Rural Health
News by Topic: Access
Jun 6, 2024 - Features the perspective of the leadership of Mississippi hospitals who participate in the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) Program, which launched in January 2023. Notes that REH conversion has led to pushback from some communities due to the loss of maternal care and other inpatient services. Explores additional considerations for hospital leadership, including loss of eligibility for the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
Source: Stateline
Jun 5, 2024 - Describes efforts to secure additional funding for Colorado's Healthy School Meals for All program, which offers free breakfast and lunch to all K-12 students. Notes disproportionately high rates of food insecurity in rural areas, where residents may face transportation barriers to food access. Outlines an additional program which funds the purchasing of local foods for school meals.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Jun 5, 2024 - Features a Fort Hall Reservation resident impacted by the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program, which offered monthly subsidies to support internet access for millions of low-income and rural Americans. Notes the importance of internet access for accessing medical records, scheduling appointments, and communicating with providers.
Source: KFF Health News
Jun 5, 2024 - Interview with South Dakota USDA Rural Development Director and the Executive Director of Lewis & Clark Behavioral Health. Describes the construction of a new behavioral health facility in Yankton, SD. Notes barriers to improved mental health among rural populations including stigma and lack of access to services.
Source: South Dakota Public Broadcasting
Jun 5, 2024 - Presents overview of a New York state program that offered reimbursement for school-based telehealth services from 2017 through 2021. Describes the impact of the program on rural students and school districts, and current efforts by legislators to secure additional funding for the program.
Source: New York Focus
Jun 4, 2024 - Profiles patients and staff at a Rural Health Clinic in Elberton, Georgia. Describes ongoing challenges in accessing care such as lack of transportation, and highlights the growing need for mental health services.
Source: NPR
Jun 3, 2024 - Announcement from the Health Resources and Services Administration of $15 million awarded through the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (Rural MOMS) Program, with a goal of improving maternal health in rural communities. Also notes an additional $7 million to be awarded over the next four years to the Delta Region Maternal Care Coordination Program, which is designed to improve access and coordination of maternal healthcare services in the Delta Region before, during, and after pregnancy.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
May 31, 2024 - Features a harm reduction program serving residents of Alaska's rural Kenai Peninsula. Explores strategies for making services, including syringe exchange and opioid-overdose treatment distribution, accessible to remote populations.
Source: Alaska Public Media, PBS, NPR
May 31, 2024 - Announces the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program on June 1, 2024 due to a lack of Congressional funding. Outlines how the program helped millions of low-income American access high-speed internet. Notes that 15 percent of participating households were located in rural areas.
Source: Federal Communications Commission
May 31, 2024 - The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
will hold a public meeting of the Advisory Committee on
Infant and Maternal Mortality (ACIMM) on June 26-27, 2024.
Agenda items are being finalized but may include an update
on the federal Healthy Start program; Committee discussions
on the workgroup topics of rural healthcare access, social
drivers of health, and women's health before/between
pregnancies; federal updates; and possible recommendations
to achieve optimal maternal health and overall birth
outcomes for underserved populations, including
Black/African-American families. The webinar link and
log-in information will be available at the
ACIMM website before the meeting. Requests for public
comment should be sent via email to SACIM@hrsa.gov.
Source: Federal Register