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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Healthcare facilities

Mar 9, 2026 - Summarizes comments from a HIMSS26 Healthcare Cybersecurity Forum discussing cybersecurity for rural hospitals. Covers topics including regional collaboration, communicating with facility administration, and cybersecurity workforce.
Source: Healthcare IT News
Mar 9, 2026 - Announcement from the USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Housing Service, and Rural Utilities Service of guarantee fee rates, guarantee percent for guaranteed loans, the periodic retention fee, and fees for the issuance of the loan note guarantee prior to construction completion for FY 2026 for the following loans programs: 1) Community Facilities, 2) Water and Waste Disposal (WWD), 3) Business and Industry, and 4) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). These fees are effective on October 1, 2025.
Source: Federal Register
Mar 6, 2026 - Profiles a labor and delivery department in a rural North Carolina Critical Access Hospital. Maternity services were re-started in 2020 using family physicians after closing the department in 1991. Describes maternity care access across North Carolina, challenges with sustaining the service for rural communities, and how they can be a model to other rural communities.
Source: North Carolina Health News
Mar 5, 2026 - Describes challenges around building a new hospital on Navajo Nation. Discusses working within multiple levels of governments, funding, incorporating traditional medicine and facilities, and attracting workforce.
Source: Cronkite News
Mar 4, 2026 - A new wound care clinic has opened in rural West Virginia. Notes that rural residents are more likely to experience diabetes and vascular conditions, diseases associated with slow to heal wounds and increased risk of infection.
Source: WTOV 9
Mar 3, 2026 - Describes a teleoncology program in a rural Idaho hospital. The program allows cancer patients to meet with specialists through telehealth while using local facilities for lab work and treatment.
Source: KMVT, KSVT
Mar 2, 2026 - Summarizes remarks from Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) administrators at the 2026 National Rural Health Association Policy Institute. Discusses workforce, healthcare delivery, administration priorities, the Rural Health Transformation Program, and more.
Source: HRSA eNews
Mar 2, 2026 - Notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) seeking comments on proposed revisions to an information collection package for Rural Energy for America (REAP) program, which provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Comments are due by May 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Feb 26, 2026 - Notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) seeking comments on a proposed information collection request titled "340B Rebate Model Pilot Program Application, Implementation, and Evaluation, OMB No. 0906-XXXX." This information collection request includes the collection of proposed rebate model plans from qualifying drug manufacturers, the ongoing collection of sales data from drug manufacturers for program evaluation and 340B Program integrity and compliance monitoring, and the collection of data submitted by covered entities to manufacturers to request a rebate in connection with a potential 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program. Comments are due by April 27, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Feb 26, 2026 - Announces a bipartisan bill that would create a new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hospital designation called an "In Character" Critical Access Hospital. The new designation would ensure hospitals already designated as CAHs do not lose their designation and directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide administration for the designation.
Source: Office of Representative Glenn Thompson