Martinsburg VA Medical Center builds skills for rural health care providers
PRESS RELEASE
March 11, 2024
Martinsburg , WV — Health Professions Education Week is March 11th through 15th and Martinsburg VAMC is highlighting a rural Veteran health care initiative that trains and educates VA providers in the unique needs of rural communities.
Veterans living in rural areas are finding support for close-to-home health care through a VA initiative that meets the challenges associated with attracting and retaining providers to smaller communities.
Nearly 80% of rural America is considered medically underserved and the number of health care providers in rural areas is predicted to decline over the next decade due to an aging health care workforce.
The VA Rural Interprofessional Faculty Development Initiative (RIFDI) wants to combat this trend by engaging, training and retaining more health care professionals in rural health care settings.
Martinsburg VA Medical Center was selected as a qualifying rural VA medical center by the Veterans Health Administration and has participated in this VA initiative for three cycles, with 20 Martinsburg VAMC health care providers completing at least one RIFDI cohort.
Dr. Michael Zapor is the lead educator for Martinsburg VAMC’s RIFDI program and said the goal is to help providers learn about care in a rural community.
“The intent is that participants will acquire skills that enhance their role as faculty educators in a rural setting,” said Zapor.
Zapor added that this type of initiative breathes life into rural health care.
“Participation in the Rural Interprofessional Faculty Development Initiative not only helps us to grow faculty educators who are passionate about teaching the next generation of health care providers, but provides them with the skills to do so more effectively,” said Zapor.
By VHA standards, rural communities are defined as those having less than 30% of a population residing in an urban area. Much of the Martinsburg VAMC service area is rural by those standards, and through RIFDI and programs like it, continued access to quality care for Veterans is supported, regardless of where they live.
For more information about RIFDI and Veteran rural health care, visit ruralhealth.va.gov.