Rural Health
News by Topic: Health workforce
Jul 18, 2026 - Describes an emergency response training drill on a working farm in rural Wisconsin. Notes that the drill gives practice for rural specific conditions to healthcare students and first responders.
Source: WKBT
Jul 18, 2026 - Highlights a tour of rural Franklin County in Massachusetts for new doctors at the local hospital. The tour helps the new doctors learn more about the community, its resources, and how far many community members are from the hospital.
Source: Greenfield Recorder
Jul 17, 2026 - Highlights the 25 year history of the Nebraska Area Health Education Center program which works to strengthen the rural healthcare workforce across the state.
Source: University of Nebraska Medical Center Newsroom
Jul 17, 2026 - Notice from the Health Services and Resources
Administration (HRSA) seeking comments on an information
collection request titled "National Practitioner Data Bank
for Adverse Information on Physicians and Other Health Care
Practitioners—45 CFR part 60 Regulations and Forms, OMB No.
0906-0081—Revision." The National Practitioner Data Bank
(NPDB) aims to improve the quality of healthcare by
encouraging hospitals, state licensing boards, professional
societies, and other eligible entities providing healthcare
services to identify and discipline those who engage in
unprofessional behavior, and to restrict the ability of
incompetent healthcare practitioners, providers, or
suppliers to move from state to state without disclosure or
discovery of previous damaging or incompetent performance.
Comments are due by September 15, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
CMS, CDC, HHS: Request for Information; Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) Regulations
Federal Register
Jul 16, 2026 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are seeking comments on various topics related to Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 including breath testing; laboratory processes and procedures; emergency preparedness, biosafety and security, and cybersecurity; and specialty testing areas. The use of remote direct observation for assessing laboratory personnel competency for the benefit of rural and remote facilities is of particular interest. Comments are due by September 14, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Jul 15, 2026 - A North Dakota county has changed an employee policy to allow county staff to use leave from work for volunteer ambulance service. The change is intended to increase the pool of emergency medical service (EMS) volunteers. Notes that volunteers are common for staffing rural EMS.
Source: National Association of Counties County News
Jul 15, 2026 - Describes a North Carolina network offering training and support for healthcare providers offering medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) through a hub-and-spoke model. Discusses how the model works in rural communities and integrating the treatment into primary care.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Jul 14, 2026 - The Department of Health and Human Services is seeking comments on training and care delivery models to ensure safe and effective use of psychedelic drugs. Questions for consideration include training regarding patient eligibility, drug administration, and post-administration follow up; access for Federally Qualified Health Centers, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, and Rural Health Clinics; and technologies that allow for expanded access while maintaining patient safety. Comments are due August 13, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Jul 13, 2026 - Describes a physician assistant scholarship program in a Louisiana university aiming to address rural healthcare workforce shortages in the state. The program will also work with new rural clinical preceptor sites, thereby expanding access to healthcare for rural residents while also offering students rural-focused training.
Source: Red River Radio
Jul 11, 2026 - Discusses the risk of grain bin incidents on farms, noting that fatality rates remain high despite increased training for first responders. Highlights safety equipment and policy measures that can prevent deaths.
Source: Nebraska Examiner