Cheyenne readies for rural health conference

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Cheyenne readies for rural health conference

By Bill Luckett

Star-Tribune capital bureau Wednesday, April 30, 2003

CHEYENNE -- "One piece at a time," health care workers from across the state will study various aspects of rural health care this week at the 3rd Annual Wyoming Rural Health Conference at the Little America Hotel and Resort in Cheyenne.

The three-day event, whose theme is "Building Rural Health One Piece at a Time," begins Wednesday with some pre-conference workshops and a day-long minority health conference titled, "Cultural Outreach: Barriers and Solutions."

"We've gotten a really positive response to that, and it's something that I think is not often done in Wyoming," said Beverly Morrow of the Wyoming Primary Care Association, one of the conference sponsors.

Renee Gamino-Diaz, who is also with the Wyoming Primary Care Association, said the idea for the focus on cultural outreach arose about six months ago during a summit on health care access.

"One item that came up ... was the need for more awareness on how to work with individuals of different race, minority and ethnic backgrounds," she said.

Hosted by the Wyoming Minority Health Committee, the cultural outreach is being touted by organizers as unique because attendees will be able to experience a variety of cultural foods and entertainment throughout the day, along with the formal training.

"We wanted to address it in a different way," Gamino-Diaz said. "We've all been through cultural competency training. We wanted them to be able to experience it."

As such, a morning session on breast and cervical cancer risk for American Indian women will be followed by a break during which storyteller Mary Ann Tyler will share information about black history.

Lunch will consist of dishes from a variety of cultures, and the entertainment will come from a percussion group called B.E.A.T.!, which is a handful of Cole Elementary School students who perform drumming techniques from different cultures.

Cultural awareness and sensitivity are important for health workers trying to get the word out about the services they provide, Gamino-Diaz said, and one lesson health workers need to learn is simply to ask questions about other cultures.

As an example, she said, some American Indian cultures might be offended if they were to receive a newsletter with pictures of a teepee or an eagle, yet someone unfamiliar with their cultures might consider those graphics appropriate for a newsletter targeted toward those groups.

Throughout the day, representatives from the black, Asian, Latino, American Indian, gay and lesbian, and disabled populations will share information through a panel discussion in the morning and breakout sessions in the afternoon.

Aside from the Minority Health Conference, other workshops Wednesday will focus on fund-raising, writing grants, spreading the word about health services to rural customers, and a primer on the state Health Department's Office of Electronic Service Delivery.

Morrow expressed enthusiasm for those who have agreed to give talks during the latter two days of the conference.

Among them is John P. Geyman of Physicians for a National Health Program, who will give a talk called, "Reform Alternatives for Our Failing Health Care System."

Geyman's talk will touch on problems of the health care system, including decreasing access, uncontrolled cost increases, variable quality and inconsistent system performance.

"People usually have some strong opinions on this one way or the other, so I think that's going to spark some good discussion," Morrow said.

Mike Rossman, a nationally known advocate for better behavioral health care for agricultural producers, will share his views on integrating mental health service delivery to rural areas through primary care services.

Jody Urquhart, a special guest speaker, will give the lunch presentation Thursday in an effort to renew health care providers' enthusiasm for their work "to help them re-find the joy in their work and make sure they don't get burnt out," Morrow said.

She said Wyoming First Lady Nancy Freudenthal and state Department of Health Director Deborah Fleming are also expected to address the conference, and Fleming will give presentations called "A Vision For the Future" and "Aging in Rural America."

The conference will wrap up with a lunch Friday and follow up report from the Wyoming Visioning Summit on Health Care Access.