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The Rural Monitor
Articles by Topic: Population health

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 Louisiana Programs Create Healthier Schools

August 28, 2024
Two FORHP Delta States Rural Development Network grantees are improving children's health in rural Louisiana schools. The Adolescent Pre-Diabetes Prevention Program screens high school students and provides Healthy Lifestyle lessons, while the EatMoveGrow program increases nutrition and physical activity opportunities in elementary schools.

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.

Strategic Collaboration: The Key to Moving Rural Healthcare Forward

March 27, 2024
Strategic collaboration allows rural organizations to combine resources and expertise to improve care and patient outcomes. Southern Illinois Healthcare, the Iowa Primary Care Association, and Minnesota's Winona Community HUB share how strategic collaboration has helped them conduct community health needs assessments, provide technical assistance to community health centers, connect patients to food and housing, and much more.

Loud and Clear: Improving Access to Hearing Care in Rural America

March 13, 2024
Studies find that rural people have higher rates of hearing loss than urban people but face significant barriers to care. Experts from a hearing clinic in South Dakota, a telehealth program in Alaska, and a nationally available agriculture safety program discuss these barriers, ways to improve access to hearing care, and the importance of hearing conservation.