Topics: Service delivery models

Philanthropy, Cross-Collaboration, and the Ecosystem That Is Rural Healthcare Delivery: Q&A with Dr. Shao-Chee Sim

As vice president for research, innovation, and evaluation at Texas-based Episcopal Health Foundation, Shao-Chee Sim, PhD, discusses how philanthropic organizations can make small rural research investments — and, in particular, leverage cross-funder collaboration — that impact not only funders themselves, but also healthcare delivery systems and the rural Americans they serve.

A skilled nursing facility in New Hampshire and national experts share the benefits telehealth services can bring to the residents and staff of rural long-term care facilities as well as the challenges some facilities face in providing these services.

A partnership between a Federally Qualified Health Center and the local ambulance district in Washington County, Missouri lets chronically ill patients access preventive care from the comfort of home.

For the 240,000 rural Americans with complete kidney failure, it’s likely that very few knew they even had kidney disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, kidney disease is usually silent; 90% of people with kidney disease don’t know they have it. With research pointing to the high costs of kidney disease for pediatric and adult patients alike — mostly covered by Medicare — experts and researchers discuss rural disparities around access to disease-stabilizing treatment and to renal replacement therapies.

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.

Health literacy experts share that as healthcare delivery moves from bedside to webside, new opportunities for health literacy education arise. Emphasizing the need to swap medical jargon for plain language, educators outlined best practices for teaching health literacy principles to healthcare profession trainees.

By leveraging federal COVID-related funding, the Quapaw Nation now serves its local residents with a new community paramedicine program. Current program data indicates that it’s bringing significant cost savings, along with valuable information for future local healthcare delivery decision-making. Most importantly, the program is also proving to be widely acceptable to community members.

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.

Clinical psychologist and program director for the Great Plains Telehealth Resource & Assistance Center, Dr. Jonathan Neufeld, clarifies telehealth as an “enabler” of healthcare delivery. Emphasizing that telehealth is only a set of telecommunication tools, he details how the unique use and flexibility of these tools by skilled providers can bring quality care and impact rural health equity.

A common health condition, epilepsy impacts rural populations in many ways, including the ability to drive. Medical and public health experts join an advocacy organization to review the condition’s impact and outline rural management approaches — including seizure first aid.

The Rural Monitor

Articles and resources on key rural health issues, from the Rural Health Information Hub

Topics: Service delivery models

Philanthropy, Cross-Collaboration, and the Ecosystem That Is Rural Healthcare Delivery: Q&A with Dr. Shao-Chee Sim

Breaking the Cycle: Missouri Community Paramedicine Program Brings Primary Care to High-Risk Patients

Bringing Mental Health Services to Rural Residents

Educating Future Healthcare Providers: Health Literacy Opportunities for Webside Manners

Understanding the “Tool-ish-ness” of Telehealth: Q&A with Dr. Jonathan Neufeld

Out of the Shadows: Reducing the Rural Impact of Epilepsy