JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 20, 2022) – East Tennessee State University Health Sciences faculty, staff and students were well represented at the nation’s largest gathering of rural health professionals in Albuquerque, New Mexico, last week.
The 45th annual Rural Health Conference sponsored by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) took place May 10-13 both in person in Albuquerque and virtually, with over 80 sessions designed to help raise the standard of rural health.
“The National Rural Health Association is the premier organization that brings together leading researchers, practitioners and other experts in rural health,” said Dr. Randy Wykoff, dean of the ETSU College of Public Health. “ETSU’s outstanding presence at this meeting, and the remarkable diversity of topic areas covered by ETSU faculty, are robust reminders of the university’s national leadership in rural health.”
Among the topics presented by ETSU faculty were:
- “Rural and racial difference in mental health stigma” and “Telehealth Services During COVID-19: A Rural/Urban Analysis” by Dr. Kate Beatty, associate professor in the College of Public Health’s Department of Health Services Management and Policy;
- “The Intersection of Rural Opioid Misuse and Trauma 2” by Michael Meit, co-director of the ETSU Center for Rural Health Research and deputy director of the ETSU/NORC Rural Health Equity Research Center (RHERC), and Dr. Megan Quinn, associate professor in the College of Public Health’s Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and director of research for the ETSU Strong BRAIN Institute;
- “Understanding and Assessing Rural Recovery Ecosystems” by Meit and Dr. Robert Pack, executive vice provost at ETSU, director of the ETSU Addiction Science Center (ASC) and director of the ETSU/NORC RHERC;
- “SBIRT (Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment) Diffusion in Rural vs. Urban Health Care Settings” by Dr. Angela Hagaman, operations director of the ASC;
- “CDC’s COVID-19 Health Equity Grants: The Role of State Offices of Rural Health” by Meit;
- “Inpatient Treatment Costs Associated with Substance Use Disorders” by Dr. Craig Holden, senior research scientist with NORC and member of the ETSU/NORC RHERC;
- “Health Care Conversion Foundation Investments in Communities by Rurality” by Dr. Casey Balio, research assistant professor in the ETSU Center for Rural Health Research (CRHR) and member of the ETSU/NORC RHERC, co-authored by Nicole Galler, CRHR graduate assistant; and
- “A Retrospective Exploration of Rural Maternal-Infant Disparities” by Dr. Melissa White, research associate with the ETSU Center for Applied Research and Evaluation in Women’s Health and former graduate assistant in the CRHR.
In addition, three students pursuing dual Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health degrees presented posters: “Perceptions and Effects of COVID-19 in a Rural Appalachian Community” by Jennifer Davis and Ryan King, and “Health Care Perceptions and Experiences of Black Adults in Appalachia” by Nneka Nwosisi.
Recent Quillen College of Medicine graduate Dr. Rebekka Delgado received the NRHA/John Snow Inc. Student Leadership Award.
NORC Senior Scientist Dr. Craig Mueller, also a member of the ETSU/NORC RHERC, won the NRHA Rural Health Researcher of the Year award.
Also in attendance were current or rising medical students Allen Archer, student representative on the Rural Health Conference, and Alex Crockett, vice chair of the Student Constituency Group, along with public health graduate students Nicole Galler and Justin Kearley, CRHR graduate assistant and student representative on the Rural Health Conference.
Other ETSU personnel who attended the conference were Skylar Moore, Division of Rural and Community Programs (RCP) administrator; Morgan Murray, RCP underserved medicine coordinator; and Valerie Suiter, RCP executive aide. Dr. Amanda Stoltz and Dr. Ivy A. Click, Quillen College of Medicine assistant dean of Student Affairs and assistant dean for Curriculum, respectively, attended the Rural Medical Education Conference, which occurred the day before the full Rural Health Conference.