Western New York Rural Area Health Education Center Inc

BREAKING DOWN MENTAL HEALTH BARRIERS IN RURAL WESTERN NEW YORK - THE WESTERN NEW YORK RURAL AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER (R-AHEC) IS PART OF THE NATIONAL AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER (AHEC) PROGRAM AND IS NEW YORK STATE’S FIRST AHEC. THE AHEC PROGRAM CONNECTS STUDENTS TO CAREERS, PROFESSIONALS TO COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITIES TO BETTER HEALTH. R-AHEC BEGAN OPERATIONS IN 1999 AS A NON-PROFIT INDEPENDENT FACILITATION RESOURCE THAT SERVES AS A NETWORKING HUB TO A PREDOMINATELY RURAL 12-COUNTY REGION, HEADQUARTERED IN WARSAW, NEW YORK. COUNTIES INCLUDE ALLEGANY, CATTARAUGUS, CHAUTAUQUA, GENESEE, LIVINGSTON, MONROE, ONTARIO, ORLEANS, STEUBEN, WAYNE, WYOMING, AND YATES, COVERING 9,141 SQUARE MILES. R-AHEC IS SPECIFICALLY STRUCTURED TO GENERATE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH ACADEMIC PROGRAMS, COMMUNITIES, AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. R-AHEC IS RECOGNIZED AS A NEUTRAL, REGIONAL FACILITATION RESOURCE CAPABLE OF SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL WORKFORCE AND EDUCATION GRANTS FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS, SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS. THE GOAL OF THE MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING IS TO TRAIN INDIVIDUALS TO RECOGNIZE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS, ESTABLISH LINKAGES, AND TRAIN EMERGENCY SERVICES PERSONNEL, LAW ENFORCEMENT, FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL, VETERANS, AND OTHERS TO IDENTIFY PERSONS WITH A MENTAL DISORDER AND EMPLOY CRISIS DE-ESCALATION TECHNIQUES; AND EDUCATE INDIVIDUALS ABOUT RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH A MENTAL DISORDER. R-AHEC PROPOSES TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS BY UTILIZING THE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID PROGRAM CURRICULUM FOR OUR APPLICATION. MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID IS AN EVIDENCE-BASED PROGRAM THAT IS MANAGED BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH. THE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID PROGRAM TEACHES ABOUT “RISK FACTORS AND WARNING SIGNS FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION CONCERNS, STRATEGIES FOR HOW TO HELP SOMEONE IN BOTH CRISIS AND NON-CRISIS SITUATIONS, AND WHERE TO TURN FOR HELP” USING AN ESTABLISHED AND PROVEN FIVE-STEP ACTION PLAN. THROUGH THE MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING GRANT, STAFF WILL BE TRAINED AS TRAINERS IN THE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID CURRICULUM. OVER A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD, OUR ORGANIZATION WILL TRAIN OVER 1000 PEOPLE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES USING THE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID PROGRAM. WE WILL TRAIN THE GENERAL PUBLIC, FIRST RESPONDERS, VETERANS, AND HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS IN SIX RURAL COUNTIES OF WNY INCLUDING WYOMING, ORLEANS, GENESEE, ALLEGANY, CHAUTAUQUA, AND CATTARAUGUS COUNTIES. WE WILL LEVERAGE EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS WITH HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS, AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO TRAIN INDIVIDUALS, ESTABLISH AND STRENGTHEN LINKAGES, TRAIN FIRST RESPONDERS, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, AND VETERANS, AND PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. OUR GOAL AS A HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER IS TO PROVIDE THE COMMUNITY WITH MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING TO HELP REDUCE THE STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS, EQUIP THE COMMUNITY TO HELP ONE ANOTHER, AND IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR INDIVIDUALS BY PROVIDING MORE SUPPORT AND RESOURCES IN OUR COMMUNITIES. THE PROPOSED TRAINING ACTIVITIES WILL INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES, INCREASE KNOWLEDGE OF EXISTING RESOURCES IN THE SIX RURAL COUNTIES, AND BREAK DOWN BARRIERS INCLUDING STIGMA RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS.

TELEMEDICINE GRANT

RURAL NORTHERN BORDER REGION NETWORK PLANNING PROGRAM - AS THE CONVENER OF THE GENESEE-ORLEANS-WYOMING RURAL HEALTH NETWORK (GOW RHN), WESTERN NEW YORK RURAL AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER (R-AHEC) PROPOSES A 12-MONTH PLANNING PROJECT TO DEVELOP A REGIONAL HEALTH DATA INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN THAT WILL STRENGTHEN THE RURAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM SERVING GENESEE, ORLEANS, AND WYOMING COUNTIES IN WESTERN NEW YORK. THE PROJECT ALIGNS WITH LEGISLATIVE AIM #3: STRENGTHEN THE RURAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM BY CREATING A COORDINATED REGIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR IDENTIFYING, COLLECTING, GOVERNING, AND SHARING HEALTH AND WORKFORCE DATA THAT SUPPORTS DATA-INFORMED DECISION-MAKING, CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION, AND FUTURE SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS. THE THREE-COUNTY SERVICE AREA IS HOME TO APPROXIMATELY 136,000 RESIDENTS LIVING IN GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSED RURAL COMMUNITIES CHARACTERIZED BY HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE SHORTAGES, LIMITED SPECIALTY CARE, TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS, AGING POPULATIONS, AND PERSISTENT HEALTH DISPARITIES. ALL THREE COUNTIES ARE FEDERALLY DESIGNATED HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE AREAS (HPSAS), AND COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSESSMENTS HAVE IDENTIFIED ONGOING CHALLENGES RELATED TO ACCESS TO PRIMARY CARE, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, DENTAL CARE, AND SPECIALTY SERVICES. ALTHOUGH HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS, HOSPITALS, PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCIES, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS COLLECT VALUABLE HEALTH-RELATED INFORMATION, THE REGION CURRENTLY LACKS A COORDINATED SYSTEM TO INVENTORY AVAILABLE DATA, IDENTIFY CRITICAL DATA GAPS, ESTABLISH COMMON DATA STANDARDS, AND SECURELY SHARE INFORMATION TO SUPPORT REGIONAL PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING. THROUGH THIS PLANNING PROJECT, GOW RHN WILL CONVENE HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS, PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCIES, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS, AND OTHER COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS TO ASSESS THE CURRENT REGIONAL DATA LANDSCAPE AND DEVELOP AN IMPLEMENTATION-READY FRAMEWORK FOR A SUSTAINABLE REGIONAL HEALTH DATA INFRASTRUCTURE. MAJOR ACTIVITIES INCLUDE CONDUCTING A REGIONAL INVENTORY OF EXISTING DATA ASSETS, IDENTIFYING UNMET DATA NEEDS, ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS THROUGH FOCUS GROUPS AND PLANNING SESSIONS, COMPLETING A COMPREHENSIVE GAP ANALYSIS, DEVELOPING DATA GOVERNANCE POLICIES AND DATA-SHARING RECOMMENDATIONS, ESTABLISHING STANDARDIZED DATA DEFINITIONS AND REPORTING PROCEDURES, DESIGNING SPECIFICATIONS FOR A REGIONAL PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD, PILOTING KEY COMPONENTS OF THE PROPOSED FRAMEWORK, AND DEVELOPING A LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP. BY THE CONCLUSION OF THE PROJECT PERIOD, GOW RHN WILL HAVE DEVELOPED A COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL HEALTH DATA INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN THAT INCLUDES A DATA INVENTORY, GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK, STANDARDIZED OPERATING PROCEDURES, DATA DICTIONARY, DATA-SHARING AGREEMENT TEMPLATES, PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD SPECIFICATIONS, SUSTAINABILITY PLAN, AND IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP. THESE DELIVERABLES WILL POSITION THE NETWORK TO PURSUE FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION FUNDING, IMPROVE COORDINATION AMONG HEALTHCARE AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS, STRENGTHEN REGIONAL PLANNING CAPACITY, AND SUPPORT EVIDENCE-BASED DECISIONS THAT IMPROVE HEALTHCARE ACCESS, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, AND HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR RURAL RESIDENTS THROUGHOUT GENESEE, ORLEANS, AND WYOMING COUNTIES.