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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health workforce supply and demand

Examining the Dental Care Crisis in America: How Can We Make Dental Care More Affordable and More Available?
Recording of a May 16, 2024, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions hearing on the accessibility and affordability of dental care, including in rural areas. Features testimony from the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.
Additional links: Myechia Minter-Jordan, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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Frontier Health Care: Ensuring Veterans' Access No Matter Where They Live
Recording of a May 15, 2024, U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearing regarding rural veterans' access to healthcare and efforts to address challenges to care. Covers rural staffing and recruitment, limited access to broadband, distance to healthcare providers, and more. Features testimony from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health, the Great Plains Veterans Services Center, the Government Accountability Office, and Disabled American Veterans.
Additional links: Alyssa M. Hundrup, Government Accountability Office - Testimony, Chauncey Parker, Great Plains Veterans Services Center - Testimony, Jon Retzer, Disabled American Veterans - Testimony, Peter Kaboli, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Rural Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate
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Rural Health Care: Supporting Lives and Improving Communities
Presents the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance May 16, 2024, hearing on rural healthcare. Discusses the financial vulnerability of rural hospitals, the rural healthcare workforce and graduate medical education (GME), access to maternal healthcare, health information technology and telehealth, and more. Features testimony from the Chartis Center for Rural Health; Grande Ronde Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in Oregon; the Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education; and the Rural Policy Research Institute.
Additional links: Jeremy P. Davis, Grande Ronde Hospital - Testimony, Keith J. Mueller, Rural Policy Research Institute - Testimony, Lori Rodefeld, Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education - Testimony, Michael Topchik, Chartis Center for Rural Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
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Markup of H.R. 8261, H.R. 7931, H.R. 8245, H.R. 8244, H.R. 8235, and H.R. 8246
Recording of a May 8, 2024, House Ways and Means Committee markup of six bills regarding rural health. Legislation covers the extension of telehealth flexibilities, location requirements for Critical Access Hospitals in mountainous areas, the rural nursing home and physician workforce, and Rural Emergency Hospital eligibility.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: House Ways and Means Committee
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Health Professions Pathway Programs: A Literature Review
Reviews 26 articles to identify common practices of health professions pathway programs for underrepresented, underserved, or rural students pursuing primary care medical or dental education. Identifies instructional and financial practices which address Arizona's health workforce shortages by improving health workforce distribution and diversity.
Author(s): Jack Ringhand
Date: 04/2024
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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How Does Hawai'i's Economic Geography Affect Its Healthcare Industry?
Reports on geographic factors influencing healthcare economics in Hawai'i, including discussion of geographic decentralization, productivity, workforce recruitment, reimbursement and payment, and more. Highlights barriers to healthcare access and service availability in rural, isolated, and remote communities.
Author(s): Steven Bond-Smith, Daniela Bond-Smith
Date: 04/2024
Sponsoring organization: The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai'i (UHERO)
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Transforming Oral Health Care in North Carolina
Makes recommendations for improving oral health access, supporting oral care workforce and providers, and promoting oral health quality and equity in North Carolina. Discusses oral health in rural and underserved areas throughout, including coverage of workforce distribution, dental safety net, and access barriers.
Date: 04/2024
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Institute of Medicine
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Meeting Essential Health Services And Reimagining Obstetrics In A Rural Community
Case study profiling Kittitas Valley Healthcare (KVH) in rural Washington. Describes how KVH implemented a new staffing model to maintain essential obstetrics and gynecological care.
Date: 04/2024
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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With Current Staffing Levels, About 1 in 5 Nursing Facilities Would Meet Fully-Implemented Minimum Staffing Standards in the Final Rule
Describes a proposed federal standard for nursing home nurse staffing levels and analyzes current nursing home staffing levels, noting the percentage of facilities that will meet the proposed staffing level requirements if fully implemented.
Author(s): Priya Chidambaram, Alice Burns, Tricia Neuman, Robin Rudowitz
Date: 04/2024
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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A Lack of Behavioral Health Providers in Medicare and Medicaid Impedes Enrollees' Access to Care
Examines the availability of behavioral health providers who actively serve Medicare or Medicaid enrollees in 20 counties, 10 urban and 10 rural, across 10 states in 2021. Explores the extent to which traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid enrollees received behavioral health services and whether they used telehealth or in-person services. Offers recommendations to encourage more behavioral health providers to serve these enrollees and expand coverage to additional behavioral health provider types. Includes rural and urban comparisons throughout.
Additional links: Report Highlights
Date: 03/2024
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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