RHIC News
Eight Rural Health Scholars Announced
May 6, 2010
Indiana State University has awarded full-tuition waivers to eight Indiana students as part of their acceptance into the Rural Health Program, a program developed by Indiana State and the Indiana University School of Medicine to provide rural Indiana communities with better access to healthcare.
The Rural Health Program prepares students from rural Indiana to be primary care physicians in their hometowns or similar rural towns. As part of the program, students work with rural physicians, take part in summer internships at rural clinics, participate in a health seminar series, conduct research as undergraduates and gain patient experience.
To be admitted into the program, students must be Indiana residents from rural communities achieve a high school cumulative grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and complete an interview and wish to become a physician in a rural Indiana community. Indiana State welcomes the following Rural Health Scholars for fall 2010
Rural Health Doctor Gives Hometown Care
March 23, 2010
The frames on Jennifer Mollencupp's office walls are a road map of her life.
Several of the simplest frames hold certificates that tell of her time in South Bend between July 2005 and June 2008 working as a resident in family medicine. A thick ebony frame holds the July 2006 certificate from the State of Indiana that gives her permission to practice medicine.
And a weighty red-matted frame boasts one of her biggest accomplishments: the diploma dated May 2005 signifying that she earned her doctor of medicine degree from Indiana University.Continue Reading
Study Confirms Wabash Valley Health Care Worker Shortage
April 1, 2010
A study commissioned by Indiana State University's College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services has found shortages in almost every health care field in the Wabash Valley.
Nurses and physicians top the list of shortage areas. The survey found a need for 702 to 827 additional nurses and 134 to 275 primary care physicians in an 11-county area of west-central Indiana. Continue Reading or to view West Central Indiana - Health Professions Workforce Needs Assessment Report Click Here
Bradley: Indiana State's Partnerships Solve Problems, Enhance Health Care in Indiana
March 25, 2010
Indiana State prides itself in the fact that our graduates not only have a solid well-rounded education but that they also have the skills needed to excel in the workplace. One of those skills is the ability to collaborate as part of a team. This is becoming increasingly more important in today’s society as a way to maximize the strengths of colleagues and partner organizations while working toward a shared vision, avoiding unnecessary duplication and solving complex problems.
In some areas the result is a new emphasis on intra- and inter-professional education. For example, Indiana State University has joined with the Indiana University School of Medicine, Union Hospital and its Richard G. Lugar Center for Rural Health, Ivy Tech Community College of the Wabash Valley, the Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation and the City of Terre Haute to form the Rural Health Innovation Collaborative (RHIC). Continue Reading
Higher Ed Commission Okays New Nursing, Physical Therapy Prgora,s
March 12, 2010
Indiana State University's College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services is further expanding its curriculum to offer doctoral degrees in nursing practice and physical therapy.
A vote Friday from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education approved the two new degree programs only one month after ISU received the Commission's support for a Master of Science degree in physician assistant studies.
ISU College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services Dean Richard "Biff" Williams said the new programs will help ISU meet its mission of being engaged in the community. Continue Reading
Rural Health Business Incubator Efforts for Vigo County Get Finical Boost
March 10, 2010
Howard Greninger The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE — Efforts to create a business incubator and accelerator in Vigo County for rural health care and life science companies took a step forward Wednesday with a grant from Duke Energy, combined with funding from various organizations and the State of Indiana.
In addition, Duke Energy also provided a grant to reimburse the Vigo County Redevelopment Commission for a land survey to subdivide property that once housed Pfizer’s Exubera plant, south of Terre Haute. That land is being called the Vigo County Industrial Park II. Continue Reading
Rural Health Innovation Collaborative Secures Feasibility Study Funding
March 10, 2010
A grant from Duke Energy Foundation and matching state funds will enable the Rural Health Innovation Collaborative (RHIC) to study the feasibility of a rural healthcare and life science-oriented business incubator and accelerator.
The study will assess the possibility of building or acquiring a facility to house and support the development of new ventures.
"A business incubator and accelerator associated with the RHIC has great potential to provide the region with much-needed job creation, economic diversity and a vehicle for technology transfer," said Richard "Biff' Williams, dean of Indiana State's College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services and chair of the RHIC Facilities Committee. Continue Reading
Public Health System Assessment Results
January 23, 2010
On August 14, 2009, public health system partners of Vigo County convened a meeting to evaluate how to better serve the public health and healthcare needs of the county’s estimated 105,000 residents. The Rural Health Innovation Collaborative hosted the all day event, in partnership with the Vigo County Health Department. The Indiana State Department of Health, in collaboration with Purdue University’s Healthcare Technical Assistance Program, worked together to create this opportunity for all local public health system partners to identify existing strengths, as well as opportunities to establish and formalize public health system infrastructure in Indiana counties. To see more, please "click" on the link below:
Vigo County Public Health Assessment
To view the letter sent to participants click link below:
Public Health System Assessment Results Letter
Press Release
July 31, 2009
Rural Health Innovation Collaborative and Vigo Country Health Department to Sponsor Vigo County Local Public Health Assessment
Local community leaders in health and human services will convene at the Landsbaum Center for Health Education in Terre Haute, Indiana on August 14, 2009 from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm to assess the performance of Vigo County's local public health system. The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) and Dr. Judith Monroe, supports the assessment process through the Indiana Public Health System Quality Improvement Program.
"The Vigo County Local Public Health System Assessment is an important process that will help us identify health issues within our community. Reaching out to our citizens is the best way to inform, educate and link people with health services and to evaluate accessibility and effectiveness. We must all work together to promote healthy lifestyles which in turn will improve the overall health of our population," said Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett. [read more]
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Press Release
12/1/2008
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Neighborhood revitalization and economic development will be two of the positive results of a long-range plan involving Terre Haute government, education and business partners who are launching the Rural Health Innovation Collaborative as an aggressive response to current and anticipated health care worker shortages in Vigo County and surrounding rural communities. [read more]
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