Welcome to the website of the Montana Office of Rural Health and the Montana Area Health Education Center!
The Montana Office of Rural Health (MORH) is administered through the Division of Health Sciences and the Montana Area Health Education Center is administered through the College of Nursing in affiliation with the Division of Health Sciences. The offices are co-located at Montana State University in Bozeman.
Save the Date!
The Rural and Frontier EMS and Trauma Summit at the Lake will build on
the success of the
inaugural
Summit held in
Big Sky, Montana in 2006.
May 21-23, 2008
Coeur D'Alene Resort
Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
HealthShare Montana Stakeholder Meeting
May 16, 2008
St. Peter's Hospital Education Center
Helena, Montana
July 15-18, 2008
Renaissance Hotel in Las Vegas, NevadaCo-Sponsored by AHECs in the Western States
May 7, 2008
Community Medical Center
Missoula, Montana
Our Mission
The mission of the Montana Office of Rural Health is:
To serve Montana communities through
- Collecting and disseminating information within the state,
- Improving recruitment and retention of health professionals into rural areas,
- Providing technical assistance to attract more federal, state, and foundation funding for rural health, and
- Coordinating rural health interests and activities across the state.
The mission of the Montana Area Health Education Center is:
To improve the supply and distribution of health care professionals, with an emphasis on primary care, through community/academic educational partnership, to increase access to quality health care.
Our Programs
AHEC
Montana State University, Bozeman, was recently awarded a grant to establish a statewide system of regional Area Health Education Centers, phased in over three years of the first phase of the AHEC grant.
Until this fall, Montana was a regional AHEC for the University of Washington WWAMI Program, along with other states in the WWAMI system. This year, the Montana AHEC at MSU was allowed to apply for funding through the College of Nursing, Elizabeth Nichols, Dean, in collaboration with the Montana WWAMI Program in the Division of Health Sciences, Linda Hyman, Vice Provost.
This new grant allows Montana to create its own AHEC system. The Program Office is located at Montana State University, directed by Kristin Juliar.
The new funding allows Montana to have four regional centers, with a program office at MSU in Bozeman. Each center has up to six years of start up funding, for a total of approximately $1.5 million per center over the six years of the grant. The purpose of the regional centers is to connect health professions education to rural and underserved communities. Programs developed at the centers will focus on creating a pipeline of health professionals; placing WWAMI students and other health professions students in rural rotations; and continuing education programs for health professionals. AHECs are designed to strengthen the healthcare workforce and improve health by forging connections between health professions education and communities.
State Office of Rural Health
The Montana Office of Rural Health is funded through the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. MORH is a resource for information on rural health issues, data, research and funding opportunities. MORH participates in 3RNet, a multi-state rural health professions recruitment program; manages the Small Hospital Improvement Program; and provides technical assistance to rural communities on rural health projects.
Healthcare Workforce
The Montana AHEC/ORH is working with state agencies, the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, the Montana Hospital Association, the Montana Primary Care Association and many other partners to form Healthcare Workforce Task Force, and implement recommendations of the Primary Care Liaison Group’s Report “Montana’s Health Care Workforce”, released in January 2006. (click here to read the report)
Montana Health Careers Summer Camp
The Montana Health Careers Summer Camp (formerly known as the U-DOC Program) is a six-week summer program at Montana State University for rural and underserved high school students who have a strong interest in medicine and other health professions.
Rural Underserved Opportunity Program (RUOP)
The Montana AHEC arranges placements for WWAMI medical students in rural and underserved communities.
Community Health Services Development Program (CHSD)
The CHSD program is a community-based model developed and implemented by the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSM) to improve access to health care and quality of health care in rural communities. Although traditionally focusing on health care provided by rural hospitals, the CHSD program has expanded its activities to assist with broader health care concerns and the impact of health care delivery systems on the local economy.
Our Staff
Kristin Juliar, Director
Natalie Ryan, Project Director
Linda Hyman, PhD, Vice Provost of the Division of Health Sciences and Director of the WWAMI Medical Education Program, and Assistant Dean at the University of Washington School of Medicine
Frank Newman, Associate Director and Professor Emeritus
Sharon Kott, Administrative Associate III
