RHEP PROGRAM

Rural Health Education Partnership (RHEP) program strives to provide students with a complete experience as a rural health care provider.  Research, community outreach, and interdisciplinary activities are integrated with traditional clinical experiences.  These activities are designed to complement and enhance the rural community experience and assist in fulfilling school rotation requirements.  Further, these activities reflect the reality of rural health care, the necessity of teamwork, the importance of community and cultural familiarity, and the link between research activities and the quality of care provided.

Dr. Cassis is heavily involved in our WVRHEP program, the consortia we belong to is Rivers & Bridges.  Dr. Cassis holds a faculty position at WVU School of Dentistry, and is a field faculty member with Rivers & Bridges Consortium.   The Cassis Dental Center is a preceptor site hosting both dental and dental hygiene students.  Dr. Cassis has hosted several lectures on “Dentistry for Every Healthcare Professional.”  Students attend interdisciplinary sessions (IDS) at the Cassis Dental Center, where Dr. Cassis presents a dental case to the students, the students work together approaching the case as whole-system health care planning. They include as many health disciplinaries as possible and make presentations the following week on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and follow-up.  Dr. Cassis and a Rivers & Bridges staff member are present as facilitators and reference guides, but the sessions are designed to be student-lead and student-driven.   By the end of the sessions and their rotation, the students learn to successfully network with a variety of health care professionals to develop a whole-system health care plan for their patients.