Rural Health
News by Topic: Health occupations
Jul 20, 2026 - Describes an outreach tour in rural and tribal Utah to engage with high school students to promote healthcare careers and expose current University of Utah Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine students to rural and tribal communities and their health needs.
Source: University of Utah
Jul 20, 2026 - Announces a new free program for rural hospital administrators and other leaders in Texas to provide professional development and continuing education. The program was created through state legislation and is expected to launch in 2027.
Source: Crossroads Today
Jul 18, 2026 - Describes an emergency response training drill on a working farm in rural Wisconsin. Notes that the drill gives practice for rural specific conditions to healthcare students and first responders.
Source: WKBT
Jul 17, 2026 - Notice from the Health Services and Resources
Administration (HRSA) seeking comments on an information
collection request titled "National Practitioner Data Bank
for Adverse Information on Physicians and Other Health Care
Practitioners—45 CFR part 60 Regulations and Forms, OMB No.
0906-0081—Revision." The National Practitioner Data Bank
(NPDB) aims to improve the quality of healthcare by
encouraging hospitals, state licensing boards, professional
societies, and other eligible entities providing healthcare
services to identify and discipline those who engage in
unprofessional behavior, and to restrict the ability of
incompetent healthcare practitioners, providers, or
suppliers to move from state to state without disclosure or
discovery of previous damaging or incompetent performance.
Comments are due by September 15, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
CMS, CDC, HHS: Request for Information; Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) Regulations
Federal Register
Jul 16, 2026 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are seeking comments on various topics related to Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 including breath testing; laboratory processes and procedures; emergency preparedness, biosafety and security, and cybersecurity; and specialty testing areas. The use of remote direct observation for assessing laboratory personnel competency for the benefit of rural and remote facilities is of particular interest. Comments are due by September 14, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Jul 15, 2026 - A North Dakota county has changed an employee policy to allow county staff to use leave from work for volunteer ambulance service. The change is intended to increase the pool of emergency medical service (EMS) volunteers. Notes that volunteers are common for staffing rural EMS.
Source: National Association of Counties County News
Jul 13, 2026 - Describes a physician assistant scholarship program in a Louisiana university aiming to address rural healthcare workforce shortages in the state. The program will also work with new rural clinical preceptor sites, thereby expanding access to healthcare for rural residents while also offering students rural-focused training.
Source: Red River Radio
Jul 11, 2026 - Discusses the risk of grain bin incidents on farms, noting that fatality rates remain high despite increased training for first responders. Highlights safety equipment and policy measures that can prevent deaths.
Source: Nebraska Examiner
Jul 2, 2026 - The University of Alabama program Tuscaloosa Rural Pre-Medical Internship is celebrating 5 years of preparing physicians for rural practice. The program recruits rural Alabama residents in high school and moves them through medical school and into rural practice while offering clinical experiences, skills training, and mentorship. The program recently welcomed the 2026 class.
Source: UA News Center
Jul 2, 2026 - Describes a maternal care training program for emergency responders and hospital staff in rural Florida where maternal care is limited. The training includes simulations of emergency scenarios, preparing the trainees to handle critical issues to allow for safe patient transfers to specialty care.
Source: Fox 13