Rural Health
News by Topic: Health workforce
Mar 19, 2026 - Summarizes conversations at the Rural Health Transformation Summit on March 18, 2026, a meeting of state officials, experts, and federal administrators to discuss implementation of the Rural Health Transformation Plan. Discusses state program alignment with RHTP's 5 strategic goals: Make Rural America Healthy Again, sustainable access, workforce development, innovative care, and tech innovation. Notes the role of the Office of Rural Health Transformation (ORHT) within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS).
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Mar 19, 2026 - Describes a public safety career program in a Florida high school introducing students to jobs that address the county's fire rescue, dispatch, and law enforcement workforce shortages. Notes the importance of relationship building in rural communities to identify and address community needs.
Source: National Association of Counties County News
Mar 17, 2026 - Announces more than $5 million in funding for 26 teaching health centers offering primary care medical and dental residency programs in rural and other communities through the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program. The program supports training in community-based outpatient facilities and is a strategy for increasing workforce in rural and underserved communities.
Source: Health Resources & Services Administration
Mar 17, 2026 - Highlights remarks and the results of a study from a Washington medical student comparing rural and urban experiences in surgical clerkship programs. Discusses robotic surgery as a solution to rural surgeon shortages.
Source: Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine News
Mar 16, 2026 - Notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) seeking comments on proposed revisions to an information collection request titled "Bureau of Health Workforce Health Workforce Connector OMB No. 0906-0031-Revision." The Health Workforce Connector (HWC) provides a central platform to connect participants, including but not limited to those in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), Nurse Corps Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs (Nurse Corps), Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery (STAR) Loan Repayment Program, Pediatric Specialty (PS) Loan Repayment Program, Nursing Training, and Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) programs with facilities that are approved for their programs. Comments are due by April 15, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Mar 16, 2026 - Describes student experiences in Rural Health Immersion, a program introducing medical students to rural healthcare practice and rural culture through the Maine Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Network. Discusses the program's impact on recruiting health workforce across Maine.
Source: University New England News
Mar 15, 2026 - Discusses pharmacist-led point-of-care testing as a strategy to increase access to acute care in rural areas. Notes challenges in advancing that strategy including insurance reimbursement and regulations.
Source: Drug Topics
Mar 13, 2026 - Profiles a rural Minnesota farmer, discussing his career in healthcare research at the Mayo Clinic. Describes the work he did integrating rural and farming culture into the work and knowledge base of Mayo Clinic researchers and medical students. Highlights Farm Days, a event on his farm to educate Mayo Clinic researchers about health and safety hazards in farm work.
Source: MPR News
Mar 13, 2026 - Announces a plan to create a Center for Rural Health at Northwest Missouri State University. The goal of the Center is to train Missouri healthcare workforce to fill gaps in rural areas in the region. Describes the nursing workforce shortage in the area.
Source: Northwest Missouri State University Media Center
Mar 12, 2026 - Highlights a dentist practicing in rural Louisiana following graduation from a rural-focused track in his dental program. Describes the distribution of dentists in Louisiana, noting that 86% of Louisiana residents live in a Dental Health Professional Shortage Area.
Source: LSU Stories