Free Rural Health Journalism Workshop in North Carolina June 8; deadline to apply for travel stipend is May 23

The Association of Health Care Journalists is hosting a free one-day workshop on covering health on June 8 in Research Triangle, North Carolina.

The conference is free for AHCJ members, but registration is required by May 25. Members who need financial assistance should apply for one of the limited travel stipends by the May 23 deadline.

The keynote speaker will be Hannah Koch, a research and technical assistance associate at the Mental Health Program, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Koch will tentatively discuss key behavioral health issues in rural communities.

Five workshops will cover a variety of topics, including "What reporters should know about rural residents and rural health," featuring Alan Morgan, chief executive officer of the National Rural Health Association and Dr. Jeffrey Heck, president and chief executive officer of the Mountain Area Health Education Center.

Another workshop, "Will your local hospital survive?" includes George Pink, deputy director of the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program and Dana Weston, president of the University of North Carolina Rockingham Health Center.

The "Addressing rural health workforce hurdles" workshop includes Mark Holmes, director of the North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center and the director of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and Dr. Robert Bashford, associate dean for the Office of Rural Initiatives at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

The "Rural opioid crisis: Access to treatment and harm reduction" workshop includes Regina LaBelle, visiting fellow, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy and a former chief of staff in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and Donald McDonald, executive director, Addiction Professionals of North Carolina.

And wrapping up the day is a workshop titled, "Can telemedicine transform health care in rural communities?" featuring Latoya Thomas, policy director for the American Telemedicine Association.

To register for the event click here. To request a travel stipend click here or send an e-mail to the membership coordinator Tina England at Tina@healthjournalism.org.