MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's rural health concerns will take center stage during a two-day conference Oct. 10 and 11 on the Gulf Coast.

"Managing in Turbulent Times: Healthcare in Your Community" will begin at 9 a.m. both days at the Grand Casino Hotel in Gulfport. The conference is the seventh annual meeting of the Mississippi Rural Health Association.

Topics to be addressed include the state of local rural healthcare, the Health Insurance Protection and Portability Act (commonly referred to as HIPPA) and bioterrorism preparedness. Members of the Mississippi Legislature's Public Health and Welfare committees have been invited to take part in a panel discussion on tort reform and other areas of concerns.

Val Schott, president of the National Rural Health Association, will be the featured speaker at the noon luncheon on Oct. 10.

"This is a meeting about solutions -- the positive things that health-care professionals and advocates can do each day to advance a healthy Mississippi," said Bonnie Carew, rural health policy coordinator with Mississippi State University's Extension Service.

Organizers are targeting government officials, hospital administrators, medical providers, health care advocates and others interested in the availability of local health care services. A pre-conference, grant-writing workshop will take place from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 9. The fee for the grant-writing workshop is $45.

A registration fee of $175 for the two-day conference will include a lunch and informative materials. Hotel reservations for the MRHA conference can be made directly with Grand Casino at (800) 946-7777. For more information and a registration form, contact Ann Reed at (662) 325-3144.

The Mississippi Rural Health Association, a nonprofit organization working to improve the health status of rural Mississippians, is organizing the meeting.