Rural Health
Top Stories
Top news stories from the past 60 days. For more, see news by topic or news by state.
Sep 17, 2024 - Examines the economic pressures that have led to farm
consolidation and widespread changes to agricultural
practices, and how these issues intersect with farmer
mental health and the vitality of rural communities.
Discusses the related issue of population loss in rural
Kansas, leading to increased risks for social isolation and
loneliness.
Source: High Plains Public Radio
Sep 17, 2024 - Announcement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of funding awards to support health workforce initiatives in underserved and rural communities. Provides an overview of awardees, including nursing and primary care workforce programs, community-based mental health providers, and pediatric mental health training initiatives.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Sep 13, 2024 - Announcement from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of a public health emergency related to Hurricane Francine. The public health emergency exists beginning September 10, 2024 in Louisiana. Offers information and resources for those impacted and responding to the hurricane including CMS waivers, healthcare enrollment, a disaster toolkit, dialysis care, and medical equipment and supplies replacement.
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Sep 13, 2024 - Describes a new initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation which will equip ambulances in rural southwest Minnesota with telemedicine rigs. Notes that the program aims to connect those involved in rural vehicle crashes more quickly with advanced trauma care.
Source: MPR News
Sep 12, 2024 - Announcement of grant funding to support veteran suicide prevention programming, with priority given to applicants based in rural, Tribal, and other under-resourced areas. Notes that the grant program is part of the VA's larger National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide. Outlines additional components of the strategy, including free crisis care, a crisis phone line, outreach campaigns, and more.
Source: VA News
Sep 11, 2024 - Discusses community infrastructure as a driver of the health gap between urban and rural areas. Highlights a South Carolina organization addressing these issues through community engagement and patient education and support. Notes the challenges for rural communities in accessing funding to address health disparities.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Sep 11, 2024 - Provides an overview of efforts by the public health department in Jefferson County, Washington to support access to immunization and other healthcare services among low-income rural families. Outlines a range of strategies including community-based research, "data walks" to share research findings, and interactive, solution-development workshops.
Source: National Association of County & City Health Officials
Sep 11, 2024 - Discusses efforts by the Ho-Chunk Nation's Department of
Agriculture to support a strong local food system by
drawing on traditional knowledge and cultural practices.
Highlights programs that support Indigenous farmers and
increase access to fresh produce in tribal communities.
Source: WUWM
Sep 10, 2024 - Presents overview of Genomic Answers for Kids, a research program that offers free access to genetic testing for children in rural Kansas. Describes how the program partners with rural physicians to identify eligible participants. Highlights the impacts of receiving a diagnosis for children and families, but notes that the process can take years and a diagnosis is not guaranteed.
Source: KCUR
Sep 10, 2024 - Highlights efforts by the Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR) to address high suicide rates in the remote Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. Details the development of culturally-relevant programming which builds upon community strengths and traditions. Discusses funding barriers and efforts to implement the program model in other communities, including military settings.
Source: NPR
Sep 9, 2024 - Highlights challenges with providing emergency medical services (EMS) in rural Wyoming. Discusses long response times and efforts to mitigate the associated poor outcomes, outreach and new service delivery methods, and issues related to billing and sustainability.
Source: WyoFile
Sep 6, 2024 - Offers overview of challenges for rural pharmacies in North Carolina and across the country, highlighting a recent increase in rural pharmacy closures. Discusses reimbursement, workforce recruitment, and volume purchasing as contributors to closures.
Source: North Carolina Health News
Sep 4, 2024 - Discusses plans to reopen a Critical Access Hospital in Tillman County, Oklahoma after eight years of closure. Describes how the closure increased transportation time for locals seeking hospital-level care. Notes that the new facility is supported by a mix of federal and state funding.
Source: High Plains Public Radio
Sep 4, 2024 - Provides overview of an informal network supporting aging adults in rural Glen Ullin, ND. Describes services offered by a resource coordinator, nurse practitioner, volunteer EMT crew, and local priest. Notes that the physical distance separating neighbors in some rural communities can both complicate healthcare access and lead to loneliness.
Source: NPR
Sep 3, 2024 - Highlights the growing need for Spanish-language healthcare services in Utah, particularly in rural areas with large immigrant populations. Discusses the role of partnerships and diverse organizational leadership for meeting the needs of bilingual patient populations. Details efforts to address bilingual provider shortages through pipeline programs and regulatory changes.
Source: Utah News Dispatch
Sep 3, 2024 - Details a project piloted by the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) to build four "tiny homes" for use by medical students in western North Carolina. Notes that students have struggled in the past to find housing for their clinical rotations in the region.
Source: WLOS News 13
Sep 3, 2024 - Profiles a North Dakota farmer as he balances a need for long-term care with cost considerations and a desire to remain on the farm. Highlights struggles faced by many aging farm families, who may feel pressured to sell land and other assets in order to afford the high costs of long-term care. Notes the unpopularity of long-term care insurance and barriers to Medicaid enrollment for landowners.
Source: NPR
Aug 30, 2024 - Describes an ongoing study funded by the National Institutes of Health to develop wearable sensors that would alert farmworkers to the warning signs of heat-related illness. Features the perspectives of Florida farmworkers who are participating in the research. Notes that farmworkers experience significantly increased risk of death due to heat exposure, and heat-related regulations to protect workers currently vary from state to state.
Source: NBC News
Aug 30, 2024 - Describes the creation of a student-run grocery store in rural Cody, Nebraska, which has now been open for over a decade. Discusses recent rural grocery store closures across Nebraska, and the wide-ranging impacts on rural communities.
Source: Flatwater Free Press
Aug 29, 2024 - Announcement of new rules adopted to guide up to $9 billion in targeted investments to expand 5G mobile wireless broadband services in rural areas. Notes that investments will be guided by new mobile coverage data and updated broadband coverage maps.
Source: Federal Communications Commission
Aug 28, 2024 - Provides overview of recent research on the potential role
of nurse practitioners in easing rural primary care
provider shortages. Discusses the need for more
transition-to-practice support, financial education, and
mentoring opportunities for rural nurse practitioners.
Highlights the recently launched Family Nurse Practitioner
track at Boise State, which aims to meet a rising interest
in doctoral nursing degrees.
Source: Boise State News
Aug 28, 2024 - Provides overview of new research published in the Journal
of Rural Health on the vulnerability of rural hospitals to
ransomware attacks. Notes that such attacks are more likely
to target urban hospitals, but rural hospitals are more
vulnerable to the impacts. Discusses impacts to rural
patients and the need for more advance preparation among
rural hospitals.
Source: University of Minnesota
Aug 27, 2024 - Analyzes Fatal Accident Report System (FARS) data to discuss traffic death comparisons for rural and urban counties. Notes reasons for the disparity including emergency response times, speed limits, and risky driving behavior.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Aug 27, 2024 - Features the perspectives of Colorado farmworkers on the
availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and
other workplace precautions to prevent the spread of bird
flu. Notes challenges faced by state health and agriculture
departments in distributing free PPE to producers and
educating farmworkers on protective measures.
Source: KFF Health News
Aug 26, 2024 - Announces funding for supporting health insurance enrollment assistance through HealthCare.gov. The grants will fund 44 Navigators for the purpose of outreach to underserved groups including rural residents.
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Aug 26, 2024 - Provides overview of Shackle Free Buzz, a program in rural eastern North Carolina that trains barbers and beauticians as community health ambassadors. Describes the social significance of barber shops and beauty salons in many rural Black communities. Highlights various topics addressed by the program, including vaccine hesitancy, health-related social needs, and chronic disease awareness.
Source: NC Health News
Aug 26, 2024 - Highlights the Technology-based Eye Care Services program through the VA Office of Rural Health, a program using telehealth to expand access to vision care for rural veterans.
Source: VA News
Aug 25, 2024 - Profiles the owner of an independent nursing home in rural Aroostook County, Maine. Describes how factors including reimbursement rates, staffing shortages, and changing regulations have led to decreases in profitability over the past decades, and contributed to numerous recent closures. Features a variety of expert perspectives on recent efforts by the Maine state government to update reimbursement rates and payment models.
Source: The Maine Monitor
Aug 23, 2024 - Describes the establishment of the National Rural Adolescent and Child Health (NRACH) ECHO Training Center in 2022. Notes that, due to a shortage of rural psychologists, rural children often seek care from primary care doctors for mental health issues. Highlights services offered by the NRACH ECHO Training Center, including virtual medical education for rural primary care doctors on a variety of mental health issues and treatment approaches.
Source: National Rural Health Association
Aug 22, 2024 - Discusses the impact of nursing home closures on social networks for rural Minnesota residents and their families. Discusses funding challenges and policy measures attempting to address workforce recruitment and retention issues driving the closures.
Source: MinnPost
Aug 22, 2024 - Discusses the role of community health workers (CHW) in rural and border communities in Texas, particularly for older adults and Spanish speakers. Highlights a training for CHWs focusing on age-friendly health services using the 4M Framework.
Source: National Rural Health Association
Aug 22, 2024 - Reports on a free telepsychology clinic for rural Iowans. Discusses the lack of mental health services due to workforce shortages in the state, rural specific stressors, and stigma. Highlights the value of training the behavioral health workforce with and in rural communities.
Source: Iowa Capital Dispatch
Aug 20, 2024 - Discusses efforts to address health workforce shortages in Maine by exploring a new medical school. Maine is one of 6 states with no school offering an MD degree. 13 of Maine's 16 counties are partial Health Professional Shortage Areas.
Source: Maine Morning Star
Aug 20, 2024 - Announces the opening of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) recertification cycle for currently approved NHSC sites with a December 31, 2024 expiration date. Applications for recertification are due September 30th.
Source: Health Resources & Services Administration
Aug 20, 2024 - Analyzes employment data to discuss employment changes in rural and urban areas between June 2019 and June 2024. Discusses changes by industry including significant growth in recreation-based economies in rural counties.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Aug 19, 2024 - A call for 8-10 experts from the National Academics of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to participate in a workshop discussing highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1). The workshop will discuss readiness and response, a One Health approach, and collaboration between federal, academic, and private sector communities. The deadline to submit a recommendation is August 30th.
Source: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Aug 16, 2024 - Discusses a new national alert code from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP). Notes the foundation of the new alert in a recently passed Wyoming state law and the disparate rates of missing Indigenous people when compared to White people in Wyoming.
Source: KUNC
Aug 15, 2024 - Highlights a new program to support Indigenous-led public health research on substance use, pain, and mental health. Discusses the benefits of culturally-relevant research. The program will be rolled out in two phases with the second phase building on the community-driven planning and pilots accomplished in the first phase.
Source: National Institutes of Health
Aug 14, 2024 - Discusses the increasingly important role technology plays in healthcare delivery and challenges for small, rural facilities and healthcare systems with cybersecurity. Offers an overview of the impact of cyberattacks on healthcare quality, patient privacy, facility budgets, and more. Highlights recent policies offering healthcare facilities tools for cybersecurity.
Source: NPR, Montana Public Radio
Aug 13, 2024 - Announces the 2024 Rural Health Hackathon, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services event of collaborative sessions aiming to identify innovative solutions for rural health challenges, particularly access to care, care delivery, and workforce. In addition to in-person events, individuals and organizations in all U.S. states and territories may participate through the virtual idea submission process by September 9, 2024. Top concepts will be published in a CMS policy report.
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Aug 13, 2024 - Highlights the role of doulas in rural Virginia, particularly for Black women, in light of lost labor and delivery services. Discusses policy measures attempting to increase access to doula services, the health benefits of doula services, and reimbursement rates.
Source: Cardinal News
Aug 11, 2024 - Reports on a proposal to use ambulance vessels to address consistent access to emergency medical care issues for island communities in Maine. Discusses costs of the service, the current state of emergency medical services and healthcare access, and concerns by remote communities on the islands.
Source: The Maine Monitor
Aug 10, 2024 - Highlights the impact of historical discrimination on current healthcare access and health disparities for residents in predominately Black communities. Discusses the impact of hospital integration nationally and within a rural Mississippi Delta community.
Source: NPR, KFF Health News
Aug 8, 2024 - Announcement from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of a public health emergency related to Hurricane Debby. The public health emergency exists beginning August 1, 2024 in Florida and August 4, 2024 in Georgia, and South Carolina. Offers information and resources for those impacted and responding to the hurricane including CMS waivers, healthcare enrollment, a disaster toolkit, dialysis care, and medical equipment and supplies replacement.
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Aug 7, 2024 - Discusses the impact of heat waves in rural communities with focus on older adults and the strain on emergency services in rural Montana. Reports on rural representation in heat wave research, distance to healthcare and cooling centers, and potential home modification and outreach services.
Source: NPR, KFF Health News, Montana Public Radio
Aug 7, 2024 - Provides overview of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs new Pilot Program for Graduate Medical Education and Residency, which will provide financial support for physician resident rotations in rural and tribal communities. Notes that the deadline for applications from academic institutions and programs is September 30, 2024.
Source: VA News
Related funding:
Pilot Program for Graduate Medical Education and Residency (PPGMER)
Aug 6, 2024 - Features individuals impacted by Project CARA, an Asheville-based program that utilizes a hub-and-spoke model to bring substance use treatment services to pregnant and parenting people in rural North Carolina. Describes how the program works to address stigma-related barriers and expand access to buprenorphine treatment throughout pregnancy, in addition to other harm reduction services.
Source: 100 Days in Appalachia
Aug 6, 2024 - Highlights work by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support farmworker health in celebration of Farmworker Appreciation Day. Release and associated fact sheet details outreach, research, technical assistance, grants, and tools related to heat, wildfire, civil rights, Migrant Health Centers, migrant mental health, H5N1, and more.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Aug 5, 2024 - Discusses the role that a shortage of mental health preceptors plays in the licensing of current mental health provider students and increasing the workforce. Notes specific impacts on rural areas and students in Texas. Highlights barriers to increasing the preceptor pool including costs and time commitment.
Source: The Texas Tribune
Aug 5, 2024 - Highlights the role of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)-funded Community Health Centers in providing healthcare access for rural and underserved communities. Discusses the number of people served and services offered since 2020.
Source: Health Resources & Services Administration
Aug 1, 2024 - Discusses the challenges with accessing cancer treatment for rural residents in areas without treatment options due to closures of services and facilities. Discusses trends nationally and in Texas. Highlights the burden that long distances to care puts on both the patient and their families, particularly with transportation, childcare, and time off work. Discusses the benefits of the 340B program.
Source: CBS News, KFF Health News
Jul 31, 2024 - Describes new research finding H5N1 cases are likely underdiagnosed due to limited testing. Discusses barriers to improved surveillance including systemic issues common to farm workers such as precarious employment, being uninsured, lack of personal protective equipment, and more. Notes potential opportunities for spread and common symptoms.
Source: NPR, KFF Health News
Jul 30, 2024 - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced funding for influenza vaccinations and training for farmworkers as a measure to reduce the risk of H5N1 mutation. Notes that dual influenza infections increases the opportunity for mutation which could be a significant concern for general public health. Discusses recent H5N1 outbreak trends.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Jul 25, 2024 - Announces proposed legislation to require hospital systems either closing or eliminating services to notify the Department of Health and Human Services as well as develop with the public a plan for continuing accessible care for patients. The bill would also require annual Congressional reports on hospital closure trends and capacity for surge demand.
Source: Office of Senator Tammy Baldwin
Jul 24, 2024 - Details efforts by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to provide rural schools with accurate air quality information. Provides an overview of the health impacts of wildfire smoke, actions individuals can take to reduce exposure during fire season, and how to stay updated on air quality information and alerts.
Source: Montana Free Press
Jul 23, 2024 - Highlights a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help expand the Wisconsin Tribal Elder Food Box Program. Describes how the program works to support tribal food security through the distribution of boxes filled with culturally-relevant foods purchased from Indigenous food producers.
Source: Wisconsin Public Radio
Jul 22, 2024 - Features the perspectives of rural doctors on the positive aspects of rural practice, including high quality of life, a varied caseload, and supportive community relationships. Provides overview of rural health disparities and efforts to address provider shortages through loan forgiveness programs.
Source: BU Today
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