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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Healthcare needs and 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 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Ambulatory Surgical Center Conditions for Coverage and 2) Submission of 1135 Waiver Request Automated Process. Comments are due by July 1, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
May 31, 2024 - Details federal efforts to respond to the H5N1 outbreak in dairy cattle and mitigate risks to farmworkers. Highlights initiatives related to PPE distribution, safety guidance, treatment, education, and testing.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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
May 31, 2024 - Highlights a new federally-funded initiative designed to address dental workforce shortages in Maryland, affecting primarily low-income and rural areas. Outlines rural-related barriers to oral healthcare including lack of transportation to appointments.
Source: Maryland Matters
May 30, 2024 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is extending the deadline for nominations for membership on the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD). The ACD consists of up to 15 experts knowledgeable in areas pertinent to the CDC mission, including public health, global health, health disparities, biomedical research, and other fields as applicable. Nominations are now due by July 8, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
May 30, 2024 - Discusses Wisconsin law permitting children as young as 12 to operate agricultural equipment on public roads. Outlines concerns from researchers regarding child cognitive development and increasing traffic accidents involving agricultural equipment.
Source: Wisconsin Public Radio
May 30, 2024 - Notice from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announcing its intent to implement Joseph Maxwell Cleland and Robert Joseph Dole Memorial Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2022, which prohibits the collection of copayments for the first three mental health care outpatient visits of a Veteran in a calendar year for which the Veteran would otherwise be required to pay a copayment. The copayment exemption for the first three outpatient mental health care visits includes appointments completed in VA clinics as well as those conducted by community care providers. The implementation of the copayment exemption will be applicable upon the publication of modifications to the VA regulations to comply with this law.
Source: Federal Register
May 29, 2024 - Notice from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announcing a joint Tribal consultation session between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ACF Office of Early Childhood Development (ECD), Office of Head Start (OHS), and Office of Child Care (OCC) and the leadership of Tribal governments operating Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting; Tribal Child Care and Development Fund; and Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The Tribal consultation session will be held on July 9-10, 2024, in Fort McDowell, Arizona. The purpose of this consultation session is to discuss ways to better meet the needs of Tribal children and their families and issues affecting the delivery of early childhood services in their geographic locations. Registration is required.
Source: Federal Register
May 29, 2024 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the reinstatement of an information collection request titled "Skilled Nursing Facility and Skilled Nursing Facility Complex Cost Report." The information collected will be used to determine the cost weights for the skilled nursing facility (SNF) market basket, conduct payment adequacy analyses, and determine reasonable costs. Comments are due by June 28, 2024.
Source: Federal Register