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The 3rd Annual DRIS Conference - February 2000
by Luisa Buada
CIRHM Executive Director
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| Dr. Jim Ellis, Lupe Fierro and Yvonne Smith of IVCHO meet at the 3rd Annual DRIS Conference - February 2000 |
Over 100 site participants and invited guests attended the Third Annual DRIS Conference held at the Waterfront Plaza Hotel in Oakland's Jack London Square, February 3rd through 5th, 2000. We hold these annual DRIS Conferences for a number of purposes. For the DRIS Community Participants, it is an opportunity to share information, discuss the development of their DRIS projects, and to network with one another. It's a chance to sum up the year's activities, to acknowledge the progress that each community has made and to hear about plans for the year to come. Educational workshops are also presented to gain outside perspectives and to discuss key changes in reimbursement policies affecting rural providers.
As the Initiative has evolved, we have invited state and federal government agency representatives, representatives of health plans, and program officers from California philanthropic foundations supporting health services, in order to provide these invited guests with an opportunity to hear from the DRIS rural community leaders about their rural network activities, to find out more about the DRIS model and what we've learned through the Initiative process.
On Friday, February 4th, we were honored with an opening address from Dennis Collins, the CEO of the James Irvine Foundation. At the close of his address, Mr. Collins stated: "I would say that this project is clearly engaged in making connections, finding linkages, finding commonalities. It's been a wonderful opportunity for the James Irvine Foundation to partner with you. You have been one of our success stories. We take great pride in your accomplishments. You are a model for many and I congratulate you for all that you do."
Marty Campbell, Program Director from the James Irvine Foundation for the DRIS Initiative, talked about the Chinese Year of the Dragon in her address. She explained that unlike the other animals of the Chinese zodiac, the Dragon is a mythical creature. "I was intrigued to find out what the sign portends for DRIS and the communities participating in DRIS. This is what I found out: the Dragon is a sign of good luck. It symbolizes growth, prosperity and harmony. This will be a year in which ambitions and enterprises soar to the forefront - but with much drama. Dragon years are typically stormy, outspoken and brutally candid - when matters are brought to the surface. This Dragon year will be particularly shrewd for business matters."
She wished for us that our futures and that of the new rural ASOs, realize all that the Dragon represents: growth, prosperity and harmony in 2000 and beyond!
Each of the Participating DRIS communities, Humboldt-Del Norte Counties, Imperial County, the Indian Wells Valley and the Lompoc Valley, gave a 30 minute presentation on their accomplishments in the development of their own rural integrated systems. The overheads from their presentations are available on the CIRHM web page at www.cirhm.org. Awards were presented to the Lompoc and Imperial Community representatives for having reached Phase III, Implementation, within the DRIS Initiative.
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| Shelly Mitchell of Humboldt Del Norte Regional Health Council chats with Bobbie Wunsch, DRIS Consultant, and Marty Campbell of The James Irvine Foundation at the 3rd Annual DRIS Conference |
On Friday evening, 72 participants and guests took a ferry boat to Forbes Island Restaurant in the San Francisco Bay, off Pier 39. The conferencees enjoyed exquisite French/Novo California cuisine, fine wines and a splendid view. The stormy weather of the previous day subsided for our evening adventure, supplying us with unsurpassable views of the beauty of the Bay, the City lights and the area's spectacular bridges.
Educational sessions held on Friday and Saturday included the following:
- "Marketing Your ASO,"
by Pat Risley, Marketing Consultant; - "Legal Requirements of the New Community Health Organization,"
by Jim Teevans, J.D., from CIRHM and Mike Fadden of Rural Health Consultants; - "Healthy Economies-Healthy Communities, Collaborating Opportunities between Rural Health Providers and Local Economic Development,"
by Bill Davis, Vice President of Special Projects for the California Association for Local Economic Development and Jim King, President of Applied Development Economics. - "Rural Targeted BBA Relief Provisions,"
by Sheldon Weisgrau of Rural Health Consultants and Sharon Avery, Executive Director of the Rural Healthcare Center for the California Healthcare Association
In all, the evaluations from the conference participants were extremely positive. On behalf of CIRHM, we thank all of the DRIS site representatives, government agencies, health plans, and foundation participants for making the Third Annual and final Conference of the James Irvine Foundation supported DRIS Initiative the best ever.
© CIRHM