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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health workforce

Left Out: Barriers to Health Equity for Rural and Underserved Communities
Summarizes responses to a Request for Information from the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee's Rural and Underserved Communities Health Task Force. Describes factors contributing to healthcare challenges in rural areas, including demographics, social and structural determinants of health, insurance coverage, access to care, and workforce shortages. Highlights promising models of healthcare delivery in rural areas. Includes state-by-state health equity maps.
Additional links: State and Territory Health Equity Maps, Summary
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: House Ways and Means Committee
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Pennsylvania Hospital Transitions HRSA-Funded Program to Online Services and Addresses COVID-19 Stress
Features Butler Memorial Hospital and how it adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlights the switch to online delivery for a chronic disease project funded by a HRSA Rural Health Care Services Outreach grant. Also describes initiatives to address healthcare workforce stress, help patients use tablets to visit with loved ones, and distribute healthy food to the community.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Innovative Health Care Provider Roles
Discusses healthcare provider types that might have the potential to benefit rural communities including community health workers, community paramedics, patient advocates, health coaches, and dental therapists.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Pennsylvania Mental Health Care Workforce Shortage: Challenges and Solutions: A Staff Study
Provides a discussion of mental healthcare workforce occupations and examines the factors that led to shortages in these fields. Describes how telemedicine can be used to extend the mental healthcare workforce in rural Pennsylvania and determines how state government entities can encourage more people to enter and remain in the mental healthcare workforce. Makes recommendations including increasing the number of psychiatric residencies in rural areas and designating more Rural Health Clinics. Includes a county-level map of Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas.
Author(s): Grant Rosul, Stephen J. Kramer, Wendy L. Baker
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Developing a Science Outreach Program and Promoting "PhUn" All Year with Rural K-12 Students
Discusses a university-led health science outreach effort in rural northern Michigan that implemented national physiology and biomechanics educational programming in K-12 schools. Addresses the importance of science and health science programming in rural areas due to limited exposure to career options and the need for rural students to consider health careers to offset healthcare shortages. Provides an overview of the outreach program with lessons learned.
Author(s): Jana L. Hendrickson, Thomas K. Bye, Benjamin A. Cockfield, Kathryn R. Carter, Steven J. Elmer
Citation: Advances in Physiology Education, 44(2), 212-216
Date: 06/2020
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National Health Services Corps (NHSC) New Site Application Webinar for Rural Health Clinics
Recording of a June 30, 2020 webinar providing an overview of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) new site application process. Discusses the benefits of the NHSC program for outpatient facilities that provide primary care medical, dental, and/or mental and behavioral health services, site eligibility requirements, and how to apply as a new site. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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Improving Rural Health: State Policy Options for Increasing Access to Care
Discusses strategies from state legislatures and other stakeholders to increase access to healthcare in rural areas. Focuses on policies and policy options for state legislatures in three areas: improving health insurance coverage, safeguarding rural health facilities, and changing rural healthcare delivery. Features examples from Colorado, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Author(s): Jack Pitsor
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Conference of State Legislatures
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Expect Delays: Poor Connections Between Rural and Urban Health Systems Challenge Multidisciplinary Care for Rural Americans with Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Investigates communication barriers between rural and urban health systems to identify factors that may be contributing to higher risk of major amputation among rural patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) compared to urban patients with DFUs. Barriers for rural providers include time-consuming referrals; poor interactions with urban providers; and data sharing issues due to multiple, disconnected electronic health records.
Author(s): Bryn L. Sutherland, Kristen Pecanac, Christie M. Bartels, Meghan B. Brennan
Citation: Journal of Foot and Ankle Research, 13(1), 32
Date: 06/2020
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Tribal HPOG Program Snapshot - Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Healthcare-UTE Project (HCUTE)
Highlights key features of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program, Healthcare-UTE Project (HCUTE), and outcomes from the first four years of program implementation. HCUTE is funded by a Tribal HPOG 2.0 grant and helps individuals in parts of Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico pursue careers in the health professions.
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Tribal HPOG Program Snapshot - Turtle Mountain Community College HEART Project
Highlights key features of the Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC) Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program, Health Education Access through Rural Training (HEART), and outcomes from the first four years of program implementation. TMCC is a Tribal HPOG 2.0 grantee and helps individuals in North Dakota pursue careers in the health professions.
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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