In this issue
A Note from Our Executive Director, Sarah
Spring 2021 is here! Suwannee River AHEC has been busier than ever. Adjusting most of our programs to virtual has been a rewarding challenge, allowing us to reach more people. We remain steadfast and ready to integrate slowly back in the community in a safe manner, once more vaccines are available.
Please take a few moments to catch up on our program, meet two of our wonderful staff, and read up on some upcoming events. We hope everyone is staying safe and well and look forward to our continued partnership.
Staff Spotlight: Monique Bessette
How long have you worked at SRAHEC? I have been with SRAHEC for 6 months.
What do you here at SRAHEC? I am a tobacco treatment specialist. I reach out to individuals who are interested in quitting tobacco, enroll them in quit tobacco groups, and facilitate these groups. I also schedule the groups and assist with marketing.
Can you tell me a little about yourself? I was born in Florida. I moved to Gainesville about 8 years ago to obtain my master’s degree in public health. Outside of work, I enjoy gardening, kayaking, and going on hikes with my boyfriend and our four dogs. I also like spending time with friends and family.
What is your favorite part of your job/What has been the most rewarding part of your work so far? The most rewarding part of my job is making a positive impact in people’s lives. Many of our participants are grateful for the services we offer.
Staff Spotlight: Laura Moore, CMP
How long have you worked at SRAHEC? I started working at Suwannee River AHEC in October 2012, so I’m working on 9 years.
What do you here at SRAHEC? In my role as an event planner I work directly with our partners and their stakeholders to plan and execute continuing education events. We serve as the event planning team for many groups and associations who have the audience for an event, but do not have the staff, resources or know-how to organize one. My work includes serving on planning committees, working with speakers, setting up the registration site, coordinating with exhibitors, processing payments, designing marketing pieces, applying for various professional credits, writing grants, and launching exciting new technology, like the virtual attendee hub and app that a few programs will be using this spring. I also enjoy working with hotels and venues to plan the meals, layout and flow of an event. Seeing an event, either in-person or virtual, come together and triaging any needs that come up is also exciting.
Can you share a little about yourself? I am originally from Loxahatchee, Florida, in western Palm Beach County. I graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Journalism. After some time as a newspaper reporter, I was hired at Suwannee River AHEC. I’ve found my writing background to be very helpful as communication is key in event planning. In 2018, I earned my Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) credential. In my free time I enjoy spending time with family, shopping and traveling with my husband, Andrew, in our RV. We also have a 5-year-old Rottweiler named Tucker.
What is your favorite part of your job/What has been the most rewarding part of your work so far? Events often start out as large, loose ideas. The planning process of drilling down from the big picture to the necessary steps and tasks appeals to me. Of course, seeing our hard work and effort come together in a successful event is very rewarding.
Staff Anniversaries
Beth Pate, Program Specialist Meeting and Association Services, celebrating her 1-year Anniversary in February. We are so delighted she is part of our team!
In this issue
Meeting & Association Services
Take Your Event Online With Us
Our Meeting & Association Services Department continues their work with partners creating successful live and recorded virtual events. We are also working on several hybrid events, with in-person and online attendance.
SRAHEC can guide and assist you in the virtual and pandemic-compliant meetings space. We offer registration services with the industry-leading software, Zoom platform usage and seamless integration, hosting and moderating your sessions, recording live meetings to offer enduring credits, setup and management of a conference app or attendee hub, CE/CME services, fiscal reporting, and much more. Please contact us at [email protected] for more information. Let SRAHEC serve as your conference management team!
Suwannee River AHEC offers a wide range of free and low-cost online courses available to allied health professionals on CE Broker.
Topics include:
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LGBT Mental Health – A Community and Clinical-based Perspective
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Rural EMS Leadership Program, multiple sessions
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Licensure Series: Domestic Violence Update and Best Practice
Upcoming Events
UF Pediatric Pulmonary Project ECHO
Monthly | 12 to 1 PM EST
Family and pediatric providers are invited to participate in an exciting project that will build expertise in understanding sleep problems in children. The ongoing series of TeleECHO clinics will consist of hour-long sessions, comprised of a short didactic from experts and case presentations with discussion from peers and experts.
Rural EMS Project ECHO
Twice Monthly | 12 to 1 PM EST
Using proven adult learning techniques and interactive video technology, the ECHO Model™ connects groups of community providers with specialists in regular real-time collaborative sessions.
The sessions, designed around case-based learning and mentorship, help local workers gain the expertise required to provide needed services. By providing case consultations and brief presentations, experts in mental health, substance abuse, prevention, and wellness will enhance first responders’ knowledge and skills.
We hope to teach, learn, and share best practices across the communities of first responders and to assist them in building self-efficacy.
The American Cancer Society has created an interactive training simulation for health care providers to discuss nutrition, physical activity, and obesity risk with cancer survivors. The new training is designed to give health care providers, physician assistants, nurses, and nurse practitioners new ideas for getting better results from their conversations with cancer survivors. The free and CME/CEU-accredited training course uses evidence-based motivational interviewing techniques to help patients build up their motivation to make healthy lifestyle choices. The training will allow providers to be more confident in engaging in these conversations, and in recommending strategies and techniques for maintaining a healthy weight and being active.
This CME-accredited training provides personalized feedback on practice conversations so that health care professionals can assess their competency to lead similar conversations in real clinical interviews. The training is approved for .5 CME credits for physicians and physician assistants and .5 CEU credits for nurses and nurse practitioners.
Rural Distance Learning/Teleconnections Survey
Responses to this survey will help Randolph County Caring Community Partnership (RCCCP) begin to build a network of resources to better serve rural population bases. Responses to this survey will help guide us in creating a learning platform that seeks to address gaps in the use of remote learning/service provision in rural areas.
Public Health Merch for a Cause
Show off your community spirit and support the Florida Public Health Association (FPHA) by purchasing a public health-inspired t-shirt! Better yet, public health-inspired hoodies, sweatshirts, and face masks are also available.
Choose different colors, garment styles, and from three designs that truly encompass the public health spirit. Whether you want a hoodie to show your support for FPHA in the dropping temperatures, a facemask to promote public health, or a t-shirt to advocate, we’ve got you covered!
All proceeds will go towards supporting future FPHA events to benefit public health professionals in Florida and beyond. To get your public health gear, check out FPHA’s store on Bonfire.
In this issue
Healthy Community Updates
Virtual & In-Person Quit Classes
Now offering free virtual tobacco trainings for healthcare providers and students, including CE credit
We are now offering virtual tobacco cessation trainings! Our tobacco trainings are free for healthcare providers and health professions college students. Free continuing education credits are provided for 1 hour trainings. If you are interested in a training for your healthcare office or health professions students, please visit our website srahec.org/training or reach out to Lauren at (386) 462-1551 x109.
Florida AHEC Scholars Program
Suwannee River AHEC Scholars are off to a good start in the new year. Cohort 2 is working to complete their second year and cohort 3 has begun their first year of online didactic and experiential work. The scholar students have been continuing to work hard to complete their online didactic work and are registering for experiential hours. Due to COVID-19, many of the experiential opportunities have been adapted to virtual settings for the students. For example, Zoom-IPE events have been introduced which are made up of pre-work, participation in Zoom-event with breakout sessions, and post work focused on a relevant health topic. Click here to learn more about the Florida AHEC Scholars. Scholar students will continue to be notified on more experiential opportunities as the year goes on. If you know of any opportunities that may be beneficial and of value to the Scholar students, please contact Bianca Flowers at [email protected].
Health Insurance Enrollment Help
