State Profiles

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Idaho

State Office Director / Flex Coordinator

Mary Sheridan
(208) 332-7212
SheridaM@dhw.idaho.gov

Specialty Areas / Background

Mary is a registered nurse and was employed at the State Emergency Medical Services Bureau for 8 years prior to assuming the SORH director position. Specialty areas include rural EMS, nursing, healthcare quality and patient safety.

State Office Director and Flex Coordinator since October, 2003

 

Health Program Specialist

Bill Short
(208) 332-7363
ShortW@dhw.idaho.gov

Specialty Areas / Background

Bill was employed as a health information coordinator for the Idaho SORH-PCO for 4 years prior to assuming the health program specialist position and was responsible for data collection to determine HPSA eligibility. Specialty areas include the Practice Sights software program that matches clinicians to healthcare vacancies and website development.

Health Program Specialist since October, 2009

 

Top Three Flex Activities in 2009

  1. TeamSTEPPS training for CAHs (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety)
  2. Rural family physician recruitment and retention project (Community Apgar Project)
  3. Community case studies to assess the impact of CAH conversion and Flex program

Flex Program Success Story

The Idaho State Office of Rural Health partnered with Family Medicine Residency of Idaho and Boise State University to develop and implement the Community Apgar Questionnaire in CAHs. The project is designed to improve physician recruitment and retention in CAH communities by identifying community-specific challenges and advantages. Information is shared with CAH senior leaders and boards to help them develop an action plan to address their specific barriers to physician recruitment and retention.

Most Significant Achievement

Establishing effective and supportive partnerships among stakeholders.

Flex Program Details

Location: State of Idaho, Department of Health and Welfare
Number of CAHs: 26
Web site: http://www.ruralhealth.dhw.idaho.gov

State Rural Health Plan
Rural Assistance Center State Resources