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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by State: Washington

Assessing the Impact of Washington State's Oral Health Workforce on Patient Access to Care
Examines the oral health workforce and access to oral care in Washington state. Includes information on workforce demographics, rural and urban distribution of oral health providers, and difficulty recruiting dental hygienists and assistants in rural areas. Provides recommendations, policy changes, and potential solutions offered by oral health workforce interviewees.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): Davis G. Patterson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Malaika R. Schwartz, Lisa Hager, Susan M. Skillman
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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No Wrong Door: Supporting Community Living for Veterans
Reports on several Veteran-Directed Home- and Community-Based Services (VD-HCBS) programs in 7 states. Presents a breakdown of each program and highlights challenges each program had to overcome. Bases analysis on 2 separate state surveys. Also includes tools useful to building collaborative partnerships between VA medical providers and aging and disability agencies in order to better serve veterans in their communities.
Author(s): Christina Neill Bowen, Wendy Fox-Grage, Kali Thomas, James Rudolph
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
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Interviews from the Field: Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Interview discusses the Swinomish Community Health Assessment and Code Development project. Presents the project's objectives and the goals of the Swinomish Community Health Department.
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Native Americans
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Using Telehealth to Identify and Manage Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Conditions in Rural Areas
Reports on an environmental scan, discussions with providers and stakeholders, and site visits regarding how telehealth supports behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment. Addresses how telehealth is used, implementation, services offered, financing and sustainability. Focuses on the implications for treating opioid use disorders in rural areas, in particular, using medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with support from telehealth. Appendix B includes site briefs from the 9 states included in the study.
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Promising Practice: Advisory Group in Washington State Works to Bring Palliative Care to Rural Patients
Describes the Palliative Care Rural Health Integration Advisory Team (PC-RHIAT) initiated by the Washington State Office of Rural Health (WA SORH), which aims to bring palliative care to rural patients through the use of telehealth and community engagement. The WA SORH facilitates this process by bringing experts in palliative care, rural health and telehealth, together with hospitals, clinics, and community team members to develop an action plan based in the rural community and within their healthcare organizations.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 06/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Medicaid Expansion: Behavioral Health Treatment Use in Selected States in 2014
Report to Congress describing the population of Medicaid expansion enrollees with behavioral health diagnoses in 2014, and the use of behavioral health treatment among the enrolled population. Results are based on the experience of four states: Iowa, New York, Washington, and West Virginia. Includes a discussion on rural/urban geographic distribution of enrollees and the barriers to accessing treatment for enrollees living in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 06/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Rural Health Philanthropy Partnership: Leveraging Public-Private Funds to Improve Health
Highlights the work of two grantees funded through the Rural Health Care Coordination Network Partnership Program, a combined effort of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy and philanthropy organizations. Discusses how the coordinated efforts of the grantees and their philanthropy partners benefit patients.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Identifying Adverse Drug Events in Rural Hospitals: An Eight-State Study
Analyzes adverse drug events (ADEs), or events involving patient injury resulting from medication use, and identifies ways to improve medication safety in rural hospitals. Uses 2013 data from 8 states with significant rural populations, and examines ADE rates based on hospital characteristics and across 4 main categories: steroids, antibiotics, opiates/narcotics, and anticoagulants. Companion brief lists resources that can be used to reduce and prevent ADEs in rural hospitals, including rural prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).
Additional links: Resources to Reduce Adverse Drug Events in Rural Hospitals
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Peiyin Hung, Emma Distel, Shailendra Prasad
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Rural Opioid Prevention and Treatment Strategies: The Experience in Four States
Study examining strategies for dealing with the rural opioid crisis, including prevention, treatment, and recovery services. Uses data from interviews with key stakeholders in Indiana, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington.
Additional links: Research and Policy Brief
Author(s): John A. Gale, Anush Y. Hansen, Martha Elbaum Williamson
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Passive Sampling for Indoor and Outdoor Exposures to Chlorpyrifos, Azinphos-Methyl, and Oxygen Analogs in a Rural Agricultural Community
Examines pesticides and oxygen analogs in the air following spray applications in Washington and California. Compares indoor and outdoor air and surface concentrations in farmworker and non-farmworker households.
Author(s): Jenna L. Gibbs, Michael G. Yost, Maria Negrete, Richard A. Fenske
Citation: Environmental Health Perspectives
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
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