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The Rural Monitor
Articles by Author: Kay Miller Temple

Kay Miller Temple
About Kay Miller Temple

With a perspective gained from many years as a physician practicing in rural and urban locations, Dr. Kay Miller Temple writes on a variety of rural health topics and programs for RHIhub's Rural Monitor and Models and Innovations. She has a master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. Full Biography

Taney County Health Department: Accreditation and Holding to a Higher Standard

December 18, 2019
Sharing how national and state voluntary accreditation helps their department meet the public health needs of their county's population — and its 8 million yearly visitors — Missouri's Taney County Health Department director Leslie Marshall also provides tips and ideas for other rural health departments thinking about accreditation.

Diagnosing the Rural COPD Patient: Ask About Symptoms, Use Spirometry

November 20, 2019
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute calculates that 3.5 million rural Americans have COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It's also estimated that hundreds of thousands of rural Americans have the condition and don't know it. Though it is a condition without a cure, it is a condition with hope. The COPD Foundation's Chief Science Officer and a State Captain share how asking questions and doing spirometry can help diagnose the condition.

Office-Based Spirometry: Key to Diagnosing Rural COPD Patients

November 20, 2019
Chronic obstructive lung disease, or COPD, is a disease with a stronghold in rural America: almost double the prevalence and double the mortality rates compared to large urban areas. Though it is a condition with no cure, it's a condition that has treatments — and hope — making proper diagnosis by spirometry imperative.

NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences: Involving Rural America in Research

October 23, 2019
A new diagnosis of cancer? Of a rare disease? Or a chronic medical problem with seemingly no new treatment? The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences is supporting investigators and ensuring that their cutting-edge science gets to the people who need it. Translational science teams in Arkansas, Florida and Washington are making that happen in the rural areas of their states.

Translational Science: Research with Results that Touch Rural Populations

October 23, 2019
Translational science is a specialized research field bringing cutting-edge science to patients that need it. Making sure rural communities are also recipients of new research, the National Center for Advancing Translational Science is a federal agency that facilitates the steps and supports the investigators who want their findings to translate into better health.

The Power of Three: Rural Schools, Healthcare Providers, and a Rural Health Association Collaborate to Expand Primary Care Access Using School-Based Telehealth

May 29, 2019
The Indiana Rural Health Association (IRHA) is using federal funding to support a project that, to date, has linked 18 rural schools with 10 local provider organizations, delivering school-based telehealth to hundreds of the state's rural students. "Virtual telehealth librarians" from another federally-funded IRHA project, provided technical assistance.