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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Sustainability of programs

Sustainable Development in Rural Underserved Communities through Improved Responsible Management of Decentralized Wastewater Infrastructure: A Focus on the Alabama Black Belt
Examines strategies to achieve sustainable development in rural, underserved communities through safe wastewater management in the Alabama Black Belt. Discusses utility structure, operation, and potential barriers to achieving development that is compatible with public health, as well as policy to support sustainable wastewater systems.
Author(s): Amal Bakchan, Kevin D. White
Citation: Environmental Science & Technology, 58(42), 18671-18685
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
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Northern Maine Medical Center: A Rural Hospital Gaining Momentum in its Work Toward Quality Improvement
Profiles a prospective payment hospital in northern Maine that engaged in the 2022-2023 Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP), focusing on financial sustainability, cost efficiency, and quality improvement. Highlights hospital accomplishments and improvements via participation of the project.
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Innovations in Rural Obstetrics to Maintain Access to Care
Discusses closures of rural hospitals and labor and delivery services and the impact on maternity care access. Provides examples of 6 approaches to sustain obstetric care: partnerships, community-centered care, quality initiatives, culturally competent care, rural workforce development, and maternity care as an equity issue.
Author(s): Mary Louise Gilburg, Morgan McDonald, Erin E. Sullivan
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Making Broadband Work for Rural Communities and Native Nations
Case study of broadband deployment efforts to promote digital equity in rural areas and Native nations. Discusses topics including organizational alignment, infrastructure, sustainability, and information exchange.
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Aspen Institute
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Rural Community Health Worker Programs: Proving Value and Finding Sustainability
Features four rural healthcare organizations describing the impact of their community health worker (CHW) programs and strategies for sustaining them. Discusses CHW roles, activities, reimbursement options, and more.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Community Paramedicine in Kansas: Policy Considerations for an Emerging Model of Care
Provides an overview of community paramedicine in Kansas, focusing on policies and practices that influence their sustainability. Includes examples of community paramedicine programs in other states and their impact on healthcare access in rural communities.
Author(s): Wyatt J. Beckman, Valentina Blanchard, Linda J. Sheppard
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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Beyond Borders: Benefits and Challenges of Leading a Multi-County Health Department
Discusses the impact of consolidating small jurisdictions of local health departments to create multi-county health departments that serve at least 50,000 people, in effort to build economies of scale and better improve population health. Includes an interview with Becky Johnson, administrator of the SEK Multi-County Health Department (SEKMCHD) in southeast Kansas, that provides insight on the benefits of multi-county health departments and strategies to overcome obstacles and sustain services.
Author(s): Kevin Kovach
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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New Frontiers for Funding: An Introduction to Grantmaking in Rural Aging
Offers guidance on offering grant funds for rural aging work, discussing scale of funding, rural assets, sustainability, and partnership building. Highlights rural aging issues including health, cultural sensitivities, transportation, broadband, housing and institutional care, and social isolation.
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Grantmakers In Aging
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The Rural Interprofessional Health Initiative
Provides an overview of the UNC Rural Interprofessional Health Initiative (RIPHI), a workforce initiative focused on collaboration between healthcare professionals and students in rural North Carolina. Describes the RIPHI's growth, goals, achievements, and lessons learned since the initiative's start in 2017. Discusses the value of rural experience for health professions students.
Author(s): Meg Zomorodi, Lorraine Alexander, Philip T. Rodgers
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 85(3), 188-190
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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2024 Annual Report of the Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds
Report detailing the current state of the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) and Supplemental Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Funds. Discusses Medicare expenditures as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and makes short and long-range sustainability projections based on variable economic, demographic, and healthcare trends. Also explains the actuarial methods used to calculate the estimates. Includes information on Medicare payment policy updates since the 2023 report.
Additional links: Tables and Figures
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Board of Trustees, Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds
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