Rural Health
News by Topic: Health occupations
Oct 30, 2025 - Describes community-wide efforts to combat an increase in suicides in rural Colorado. Highlights a mental health response team comprised of police and a mental health professional. Discusses rural specific drivers of suicide rates.
Source: The Colorado Sun
Oct 26, 2025 - Discusses the impact of the expansion of Medicaid dental benefits on the oral health of Missouri residents. Notes that areas with dental workforce shortages are less likely to feel the positive impact of increases in reimbursement rates.
Source: Kansas City Magazine
Oct 23, 2025 - Highlights a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in rural Minnesota successfully offering labor and delivery services in spite of nationwide department closures. Describes the challenges with offering this service in rural communities and factors contributing to this CAH's success including participating in a network and cross-training staff. Includes a state map of maternity care deserts at the county level.
Source: MPR News
Oct 21, 2025 - Describes a philanthropic investment into the East Carolina University Center for Medical Education in the Brody School of Medicine. The funding will expand the facilities and bring new technologies to the school. Discusses the goals of both the school and philanthropic partner to improve rural health outcomes by increasing the rural physician workforce.
Source: ECU News Services
Oct 20, 2025 - Describes a partnership between a medical school and healthcare system to provide funds to train physicians to work in rural New York. Profiles a student in the program.
Source: WSYR-TV
Oct 14, 2025 - A rural Montana sheriff's department is offering deputies a first responder medical training and certification program. The program would allow deputies to assist emergency medical services (EMS) providers in situations with multiple victims or provide aid while waiting for EMS to arrive. Notes that understaffing, poor weather, and large service areas can make EMS response times long. Discusses upcoming work by the state legislature to address EMS challenges.
Source: EMS 1
Oct 12, 2025 - Discusses the experience of rural school counselors as often the only access to mental healthcare for their students. Notes the importance of accounting for rural culture in mental healthcare and the limited representation of rural school counselors in research. Profiles a rural Tennessee school counselor.
Source: Clarksville Online
Oct 6, 2025 - Announces a new rural obstetric and gynecology fellowship in North Carolina. The goal is to increase access to maternal healthcare in areas identified as maternity care deserts.
Source: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill News
Oct 2, 2025 - Highlights the benefits of collaboration between academia and healthcare practitioners as demonstrated by a 10 year partnership between an Indian Health Service (IHS) hospital and the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. Describes how the partnership was established to increase access to naloxone and other prevention work as well as how it has grown to include training, innovative pharmacy-based interventions and services, and international perspectives.
Source: Indian Health Service
Sep 19, 2025 - Describes the shortage of nurses in North Carolina, particularly among licensed practical nurses (LPNs). Discusses factors driving shortages, a history of the shortage, and areas where progress has been made, particularly in training new LPNs. Looks at workforce projections for the coming decades. Discusses the impact on rural throughout.
Source: North Carolina Health News