob Foster, D.O., assistant dean for osteopathic medical education; Drema Hill, Ph.D., MSP, the school’s vice president of community engagement and development; Julian Levine, director of community engagement for WVSOM’s Center for Rural and Community Health (CRCH); and Arthur Rubin, D.O., FACOP, associate dean for predoctoral clinical education.
In all, more than 30 presentations are scheduled for the three-day event. Participants can choose from four distinct educational tracks, including Clinical, Leadership and Policy, Future of Health Care and Innovation, and Diversity and Inclusion.
Nemitz said WVSOM’s status as a leader in rural primary care makes the osteopathic medical school an ideal host for the conference. The W.Va. HEPC Health Sciences Report Card ranked WVSOM No. 1 in providing primary care physicians for West Virginia.
“Part of our mission is to serve, first and foremost, the state of West Virginia, and I’m pleased that we are able to coordinate this gathering of professionals committed to making our state healthier,” Nemitz said. “Finding solutions to difficult problems requires all of us to work together, and this conference has assembled a broad range of presentations that address strategies for improving health and wellness on both systemic and individual levels.”
One conference highlight will be a session featuring prominent leaders of the COVID-19 pandemic response in the Greenbrier Valley, led by Bridgett Morrison, D.O., health officer for the Greenbrier County Health Department; Stephen Baldwin, minority leader of the West Virginia Senate; Drema Hill; Julian Levine; Paula McCoy, lead nurse for Greenbrier County Schools; Lauren Miller, D.O., a WVSOM faculty member; Scot Mitchell, chief executive officer of the Robert C. Byrd Clinic; and Sarah Riley, executive director of the High Rocks Academy.
The conference also annually celebrates the accomplishments of outstanding individuals and organizations in the field of rural health. This year’s award recipients will be recognized at 1 p.m., Oct. 20.
Virtual poster and student podium presentations are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., Oct. 20. A total of 37 posters will be presented by WVSOM students, faculty and staff.
Additionally, a series of roundtable discussions will take place throughout the event. Topics include getting patients to undergo cancer screenings, the substance use crisis in West Virginia and community paramedicine.
WVSOM employees on the West Virginia Rural Health Association’s board of directors include Bob Foster, Drema Hill, Janet Hinton, M.S., and Courtney Hereford, MSPH, MSW, research director for the WVSOM CRCH, who is the conference committee chair.
More information on the event, including the full schedule, is available at wvrha.org/wvrha-conference-2021.