Building Up Primary Care Providers in the North Country

• Trained 89 health care professionals (out of an anticipated goal of 100 attendees) on the knowledge and skills needed to educate future health care providers and integrate them into their practices, focusing on the rural needs of delivering of primary care, inter-professional development, and health systems management; and
• Held sessions on feedback, evaluation, precepting, and evidence-based medicine as a way to create optimal learning and training environments for students, interns, and residents.

The training was a success overall. The majority of these invitees were small practice or independent providers from rural areas, and spending even a day away from seeing patients can be difficult for them. In addition to the providers, CVPH sought to promote student attendance at the conference by offering scholarships that would cover the cost of the training. However, only 26 out of the 56 available scholarships were awarded because the date of the conference was scheduled after the end of the spring semester for all students in the region. The training received positive feedback from both the attendees and the presenters. For example, nearly 100% of the attendees felt that the training provided new, pertinent information for their practices and patient care, and 100% of the presenters reported they would recommend presenting at an EXPLORE training to their peers. The training also provided a networking opportunity for professionals and organizations, which resulted in a community-based behavioral health agency joining the EXPLORE consortium.

Co-Funding and Additional Funds Leveraged: CVPH also contributed funding to support the training ($14,675). To further support efforts in recruiting and retaining providers in this rural, underserved area of New York State, the University of Vermont Health Network has committed to providing up to $120,000 in student loan forgiveness to family practice residents who agree to practice in the area when they complete their residency.