Healthcare Access in Rural Communities – News
News stories from the past 60 days.
Apr 28, 2026 - Profiles a University of Wisconsin-Madison medical student from a Puerto Rico island with no hospital and a primary care clinic destroyed by a hurricane in 2017. Describes the transportation specific barriers for accessing healthcare for island residents, challenges in attracting healthcare professionals to the island, and the student's intention to practice there.
Source: The Cap Times
Apr 27, 2026 - Littleton Regional Healthcare CMO Richard McKenzie believes that success in rural healthcare delivery is dependent on how systems are designed, and how they provide access, support clinicians, and ensure sustainable revenue. McKenzie previously worked as a manufacturing engineer, combining efficiency with frontline realities.
Source: HealthLeaders Media
Apr 20, 2026 - Profiles Lancaster County's community paramedicine program, an initiative that serves about 1,000 people a month. Pennsylvania officials want to expand it to rural communities with few medical providers and elder care services.
Source: Evening Sun
Apr 15, 2026 - Chadron Community Hospital in rural Nebraska closed its dialysis unit in March, due to low reimbursement rates that did not cover costs, causing patients to travel further distances for dialysis care. Nebraska will receive $219 million in first-year funding from the Rural Health Transformation Program, but this may not be enough to keep existing services in place in rural areas.
Source: KFF Health News
Mar 24, 2026 - Highlights the Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic from the University of Virginia, a student and volunteer led clinic offering health screenings, dental and vision care, and other primary care services. Also discusses the hands-on training the program gives medical students.
Source: UVA Today
Mar 9, 2026 - Promotes mobile clinics as a delivery model for effective maternal health outreach in rural and other communities. Highlights maternity care deserts nationally and in Florida. Discusses successful use of the model in Florida for maternity care, noting that few of the nationally tracked mobile clinics offer maternal and infant healthcare.
Source: The Conversation
Mar 6, 2026 - Profiles a labor and delivery department in a rural North Carolina Critical Access Hospital. Maternity services were re-started in 2020 using family physicians after closing the department in 1991. Describes maternity care access across North Carolina, challenges with sustaining the service for rural communities, and how they can be a model to other rural communities.
Source: North Carolina Health News