Newsletter 2025.1

Happy New Year!

I hope you’ve had some time to rest and re-charge your “batteries” during the holidays.

Our team is reaching out to you with a reminder about the AHEC Scholars program AND a list of upcoming opportunities that may be of interest to you! As always, please do not hesitate to write to me if you have any questions or you’d like additional resources about a particular area of interest.

Best,
Kristina

A reminder about our program . . .

New Hampshire AHEC Health Equity Scholars is part of the AHEC Scholars Program, a nationally recognized voluntary program for health professions students/residents. It provides opportunities for trainees to increase knowledge, strengthen leadership skills, and gain competencies within eight broad topic areas (listed below).

The NH AHEC Scholars Program currently works with medical students, physician assistant students, and public health students interested in learning more about health care in rural and underserved communities of New Hampshire.

AHEC SCHOLARS 8 CORE TOPIC AREAS

Behavioral Health Integration
Services that better address the needs of individuals with mental health and substance use conditions, including training for health professionals to address burnout and resiliency

Connecting Communities and Supporting Health Professionals/Community Health Workers (CHWs)
Increase training and development of paraprofessionals who serve as connectors between health professionals and the community

Interprofessional Education/Interprofessional Practice
Team-based care delivery, patient-centered care, effective teamwork

Virtual Learning and Telehealth
Use of technology to improve community-based experiential training

Social Determinants of Health
Education, housing and food security/insecurity, social and community context, health and health care, neighborhood and other built environment

Cultural Competency
Recognize and address the unique culture, language and health literacy of diverse consumers and communities, diversity, equity, and inclusion

Practice Transformation
Quality improvement, care coordination, cost containment, rural healthcare, primary care, care for underserved/disadvantaged populations, patient-centered care, team-based care

Current and Emerging Health Issues
Such as: substance use conditions/disorders; climate change and health

BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION

  • Designation as a New Hampshire AHEC Scholar, a nationally recognized distinction
  • List on CV “Honors and Awards” section
  • An achievement to discuss in residency program and job interviews to differentiate from other applicants
  • Enhance educational experience by engaging with those who live in rural and underserved communities
  • Gain a deeper understanding of communities through opportunities to hear from and interact with providers, policy makers, community leaders, and others who care for those in rural and underserved populations
  • Gain experience in interprofessional care and care for the underserved

REQUIREMENTS

The program must cover two years (unless your professional program is less than two years), with each year including 40 hours of eligible didactic education and 40 hours of eligible experiential or clinical training, for a total of 160 hours of eligible activities. NH AHEC relies on students to track and report their own hours and report them to us. We offer some opportunities, but may students complete the requirements on their own too – anything outside of your ‘core’ required classes can ‘count’ towards the hours so long as the activities are in line with the 8-core topic areas. Students completing these requirements will receive certification as a New Hampshire AHEC Health Equity Scholar upon completion of the program.

Please note:

The Center for Program Design and Evaluation will soon be emailing you an Activity Tracker, please complete this tracker with activities you’ve participated in during the timeframe indicated on the tracker so we can best report to our federal grant funder.

Learning opportunities

Below are a few optional learning opportunities that have come to our attention. This list is not exhaustive, so please share any others you know of that you think others may benefit from! In addition, if you have an interest in a particular topic area, please contact me—we’d love to build curriculum based on your interests! 

Student Loan Repayment Options Panel

Thursday, January 9, 2025
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

Live webinar via Zoom. This session will be recorded and shared.

Join the meeting
Meeting ID: 973 4971 8758
Passcode: 072638

Please join us for a panel presentation sharing information on the NH State loan repayment options AND other federal loan repayment options currently available.

Advocacy 101

Thursday, January 16, 2025
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

Webinar offered by New Futures (NH-based organization)

Register

The 2025 legislative session is approaching, and there are many opportunities for you to get involved and influence proposed legislation impacting you and your community. This webinar will provide an overview of the NH state legislature and how a bill becomes a law, and discusses when and how to get involved by participating in public hearings, reaching out to legislators, using media, and other advocacy strategies. You’ll leave feeling more empowered to take action on issues you care about during the legislative session!

This webinar will be recorded. Registrants will receive an email following the webinar with a link to the recording, and a link to a digital resource folder with materials that can be downloaded.

All About the Alcohol Fund

Wednesday, January 22, 2025
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

Webinar offered by New Futures (NH-based organization)

Register

This one-hour webinar will provide a history of New Hampshire’s Alcohol Abuse, Prevention & Treatment Fund (Alcohol Fund) and discuss the importance of the Fund and ways to advocate during the upcoming state budget process.

The Children’s Health Dashboard

The New Hampshire Children’s Health Foundation is offering 3 pre-launch webinars to preview the Children’s Health Dashboard for their stakeholders and answer questions. All sessions will cover the same content. Please note that registration for each webinar is limited to 500 participants.

Webinar # 1
Wednesday January 22, 2025
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

Webinar # 2
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

Webinar # 3
Thursday, January 23, 2025
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

The health of children from birth to age 17 depends on external factors affecting their physical, mental, and social well-being. These factors include socioeconomic status, access to quality education, family dynamics, neighborhood safety, and community resources. All significantly influence a child’s overall health and development.  
Over the past two years the New Hampshire Children’s Health Foundation has been working to create the first Children’s Health Dashboard, an online resource to help stakeholders in the field, policy makers and others to: Gain an understanding of the top conditions that drive children’s health in New Hampshire Identify disparities and inequities within regions to develop policies that promote equity, inclusion, and social justice Inspire new ideas for solutions to existing problems or challenges Influence policy decisions by raising awareness and mobilizing support. We designed the dashboard to look behind statistics to understand how 16 external factors, like living in poverty, being bullied at school, living in a single parent family or receiving SNAP, affect children’s health and well-being in our state. By looking at these interconnected conditions, we can get a clearer picture of what shapes children’s lives.
 
What’s different about the Children’s Health Dashboard is that it focuses on the story behind the numbers. The 16 indicators were chosen based on published research that documents the measures of and influences on children’s health and well-being.

Our goal with this project is to highlight key issues by region, explain the issue using data visualization, and then offer evidence-based strategies in which either policy, investments, or interventions could impact them.

Questions?
Contact Alisa Druzba, Director of Research and Community Impact, ad@nhchildrenshealthfoundation.org.

Epilepsy & Self Management Virtual Training

Tuesday, February 4, 2025
1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

Training provided live via Zoom by Southern NH AHEC and the HOBSCOTCH Institute at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Epilepsy Center

Register

This training delivers learning modules that address:

  • Overview of Epilepsy & Seizures
  • Treatment Considerations in Epilepsy
  • Seizure First Aid
  • Comorbidities in Epilepsy
  • Lifestyle Management
  • Self-Management Programs
  • Case Studies in Epilepsy

Learning Objectives

  • Describe seizures, epilepsy and 3 ways epilepsy may be treated
  • Discuss physical, mental and psychosocial challenges associated with living with epilepsy
  • Discover how to assist people with epilepsy control their seizures, prevent injuries, make healthy lifestyle choices, and improve quality of life
  • Identify 3 common comorbidities in epilepsy
  • Increase knowledge and confidence in their ability to provide seizure first-aid
  • Develop confidence in their ability to provide epilepsy management support
  • Explain the benefits of epilepsy self-management and at least 2 pathways for referral to a self-management program
  • List the resources and types of assistance available to people living with epilepsy

Learning Outcome

Participants will report a change in practice related to treating epilepsy.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of Southern NH AHEC and the HOBSCOTCH Institute at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Epilepsy Center. The Southern NH AHEC is accredited by the NH Medical Society to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Southern New Hampshire Area Health Education Center designates this live activity for a maximum of 3.75 AMA PRA category 1 Credit (s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Recorded Lectures/Webinars

Book Recommendation

I have recently finished a great book that you may enjoy:

On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service, by Anthony Fauci, MD. It is available on Audible.

We are developing community-based opportunities for scholars during the spring and will share information these about soon.

NH AHEC Health Equity Scholars