Joe Jarvis to Deliver Plenary Address at NOSORH Annual Meeting

October 20, 2009 -- Sterling Heights, Michigan

Dr. Joe Jarvis, long-time public health advocate and current head of the Utah Healthcare Initiative, will discuss the potential impact of national healthcare reform on rural communities during the annual meeting of the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH). NOSORH’s 2009 Annual Meeting will take place November 18 & 19 at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown in Austin, Texas; Jarvis’ plenary address is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. CST on Wednesday, November 18.

The Utah Healthcare Initiative (UHI) is a grassroots campaign designed to bring healthcare reform to Utah voters in 2010. After completing the necessary steps to include healthcare reform the ballot, UHI will provide Utah residents with the information they need to make educated decisions about possible reform. Ultimately, UHI hopes its efforts will eliminate waste within the health system and lead to higher quality care at a lower cost.

Trained in family medicine, public health and environmental medicine at the University of Utah, Jarvis has enjoyed a rich and varied career. After establishing a family practice that served mostly uninsured patients in the Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Jarvis spent a post-graduate year as a medical officer for the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Washington, DC. He has also served as the State Health Officer for Nevada and served on the faculties of schools of medicine in Colorado, the District of Columbia and Utah. As a faculty member at Nationa Jewish Center in Denver, Jarvis developed a practice serving patients across the country with black lung disease, asbestosis, occupational asthma, silicosis and other severe occupational lung diseases. For the past 15 years, Jarvis has owned a consulting business that provides public health and environmental medicine services to clients in Guam, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, Kentucky, Colorado, Florida and New York.

Jarvis’ plenary address is just one of the presentations designed to enlighten attendees on the latest healthcare issues affecting rural communities. From concurrent and educational sessions on healthcare reform, economic stimulus funding and other rural health policies to updates on NOSORH behavioral health and performance measures projects, the 2009 NOSORH Annual Meeting gives attendees a chance to share information, explore partnership opportunities and strengthen the collective voice of SORHs and their partners from beginning to end. Those with a special interest in health information technology should also plan to attend the Preparing for Tomorrow Today Pre-conference HIT Summit on November 17.

Meeting agendas and registration information are available at the Annual Meeting Information section on the NOSORH Web site. Please note that the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown’s registration deadline is this Friday, October 23.

For additional information, please contact NOSORH Executive Director Teryl Eisinger at teryle@nosorh.org or (586) 739-9940 or NOSORH Communications Coordinator Bill Hessert at billh@nosorh.org or (814) 308-8697.