Allee Mead is a web writer for the Rural Health Information Hub. She has written on important rural issues, including maternal mortality and farmers' mental health, and has presented nationally on RHIhub's opioid resources. Originally from rural North Dakota, she has a master's degree in English. Full Biography
June 1, 2022
Nuclear weapons testing from 1945 to 1962 and uranium mining from 1943 to 1971 exposed workers and community members living near the mines or testing sites to harmful levels of radiation that can lead to cancer and other illnesses. Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP) grants help healthcare organizations provide screenings, referrals for medical treatment, and other services to this population. Two grantees, the Navajo Area RESEP and the Southwestern Utah RESEP, share their stories.
May 4, 2022
A new library initiative in Texas and an established crisis line in Georgia are bringing mental health services directly to rural residents through teams of lay mental health workers and mental health professionals.
March 23, 2022
Parent Partners is a statewide program in Iowa that pairs families whose children have been removed from the home with mentors with shared experience who have successfully navigated the state's Department of Human Services (DHS) system. These mentors coach, advocate, and connect their clients with community resources.
January 19, 2022
Peggy Broussard Wheeler, Vice President of Policy at the California Hospital Association, discusses the challenges that the hospitals in her state and nationwide have faced before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also shares rural hospitals' unique strengths and the importance of collaboration and relationships.
November 3, 2021
Healthcare facilities in Kansas and North Dakota and national organizations discuss the challenges of recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals in rural areas and share solutions, including partnering with local schools and businesses as well as other healthcare facilities.
October 6, 2021
Three programs across rural America demonstrate how doulas improve birth outcomes by providing prenatal, labor, and postpartum support. A New Mexico program reaches American Indian, Hispanic, and other populations who lack nearby labor/delivery units; a Minnesota program works with moms experiencing incarceration; and a North Dakota program is training postpartum doulas who will care for families impacted by opioid use disorder and other substance use.
September 22, 2021
HRSA's Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program supports organizations developing new rural residency programs. Three grantees – St. Luke's University Health Network in Pennsylvania, Baptist Memorial Hospital in Mississippi, and Sutter Health in California – share what the RRPD grant has allowed them to accomplish so far.
July 14, 2021
Essentia Health created the Remote Patient Monitoring program to allow some patients to recover at home while still having access to medical attention. Program launch was accelerated to treat COVID-19 patients, but Essentia plans to continue the program after the pandemic to treat other chronic diseases.
May 12, 2021
Amanda Cohn, MD, Chief Medical Officer on CDC's COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, shares how the CDC is providing funding, creating resources, and partnering with other organizations to increase vaccination rates in underserved communities such as rural, tribal, and communities of color.
April 28, 2021
Fast, reliable broadband is essential for people to access telehealth and patient portals as well as work and study from home, but rural and tribal areas fall behind urban and suburban areas in terms of broadband deployment and speed. Organizations in Alabama, Colorado, and Kentucky share how broadband affects their work and their patients' care.
