August 11, 2021
"Swing bed" is that oft-heard phrase describing not a physical hospital bed, but post-acute care for the rural patient who is well enough to leave the acute care hospital but not well enough to be safe at home. In this 2-part story, experts and hospital administrators review the swing bed program's historical implementation and provide stories and examples of the value this over 40-year-old healthcare delivery and reimbursement model brings to patients, to the hospitals providing their care, and ultimately to rural communities.
August 11, 2021
The healthcare delivery model known as the swing bed program has allowed rural and Critical Access Hospitals to serve patients by keeping them in their rural communities for post-acute care. Reviewing the history of this program, experts describe early implementation and key program elements that have sustained its success for over 40 years.
July 28, 2021
Researchers and rural communities are working together to address rural cancer prevention and control, with federal funding supporting a wide range of projects. From targeting health behaviors, to making cancer screening and vaccination more accessible, to increasing rural participation in clinical trials, efforts to reduce rural cancer burden are underway across the country.
June 16, 2021
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a condition that continues to steal rural America's breath. Researchers, philanthropists, and healthcare professionals talk about new rural research efforts and the impact of COVID-19 on COPD. Also discussed is the importance of pulmonary rehabilitation, an impactful treatment long known to improve quality of life and now backed by new research proving it decreases death rates in select patients.
June 9, 2021
After their county ranked number seven in the nation for opioid related deaths, the community of Fayette County, Ohio created Pathways to Recovery, with programs designed to educate providers and law enforcement, prevent overdoses, reduce harm, and encourage recovery through the use of Peer Support Specialists.
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.
January 27, 2021
Barbara Leonard and Ruta Kadonoff of the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) discuss how their foundation provided unrestricted COVID-19 grants and open competitive grants and partnered with other philanthropies pooling together COVID-19 response funds.
January 20, 2021
Kim Barber Tieman, program director for health and human services for the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, shares how her foundation set up a COVID-19 grant capture team and funded grant writers to help organizations navigate and apply for federal funding opportunities. In addition, her foundation worked with organizations and funded three mobile COVID testing units.
December 23, 2020
To address the issue of food insecurity in the rural Minnesota communities it serves, Lakewood Health System created Lakewood Engage, a community-based program with multiple initiatives including a "Food Farmacy," home delivery, and a farmers market.
December 9, 2020
Study after study underscores transportation as a major barrier to rural healthcare access. With the support of federal funding, a project director shares how Rides to Health and Wealth is emerging as a solution in eastern Missouri — despite COVID-19.
