For Some Rural Tennessee Hospitals, Sustainability Means Avoiding Repeat Customers
Nov 13, 2018 - Discusses how one rural Tennessee hospital has worked with home health agencies in the community to reduce readmissions. Also touches on the difficult balance of trying to keep patients out of the hospital without losing volume, especially because many rural hospitals are operating on a thin margin.
Source: Nashville Public Radio
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USDA Partners with Communities to Bring High-Speed Broadband e-Connectivity Infrastructure to Rural Areas
Nov 13, 2018 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the investment of $91 million for 19 projects funded through the Telecommunications Programs. The projects aim to improve e-Connectivity for more than 27,000 businesses and households in rural communities in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
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Seniors In The Deep South And Rural Western States Prescribed Most Benzodiazepines And Opioids
Oct 26, 2018 - Details a new University of Michigan study which found that older male doctors in the South and in rural Western states are prescribing high numbers of sedatives and opioids to seniors. The highest intensity prescribing was in Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia, Florida, and Louisiana. The study seems to indicate that these doctors are medicating older patients' distress, but potentially contributing to the shorter life expectancy in these areas.
Source: Forbes
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