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Rural Health Information Hub

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Rural Healthcare Workforce – News

News stories from the past 60 days.

Mar 14, 2023 - New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen joined bipartisan legislation that would help build a health care workforce in rural and medically underserved areas. The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act would allow international doctors to stay and practice in the United States following completion of their residency, if they agree to practice in areas experiencing a shortage of medical professionals.
Source: Office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Mar 13, 2023 - Shares the results of a study that found while the entire country is seeing dwindling numbers of physicians, rural areas still remain behind their urban counterparts, risking a deepening healthcare crisis for rural America.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Mar 13, 2023 - A recent report created in partnership with the Center for Rural Behavioral Health and Minnesota State University Mankato indicates that Minnesota is experiencing an unprecedented demand for mental health services, and rural Minnesota is being hit especially hard. Five percent of Minnesota mental health counselors are in small towns, and 2% are in isolated rural areas.
Source: Agweek
Mar 6, 2023 - Describes challenges faced by rural hospitals as additional COVID-related funding ends. Highlights St. Vincent Health, a Leadville, Colorado Critical Access Hospital, which in 2022 was at risk of closing before receiving a $480,000 bailout from Lake County and an advance of more than $1 million from the state of Colorado.
Source: Fortune and Kaiser Health News
Mar 3, 2023 - Interview with Kristine Sande, program director of the Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub), a clearinghouse for information, opportunities, and resources related to rural health. Describes RHIhub's history and current projects, and explores current issues in rural health and healthcare policy.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Mar 2, 2023 - Provides brief summaries of recent Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) highlights and news from the HRSA regions, including the role of the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program, the initiative to improve access to cancer screenings in underserved communities, the National Rural Health Association's annual policy conference, advancing health equity among Hispanic and Latino populations, and programs to support health workforce training, recruitment, retention, and development in Missouri.
Source: Health Resources & Services Administration
Mar 2, 2023 - Describes Psychiatric Advanced Practice Registered Nurse TechNology-Enhanced Residency (PARTNER), a Medical University of South Carolina-led program that pairs board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners with patients in rural areas through telemedicine. The program has treated and diagnosed almost 100 different behavioral health conditions over the course of more than 1,600 patient visits.
Source: Medical University of South Carolina
Feb 27, 2023 - A survey of University of Washington medical school alumni who graduated between 2009-2014 found that a significant number of doctors who participated in the Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP) eventually established their practices in rural communities. The RUOP offers medical students a four-week rotation in rural areas of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Idaho and Montana.
Source: UW Medicine
Feb 24, 2023 - Notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) correcting the December 20, 2022, announcement of public meetings of the National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps (NACNHSC) for the 2023 calendar year. The March 2023 meeting has been changed to a one-day meeting and will be held on March 21, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Eastern.
Source: Federal Register
Feb 17, 2023 - A new report addresses the demand for and shortages of mental health services in rural Minnesota, based on survey data and interviews with leaders in rural mental health. The report calls for upfront tuition reimbursement programs and for states to buoy the expansion of mental health-related programs.
Source: Behavioral Health Business
Feb 15, 2023 - The Wisconsin Office of Rural Health surveyed the state's ambulance services in late 2022 and found that 41 percent of the services that responded didn't have enough volunteers to respond to 911 calls at times. The survey also found that 21 percent of services only had a crew of two or three people to provide around-the-clock coverage.
Source: Wisconsin Public Radio
Feb 13, 2023 - Highlights legislative actions in 2022 to address aspects of EMS systems, including administration, funding, rules and regulations, systems of care, and workforce.
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures
Feb 11, 2023 - Describes challenges faced by patients in Washington County, Maine, due to healthcare workforce shortages and lack of available hospital beds. People from rural Maine sometimes must travel three to four hours to find hospitals with any open beds.
Source: The Maine Monitor
Feb 10, 2023 - Highlights some of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' policies to support rural providers, improve access to care in rural areas, and support the transformation of the rural health delivery system.
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Feb 10, 2023 - Montana lawmakers are considering House Bill 313, which would increase access to healthcare by giving physician assistants more independence to practice unsupervised. The bill is similar to laws in Wyoming and North Dakota.
Source: Kaiser Health News
Feb 2, 2023 - Profiles Thomas Atkins, MD, a 2022 graduate of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and the first rural track medical resident in Nashville's family medicine program. The pilot program is a state-funded effort to eliminate a physician shortage in rural areas.
Source: The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Feb 1, 2023 - Announces that Senators John Barrasso, Tina Smith, Marsha Blackburn, and Michael Bennet have introduced The Rural Health Clinic Burden Reduction Act to provide regulatory relief for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). The bill gives RHCs guidance regarding the use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants, improves the ability of RHCs to provide mental health services, and removes outdated lab requirements.
Source: Office of Senator John Barrasso
Jan 31, 2023 - The University of Kansas Area Health Education Center (AHEC) organizes events for teens across the state to promote health care careers. In 2022 there was record-setting participation in events such as Women in Health Care, in which junior and senior female high school students had opportunity to interact with students and faculty from KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
Source: KU Medical Center
Jan 31, 2023 - A new program at the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences addresses workforce shortages by supporting rural pharmacies and increasing the number of rural pharmacists over the next 10 years. The curriculum includes hands-on experiences in rural clinics and a project focused on improving an aspect of rural health care. Students are eligible to receive a $10,000-a-year scholarship if they agree to practice for at least 3 years in rural Washington after graduation.
Source: The Spokesman-Review
Jan 30, 2023 - New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has announced the introduction and progress of legislation creating a fund to promote rural health care delivery in underserved areas of New Mexico. The fund will support newly constructed facilities and providers that offer new or expanded health care services in counties with fewer than 100,000 residents, by defraying operating losses for up to five years.
Source: Office of Governor Lujan Grisham
Jan 27, 2023 - Montana Senate Bill 112 addresses the physician shortage by expanding the limited authority Montana gives pharmacists to prescribe medications and devices. Supporters said the measure could help fill healthcare gaps in rural areas in particular, while opponents worry it would give pharmacists physician-like authority without the same education.
Source: Kaiser Health News
Jan 27, 2023 - The Louisiana Health Disparities in Rural Areas Task Force has been studying health disparities in rural Louisiana and has developed several legislative recommendations. The volunteer group consists of medical experts charged with finding solutions to close the healthcare gap between rural and urban areas. Approximately 98% of the state's population lives in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas.
Source: Louisiana Illuminator
Jan 25, 2023 - Notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) correcting the December 20, 2022, announcement of public meetings of the National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps (NACNHSC) for the 2023 calendar year.
Source: Federal Register
Jan 25, 2023 - A report issued by the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission found that for every rural Pennsylvania dentist there are 15 nonrural dentists. The report suggests that it would be helpful to expand technology use and mobile dentistry, to recruit dental students from rural Pennsylvania, and to offer more incentives for rural dentistry.
Source: The Center Square
Jan 24, 2023 - Montana Senator Jon Tester and Arkansas Senator John Boozman introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at bolstering recruitment and retention of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clinicians, particularly in rural areas. The VA Clinician Appreciation, Recruitment, Education, Expansion, and Retention Support Act would provide the VA with tools to compete for highly qualified medical personnel, support training for current and future VA clinicians, and provide more oversight and public transparency on the VA's efforts to address vacancies.
Source: Office of Senator Jon Tester
Jan 22, 2023 - 13 of the 15 Iowa nursing homes that closed in 2022 were in rural areas. A nationwide nursing home workforce shortage and lack of open nursing home beds results in patients sometimes being transferred to facilities far from their hometowns, especially if they have dementia, obesity, or other conditions that require extra attention.
Source: NBC News, Kaiser Health News
Jan 20, 2023 - Due to the recent deaths of two physicians who practiced in Molokai, Hawaii, there are now fewer than four fulltime equivalent primary care doctors serving about 7,000 residents on the island. An additional 776 physicians are needed in Hawaii to meet patient demand, and the greatest shortage is in primary care.
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat
Jan 20, 2023 - Montana lawmakers are considering proposals to make it easier for professionals with out-of-state licenses to work in Montana. House Bill 152 is designed to simplify the process for licensing more than 50 professions, including healthcare jobs.
Source: Kaiser Health News

Last Updated: 3/15/2023