Rural Voices Summit – Equitas Health Institute

Join us!

Rural Voices brings together healthcare professionals, community members, and activists to focus on the needs and experiences of trans and gender diverse people in rural regions.

The one-day conference is sponsored by Equitas Health, Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (HCOM), the Southeastern Ohio Rainbow Alliance (SEORA), TransOhio, and the Ohio University LGBT Center.

The next Rural Voices will be held virtually on February 26, 2021.

Rural Voices provides opportunities for learning, sharing, and finding community. Sessions will cover topics including trans and gender diverse health & health disparities, and accessibility of care to understand “caring” both in relation to healthcare as well as community-building.

Through lenses of intersectionality, allyship, and advocacy, all sessions feature panels or presentations from a wide range of backgrounds and lived experiences.

The learning objectives for Rural Voices are:

Develop a foundational knowledge about gender diversity, including health needs and disparities.
Increase skills and confidence for providing medical and behavioral health services to transgender and gender diverse communities.
Identify strategies to meet the unique healthcare needs of gender diverse communities in a rural context.
Connect health and social service providers with resources for transgender & gender diverse communities.

Agenda

9:00 AM – 9:15 AM EST:
Welcome Address: Julia Applegate, MA, MPH

9:15 AM – 10:15 AM EST:
Experiences with Healthcare in Rural Ohio Panel
Moderated by Michelle Pride, Ph.D.

10:15 AM – 10:30 AM EST:
Break

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM EST:
Keynote Address: Maureen Osborne, Ph.D.
Differences in Rural vs Urban/Suburban Mental Health Services: Tips for Providers Working With Gender Diverse Clients

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM EST:
Lunch, Optional networking event with TransOhio and other sponsors

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM EST:
Experiences Providing Healthcare to Rural Populations Panel
Moderated by Gary E. Cordingley, M.D., Ph.D.

1:30 PM – 1:45 PM EST:
Break

1:45 PM – 2:45 PM EST:
Experiences with Parenting and Reproduction Panel
Moderated by Jane Balbo, D.O.

2:45 PM – 3:00 PM EST:
Closing and Evaluation

Continuing Medical Education

Physicians: The Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine designates this program for a maximum of 4.25 credits of AOA Category 1-A credit and will report the CME and specialty credits commensurate with the extent of the physician’s participation in this activity.

Nurses: Consortium for Healthcare Education in Ohio (CHEAO) is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Ohio Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. (OBN-001-91)

Social Work: This activity has been approved for Social Work Continuing Education for up to 4.25 Credit Hours.

Counseling: This activity has been approved for Counseling Continuing Education for up to 4.25 Credit Hours.

Meet Our Keynote Speaker
Dr. Maureen Osborne

Dr. Maureen Osborne is a licensed psychologist who has specialized in gender identity issues for over 25 years. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1984, and is a longtime member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). After retiring from her suburban Philadelphia practice in 2015, she now maintains a small practice in Orleans, MA, where she works with transgender adults, adolescents, couples, and family members, helping them to maintain and rework important relational ties in the midst of changes in gender awareness and expression. For over ten years, Dr. Osborne has conducted a weeklong series of workshops for transgender couples and spouses at the annual “Fantasia Fair” transgender conference, and leads a monthly online video support group for cisgender partners of trans persons. She also offers clinical supervision and online second opinion evaluations for individuals seeking gender-confirming surgeries. She has given numerous presentations to community organizations and gender conferences over the last 20 years. Dr. Osborne appeared in the award-winning film, “Trans”, as well as the documentary “Just Gender”. In 2015, she received an award from the Philadelphia Society of Clinical Psychologists for her work in educating therapists about trans issues.

Meet Our Panelists

	Jane Balbo (She/Her/Hers) Panel Moderator
	Gary Cordingley, MD, PhD, Retired Neurologist (They/Them/Theirs) Panel Moderator
	Michelle Pride (She/Her/Hers) Panel Moderator
	Aleister Avenmarch (He/Him/His or They/Them/Theirs)
	Karsen Bailey (He/Him/His)
	Lucy Bucher (She/Her/Hers or They/Them/Theirs)
	Luvina Cooley (She/Her/Hers)
	Brooke Hastings (She/Her/Hers or They/Them/Theirs)
	Bram Kaufman, M.D. (He/Him/His)
	Katy Kropf, D.O. (She/Her/Hers)
	Elliot Long (He/Him/His)
	Eris Miller (She/Her/Hers)
	Rebecca Nelson (She/Her/Hers)