Rural Health
Resources by State: Massachusetts
Improving Access to Behavioral Health Crisis Services with Electronic Bed Registries
Report highlights the ways up-to-date electronic bed registries can improve crisis care treatment and access to behavioral healthcare. Features profiles of states that have received funding for electronic bed registries through the Transformation Transfer Initiative (TTI). Outlines and evaluates each state-level program.
Author(s): David Morrissette
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
view details
Report highlights the ways up-to-date electronic bed registries can improve crisis care treatment and access to behavioral healthcare. Features profiles of states that have received funding for electronic bed registries through the Transformation Transfer Initiative (TTI). Outlines and evaluates each state-level program.
Author(s): David Morrissette
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
view details
Opioid Initiation and Injection Transition in Rural Northern New England: A Mixed-methods Approach
Highlights a study on opioid initiation and transition to opioid injection in rural New England. Bases findings on interviews with opioid users in 11 rural counties in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Tracks the time and circumstances of first opioid use to first opioid injection.
Author(s): Kerry Nolte, Aurora L. Drew, Peter D. Friedmann, et al.
Citation: Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 217(1), 108256
Date: 12/2020
Type: Document
view details
Highlights a study on opioid initiation and transition to opioid injection in rural New England. Bases findings on interviews with opioid users in 11 rural counties in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Tracks the time and circumstances of first opioid use to first opioid injection.
Author(s): Kerry Nolte, Aurora L. Drew, Peter D. Friedmann, et al.
Citation: Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 217(1), 108256
Date: 12/2020
Type: Document
view details
Telebehavioral Health: An Effective Alternative to In-Person Care
Issue brief discussing telehealth treatment modalities based on a 2019 review of clinical outcomes related to telebehavioral health. Covers three state-level approaches: the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center Rural Telemental Health Program (VA RTMH), which serves rural Oregon veterans, and Medicaid policies in Texas and Massachusetts. Addresses telebehavioral health policy details, implementation, and considerations for states looking to develop new telebehavioral health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author(s): Brittany Lazur, Lily Sobolik, Valerie King
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
view details
Issue brief discussing telehealth treatment modalities based on a 2019 review of clinical outcomes related to telebehavioral health. Covers three state-level approaches: the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center Rural Telemental Health Program (VA RTMH), which serves rural Oregon veterans, and Medicaid policies in Texas and Massachusetts. Addresses telebehavioral health policy details, implementation, and considerations for states looking to develop new telebehavioral health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author(s): Brittany Lazur, Lily Sobolik, Valerie King
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
view details
Addressing Opioid Use in Rural Communities: Examples from Critical Access Hospitals
Highlights strategies adopted by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to combat opioid use in their communities. Describes lessons learned from the featured CAHs regarding the development and implementation of projects targeting opioid use. Identifies ways that State Flex Programs and State Offices of Rural Health can support the efforts of CAHs in addressing opioid use in their communities. Provides list of opioid-related resources for CAHs and State Flex Programs.
Author(s): John Gale, Sara Kahn-Troster, Karen Pearson, Nathan First
Date: 08/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
view details
Highlights strategies adopted by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to combat opioid use in their communities. Describes lessons learned from the featured CAHs regarding the development and implementation of projects targeting opioid use. Identifies ways that State Flex Programs and State Offices of Rural Health can support the efforts of CAHs in addressing opioid use in their communities. Provides list of opioid-related resources for CAHs and State Flex Programs.
Author(s): John Gale, Sara Kahn-Troster, Karen Pearson, Nathan First
Date: 08/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
view details
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Community Resilience Building Workshop - Northern Hilltowns Collaborative: Summary of Findings for the Towns of Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, and Worthington, MA
An overview of how four rural communities in western Massachusetts developed a municipal vulnerability preparedness (MVP) plan to improve their resilience to the increased frequency of natural and climate-related hazards. With funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, a series of workshops were held to engage the four communities in planning and implementing a climate change action plan. Discusses common community concerns and challenges related to transportation and communication services, power outages, drinking water, and waste management.
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
view details
An overview of how four rural communities in western Massachusetts developed a municipal vulnerability preparedness (MVP) plan to improve their resilience to the increased frequency of natural and climate-related hazards. With funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, a series of workshops were held to engage the four communities in planning and implementing a climate change action plan. Discusses common community concerns and challenges related to transportation and communication services, power outages, drinking water, and waste management.
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
view details
A Public Health Emergency: State Efforts to Curb the Opioid Crisis
Presents the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the outcomes of public health efforts to combat the opioid crisis. Features testimony from representatives of the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, and the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
Date: 01/2020
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: House Committee on Energy and Commerce
view details
Presents the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the outcomes of public health efforts to combat the opioid crisis. Features testimony from representatives of the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, and the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
Date: 01/2020
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: House Committee on Energy and Commerce
view details
Community Health Worker Roles and Responsibilities in Rural and Urban America
Results of a study to explore community health worker (CHW) roles and responsibilities, the growing professionalization of the field, and interactions between CHWs and other healthcare providers. Uses data obtained from focus groups conducted in Florida, Minnesota, California, and Massachusetts. Provides an in-depth look at the differences between CHW work in rural and urban areas, and offers insights to support continued growth of the field.
Author(s): Timothy H. Callaghan, David J. Washburn, Cason D. Schmit, et al.
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
view details
Results of a study to explore community health worker (CHW) roles and responsibilities, the growing professionalization of the field, and interactions between CHWs and other healthcare providers. Uses data obtained from focus groups conducted in Florida, Minnesota, California, and Massachusetts. Provides an in-depth look at the differences between CHW work in rural and urban areas, and offers insights to support continued growth of the field.
Author(s): Timothy H. Callaghan, David J. Washburn, Cason D. Schmit, et al.
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
view details
The Geography of Uninsurance in Massachusetts: An Update for 2013-2017
Identifies high-uninsurance communities in Massachusetts using three measures: uninsurance rate, number of uninsured, and concentration of uninsured. Describes socioeconomic characteristics of high-uninsurance communities and uninsured residents. Supplemental tables include data by county, county subdivision, place, and additional geographies.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): Michael Karpman, Dulce Gonzalez, Sharon K. Long
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, Urban Institute
view details
Identifies high-uninsurance communities in Massachusetts using three measures: uninsurance rate, number of uninsured, and concentration of uninsured. Describes socioeconomic characteristics of high-uninsurance communities and uninsured residents. Supplemental tables include data by county, county subdivision, place, and additional geographies.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): Michael Karpman, Dulce Gonzalez, Sharon K. Long
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, Urban Institute
view details
Rising from the Ashes: How Trauma-Informed Care Nurtures Healing in Rural America
Provides an overview of trauma-informed care and how it is provided in rural communities. Highlights the provision of trauma-informed care in a rural California community after wildfires, in a Wyoming pediatrician's clinic, and by rural nurses providing assault exams with support from experts via telehealth.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Provides an overview of trauma-informed care and how it is provided in rural communities. Highlights the provision of trauma-informed care in a rural California community after wildfires, in a Wyoming pediatrician's clinic, and by rural nurses providing assault exams with support from experts via telehealth.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Cross-Agency Approaches to Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Treatment: National Recommendations
Provides recommendations on how state agencies can work together to prevent and treat substance use disorder, including engaging with state offices of rural health. Offers examples from 8 states and emphasizes state efforts related to opioid misuse disorder.
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
view details
Provides recommendations on how state agencies can work together to prevent and treat substance use disorder, including engaging with state offices of rural health. Offers examples from 8 states and emphasizes state efforts related to opioid misuse disorder.
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
view details