Rural Health
News by Topic: Health workforce supply and demand
Jan 22, 2026 - Highlights a new facility at the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus to expand rural health education. The facility will allow for an interprofessional model of training and team-based care. Discusses recruiting students from rural communities with the goal of addressing workforce shortages in Nebraska and improving rural economies in the state.
Source: KSNB
Jan 20, 2026 - Highlights a state-funded program offering charter flights for rural Hawaiians with off-island medical appointments. Describes current and projected funding needs for sustainability, physician shortages in rural areas, reimbursement rate challenges driving workforce shortages, and the state's Rural Health Transformation Program plans.
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat
Jan 20, 2026 - Discusses the launch of a new regional campus from the University of Minnesota Medical School. The campus is located in a rural region and aims to increase the number of rural students to address rural physician shortages. Highlights a partnership with a regional healthcare system to support the new campus.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Jan 20, 2026 - Highlights a college program partnering with a local rural emergency department to hire students as emergency medicine technicians to address workforce shortages. Describes common rural challenges with hiring and retaining EMTs and the benefits of rural hands-on training for the students.
Source: MPR News
Jan 9, 2026 - Baylor University has conducted a scoping review of rural nursing workforce recruitment and retention programs across the U.S., to address shortages of registered nurses. The study highlights what is being done to support the nurses' rural communities, and which strategies work best.
Source: Baylor College of Medicine
Jan 8, 2026 - Interview with pharmacy professor Emily Eddy, who leads the Rural and Underserved Scholars program at Ohio Northern University in rural Hardin County. She offers thoughts on increasing access to medications in pharmacy deserts.
Source: The Ohio Newsroom
Jan 5, 2026 - Discusses the role of community colleges in addressing nursing workforce shortages. Highlights programs in Oregon and Mississippi offering new facilities and accelerated training timelines to attract new students.
Source: Community College Daily
Dec 29, 2025 - Reports on the stress placed on emergency medical services (EMS) due to labor and delivery unit shortages in Arkansas. Discusses the impact on recruiting and retaining EMS workforce, limited labor and delivery training, and long travel times for adequate care.
Source: Arkansas Advocate
Dec 10, 2025 - Describes a mental health awareness and crisis response training being used to fill gaps in mental healthcare access for rural communities. Notes health disparities for rural residents due to shortages of mental health workforce and resources.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Dec 2, 2025 - Announces that components of a 2024 regulation establishing federal requirements for nursing home staffing has been repealed. Discusses the burden that had been placed on rural and tribal facilities as a result of the rule.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services