- Biden-Harris Administration Releases National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and First-Ever Federal Action Plan
- Biden-Harris Administration Takes Historic Action to Increase Access to Quality Care, and Support to Families and Care Workers
- Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don't Meet Them.
- Rural Jails Turn to Community Health Workers To Help the Newly Released Succeed
- Rural Communities Face Primary Care Physician Shortage
- Miles for Milk: How Student-Run Grocery Store Reshaped Rural Community's Food Access
- Native Americans Have Shorter Life Spans, and It's Not Just Due to Lack of Health Care
- Promotoras Play Essential Role in Connecting Farmworkers with Health Care in Rural NorCal
- Using Medicaid to Address Young People's Mental Health Needs in School Settings
- Across the Country, Amish Populations Are on the Rise
- Sunsets, Wildlife and Limited Care: Challenges of Aging in Place in Rural America
- City-Country Mortality Gap Widens amid Persistent Holes in Rural Health Care Access
- Tribal Environmental Impact Network
- Minnesota's Rural Ambulance Providers Look to State Capitol for Their Own Lifeline
- Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Support the Primary Care Workforce
Chairman Pai Announces Plan for $200 Million COVID-19 Telehealth Program
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced his plan for a COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which includes $200 million to support healthcare providers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program would help providers purchase telehealth equipment and necessary bandwidth to provide remote care to uninfected patients. Read more here.
With $349 Billion in Emergency Small Business Capital Cleared, SBA and Treasury Begin Unprecedented Public-Private Mobilization Effort to Distribute Funds
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury Department announced the initiation of the Paycheck Protection Program, established through the CARES Act. This program mobilizes banks and other lending institutions to provide small businesses with the capital they need to keep their workforce employed and pay operating expenses during COVID-19. Read more here.
Optimizing Ventilator Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an open letter to the healthcare community asking they implement measures to maximize the number of ventilators available during the coronavirus pandemic. The measures include adhering to social distancing practices, optimizing the use of mechanical ventilators, ensuring data-driven requests and usage of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) of ventilators and equipment, and increasing the capacity of the SNS. Read more here.
Why Coronavirus Could Hit Rural Areas Harder
Daily Yonder, March 24, 2020
By Shannon Monnat Transmission rates may be lower in rural areas, the percentage of cases resulting in death and other serious complications could be higher in rural than in urban areas.
As rates of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection and death continue to rise, it is important to consider how rural areas may be differentially affected. On the one hand, rural parts of the U.S. may be comparatively better off than urban places due to lower population density in rural areas. Lower population density reduces opportunities for virus spread. On the other hand, there are several features of rural populations and places that increase their risk of coronavirus-related mortality and other long-term health impacts.
These include the realities that rural populations are older and have higher rates of several chronic health conditions, and rural areas have a less robust health care infrastructure to deal with coronavirus cases. Rural economies may also be affected in different ways than their urban counterparts, which has implications for long-term rural population health outcomes.
Rural Assembly COVID-19 Resources List
Find several resources for rural communities during the COVID-19 response. Rural Assembly will continue to add to this list, and they hope you’ll send your favorites, too. Find the list here.
Could Shuttered Rural Hospitals Reopen to Treat Pandemic?
Reopening closed rural hospitals could be faster and more efficient than building temporary hospitals, says a rural healthcare advocate. But the cancellation of normal hospital services is straining the financial resources of rural facilities even more. Read more here.
Pandemic Spreads into Rural America at Rate Similar to Urban Areas
Rural America was slower to report cases of COVID-19. But the disease is now spreading at least as quickly in rural areas as urban ones. Read more here.
Healthcare System Simultaneously Has Too Many and Not Enough Healthcare Workers
The COVID-19 crisis is forcing layoffs at rural hospitals at a time when clinics need more help caring for coronavirus patients. Will the system respond in time? Read more here.
States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to Coronavirus – WalletHub Study
With the U.S. experiencing a record number of initial unemployment claims, WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to Coronavirus, along with accompanying videos.
To identify which states have experienced the largest unemployment increases, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key metrics. These metrics compare initial unemployment claim increases for the week of March 23, 2020 to both the same week in 2019 and the first week of 2020. Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.
|
States with Biggest Unemployment Increases |
States with Smallest Unemployment Increases |
| 1. Louisiana | 42. Idaho |
| 2. North Carolina | 43. New York |
| 3. Indiana | 44. Illinois |
| 4. New Hampshire | 45. Arkansas |
| 5. Florida | 46. Alaska |
| 6. Virginia | 47. West Virginia |
| 7. Michigan | 48. Wyoming |
| 8. Kentucky | 49. Wisconsin |
| 9. District of Columbia | 50. Connecticut |
| 10. New Mexico | 51. Oregon |
CDC Guidance on People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released interim guidance for responding to COVID-19 among people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. The guidance provides information and actions for health departments, homeless service organizations, housing authorities and others serving people without homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can also access resources on the National Health Care for the Homeless website.