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The Rural Monitor
Articles by Author: Kay Miller Temple

Kay Miller Temple
About Kay Miller Temple

With a perspective gained from many years as a physician practicing in rural and urban locations, Dr. Kay Miller Temple writes on a variety of rural health topics and programs for RHIhub's Rural Monitor and Models and Innovations. She has a master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. Full Biography

Building a Rural Cancer Care Network: Federal Funding Supports Collaboration of Urban, Regional, and Local Organizations

November 27, 2024
Leveraging a federal care coordination grant, an urban nonprofit organization, a regional healthcare system with rural locations, and a local rural physician's office are creating a new cancer care network in rural Georgia. Several elements of this network's holistic approach include grant-supported work focusing on rural patient navigation and clinical cancer trial enrollment.

Rural Community Health Worker Programs: Proving Value and Finding Sustainability

July 24, 2024
For decades, community health workers (CHWs) provided their services outside usual healthcare reimbursement models. In recent years, with research supporting CHWs as professionals effectively assisting patients with navigating health-related social determinants, federal and private payers are exploring reimbursement mechanisms. Four rural healthcare organizations share both the impact and the continued sustainability challenges — and successes — of their CHW programs.

Perspectives on the Long of COVID: From Doomscrolling to Rural Management Strategies

March 8, 2023
In the wake of acute COVID-19 comes another public health concern: Millions of rural Americans are experiencing Long COVID. With a federal agency representative weighing in on rural research efforts, a Tennessee rural health researcher shares his Long COVID story alongside a New York rural healthcare system who shares their story about the condition's management options.

Rural Health Clinic Program at 45 Years: Created for Access and Still Delivering Care

October 26, 2022
After a 1965 public law created the Medicare and Medicaid programs, many rural residents insured by these government health programs were unable to access care. This challenge was remedied by another public law: the Rural Health Clinic Services Act of 1977. Using a historical framework, rural health policy experts, researchers, and clinicians reviewed the Act's impact on outpatient healthcare delivery in rural America.

A Career of Influencing Rural Healthcare Delivery: Bill Finerfrock and the NARHC Origin Story

October 26, 2022
Over 5,200 rural organizations participate in the Rural Health Clinics program, a reimbursement model dedicated to rural low-volume healthcare delivery and now in its 45th year. The National Association of Rural Health Clinics — in its 30th year — is a membership organization that emerged as the program increased its participants. Bill Finerfrock, association cofounder and its recently retired executive director, shared the group's origin story as well as touchpoints from his own career.