- 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
- Over 3,000 Homes on the Navajo Nation Receive Accurate Addresses for the First Time
- Rural Population Grows for Second Consecutive Year
- Rapides Library Offers Telehealth to a Town Without Doctors
- Rural Infection Preventionists Need Community Support
- New Federal Health IT Strategy Sets Sights on a Heathier, More Innovative, and More Equitable Health Care Experience
Updated: Rural Crosswalk for COVID-19 Waivers and Flexibilities
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated their summary of the COVID-19-related waivers and flexibilities that affect Rural Health Clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Critical Access Hospitals, rural skilled nursing facilities, and rural hospitals to include those from the most recent Interim Final Rule with Comment (IFC)-4.
Medicare Extreme and Uncontrollable Exceptions Applications – Due December 31
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is encouraging clinicians to submit an application now if there are concerns about the effect of COVID-19 on their performance data for the Quality Payment Program. Learn more details about how the extreme and uncontrollable exception will change data reporting requirements. Clinicians should cite COVID-19 as the reason for the application.
Emergency Call for Volunteer Health Care Professionals
The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Rural Medicine Program seeks emergency volunteers for Indian Health Service sites within the Great Plains Area. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Indian and Alaska Native persons appear to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and insufficient public health resources may contribute to the disparity. Qualifying volunteers are physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and respiratory therapists who are currently licensed in any of the 50 US states. MGH anticipates that travel expenses will be eligible for reimbursement. Please direct questions to rosebuddoctors@gmail.com.
CARES Act Supports Online Resource for Professional Licensure
The website for the Multi-Discipline Licensure Resource Project was created to support pandemic response through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the FORHP-supported Licensure Portability Program. Created by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, the site provides up-to-date information on emergency regulation and licensing in each state for psychologists, occupational therapists, physical assistants, and social workers.
New Information on RMOMS Program
A pilot federal grant program introduced in the 2019, Rural Maternal and Obstetric Management Strategies (RMOMS) will run until August 2023 to improve maternal care in rural communities. New information added to the website lists the three rural networks funded last year and provides more detailed information about the grantees and their activities.
Rural Health Care Surge Readiness
Rural communities face unique health care challenges in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Healthcare Resilience Working Group has developed a collection of essential resources, tools, and trainings that can help health care workers and organizations – including EMS or 9-1-1, inpatient or hospital care, ambulatory care, and long-term care – prepare for and respond to COVID-19. New and updated resources are added regularly like the PPE Preservation Planning Guide and Telemedicine Hack training.
Access the one-stop shop for rural health care.
Key Policy Challenges and Opportunities to Improve Care for People with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAM) recently published, “Key Policy Challenges and Opportunities to Improve Care for People with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Proceedings of a Workshop.” This HRSA-supported report is a product of NAM’s Forum on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders and describes the presentations and discussions held in October 2019 during the inaugural workshop.
Read the report.
Pennsylvania Rate of Uninsured Children Rises to 4.6 Percent
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Nov. 16, that the rate of uninsured children in Pennsylvania rose to 4.6 percent in 2019, representing about 128,000 individuals, according to Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. The highest uninsured rates were in rural counties, according to the report. Read more.
How Pfizer Plans to Distribute Its Vaccine
Pfizer announced that early analysis showed that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate was more than 90 percent effective. Now Pfizer, government agencies and the public health community are focused on how to make millions of doses of the vaccine and distribute them to the hospitals, clinics and pharmacies where people will receive two separate injections. If the FDA approves the vaccine in the coming weeks, as expected, Pfizer could in theory vaccinate millions of Americans by the end of the year. However, as the New York Times notes, this process hinges on the cooperation of multiple federal, state and local agencies, as well as providers and other stakeholders. The full New York Times article is available here.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Outpatient Care
In their fifth report on outpatient health care service utilization during the pandemic, the Commonwealth Fund tracked outpatient visit trends through Oct. 10. The report notes that while utilization has rebounded significantly from earlier in the pandemic, providers continue to face challenges keeping patients and clinicians safe while also maintaining revenue. The report provides charts illustrating that overall visit counts per week have fully rebounded. In total, weekly visit counts now slightly exceed pre-pandemic levels. However, there is considerable variation by patient age, geographic area, clinical specialty and insurance coverage. The full report is available here.