- Weathering the Storm Together: Community Resiliency Hubs Hold the Promise of Local Self-Sufficiency and Supportive Mutual Aid
- Virginia Tech Researchers Bring Rural Families into the Nation's Largest Study of Early Brain and Child Development
- Expanding Access to Cancer Care for Rural Veterans
- VA: Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee, Notice of Meeting
- Scaling Rural Wellness with Clever Collaboration
- Stroudwater Associates Enhances Rural Healthcare Dashboard with New Data to Support State Rural Transformation Grant Applications
- Harvest Season Is Here: Busy Times Call for Increased Focus on Safety and Health
- HHS Dispatches More Than 70 Public Health Service Officers to Strengthen Care in Tribal Communities
- Wisconsin Rural Hospitals Team up to Form Network
- CMS Launches Landmark $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program
- American Heart Association Provides Blood Pressure Kits at Southeast Arkansas Regional Libraries to Support Rural Health
- Broadening Access to Minimally Invasive Surgery Could Narrow Rural-Urban Health Gaps
- Instead of Selling, Some Rural Hospitals Band Together To Survive
- Help Line Gives Pediatricians Crucial Mental Health Information to Help Kids, Families
- Rural Health: A Strategic Opportunity for Governors
Pennsylvania Announces Vaccination Recommendation Update
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration addressed national vaccination policies and resulting vaccine access issues:
- September 4, 2025 – Pennsylvania pharmacists can now follow vaccine recommendations from trusted authorities — including the ACOG, the AAP, the AAFP, and the FDA. Read the full press release.
- September 18, 2025 – Several northeastern states including Pennsylvania, other northeast states, and New York City have been collaborating since early 2025 and have now officially announced the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, a voluntary regional coalition of public health agencies and leaders, brought together to share expertise, improve coordination, enhance capacity, strengthen regional readiness, and promote and protect evidence-based public health. The Collaborative’s shared purpose is to work together in new ways – optimizing the use of shared resources, innovating and reimagining core services – to ensure trust in public health, respond to public health threats, advance community health and strengthen confidence in vaccines and science-based medicine. Read the full press release .
- September 22, 2025 – The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) issued new guidance expanding the list of organizations Pennsylvanians and their doctors should consult for vaccine recommendations to include the AAP, AAFP, and ACOG. Read the full press release.
Federal Government Publishes Update to Vaccination Recommendations
Seven of the current Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) members were appointed by the Health and Humans Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in June, following the earlier dismissal of all 17 members of the ACIP. Kennedy appointed an additional five members on Sept. 15. These members met on Sept. 18 and 19. In several ways, this committee and this meeting were different from typical ACIP meetings. Prior to this meeting, representatives of the liaison organizations and CDC subject matter experts were dismissed from ACIP work groups. The standardized Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) process typically presented for evaluating the quality of evidence considered by work groups was not used, nor was ACIP’s standard Evidence to Recommendations deliberation framework, normally used by work groups and presented to support proposed recommendations.
At the Sept 18 and 19 meeting, the ACIP voted on the following items:
- To NOT recommend use of MMRV vaccine (ProQuad, Merck) for children younger than age 4 years. The committee passed a VFC program resolution to align it with this recommendation.
- To recommend hepatitis B testing for all pregnant women (a current recommendation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force [USPSTF]).
- To recommend individual-based decision-making (also known as shared clinical decision-making [SCDM]) for COVID-19 vaccination of all people age 6 months and older following discussion with a healthcare professional. ACIP also voted to recommend that additional topics be added to the COVID-19 vaccine information statements (VIS) and covered in informed consent discussions.
ACIP Chair Martin Kulldorff announced the formation of two new ACIP work groups:
- Vaccines in Pregnancy
- Childhood and Adolescent Vaccine Schedule (to review the schedule in its entirety, rather than individual vaccines)
The federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) program and a variety of aspects of state vaccine policy, insurance coverage, and scope of practice for some licensed professionals are all tied to the decisions of ACIP. The next ACIP meeting is expected to be held on Oct. 22–23, 2025. Information about past and future ACIP meetings may be found on the ACIP website.
Help Wanted? The Potential of Infrastructure Jobs
Infrastructure workers fix pipes, install powerlines, build roads, and with increased spending on infrastructure in recent years, there’s a need for workers with the skills to do those jobs. A new report looks into infrastructure occupations in the Third District states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Findings include:
- Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania tend to have an older population compared with the rest of the nation. While this trend could lead to infrastructure workforce shortages in the future, it could also create opportunities.
- More than 80 percent of infrastructure jobs in these three states are considered “opportunity occupations” — jobs that pay above an area’s median wage and don’t require a four-year college degree.
Many infrastructure jobs, regardless of their pay level, share similar skills, suggesting that these sectors could provide opportunities for workers without a four-year degree and others to move up the economic ladder.
New Rule Makes Medicare Advantage Provider Networks Easier to View
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized that Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations must submit to CMS, and update as needed, their provider directory data for publication on Medicare Plan Finder, the tool that beneficiaries use to compare and select Medicare Advantage plans. MA organizations must also attest at least annually that the directory information is correct. The intent is to provide Medicare beneficiaries with clear, up-to-date information about which doctors and facilities are in a plan’s network and what care options exist locally.
Rural-Urban Comparisons of Nursing Staff Turnover Among Skilled Nursing Facilities
This study from the University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center assessed facility-level turnover rates for nursing and registered nurse (RN) personnel across levels of rurality and by region. A total of 14,986 facilities were included in the August 2023 data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Of those facilities, 72.3% were in urban areas.
Health Insurance Coverage in Rural and Urban Areas in the U.S., 2023
This brief from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis outlines the health insurance status of people in the U.S., by residence (rural and urban) in 2023, with additional breakdowns by age groups. The analysis is based on data from the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS), released September 2024 by the U.S. Census Bureau, providing a snapshot of coverage for a point-in-time with national data.
Recovery-to-Work Helps Appalachia Succeed
Connecting Appalachians who are in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) with quality jobs is key to both long-term recovery and regional economic growth.
That’s why we’ve awarded more than $11M to 32 recovery-to-work projects through our Investments Supporting Partnerships in Recovery Ecosystems (INSPIRE) Initiative. 🌟
The funding will help organizations in nine states address workforce gaps and economic challenges due to the impact of SUD.
Since 2021, we’ve invested nearly $66M in 200 recovery-to-work projects. And we’re seeing positive change! According to data from our latest Diseases of Despair report, from 2021 to 2023, the overall diseases of despair mortality rate decreased nearly 10 percent in the Appalachian Region.
New Census Data Show Little Change in Poverty and Health Insurance Rates for Pennsylvania Children from 2023 to 2024
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released the results of the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS), a reliable, annual source for up-to-date information on social, economic, and housing data and trends every year. This 1-year ACS data snapshot provides local statistics on a broad range of demographic and economic topics, including health insurance coverage, household income, educational attainment, and more.
Here are some data points most relevant to the well-being of Pennsylvania children compared to the prior year:
Poverty
- The number of Pennsylvania children under age 18 living in families below the federal poverty level (less than 100% FPL) decreased from 404,000 to almost 396,000, or from 16% to15%.
- Stark racial gaps remain for children living in poverty. Approximately 31% of Black or African American children live in poverty, as well as 26% of Hispanic or Latino children; 10% of Non-Hispanic White children, and 20% of children with two or more races. The largest percentage increase was for Asian and Pacific Islander children living in poverty, which increased from 10% to 13%.
- The number of Pennsylvania children under age18 living in low-income families (less than 200% FPL) fell from 913,000 to 879,000, decreasing from 35% to 34%.
Early Learning
- The rate of Pennsylvania children under age 6 who have all available parents in the labor force remained at 72%.
- Pennsylvania children under age 6 eligible for Pre-K Counts (less than 300% FPL) decreased from 54% to 51%.
Child Welfare
- More than 63,700 grandparents (a decrease of more than 15%) are responsible for nearly 80,300 grandchildren (a decrease of 15%).
Like last year, Pennsylvania’s rates in the latest release of the ACS remain in line with national averages. The 2024 ACS shows that Pennsylvania was one of 23 states with a statistically significant decrease in Medicaid coverage for children under age 19. However, child uninsured rate remains below the national average of 6%. The Medicaid unwinding process, spurred by the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, impacted the first few months of 2024. The relatively small change in the child uninsured rate is directly related to advocates working with government to streamline the process.
Stay tuned for additional context provided in our annual State of Children’s Health report to be released later this year about why the increase in uninsured children could be a warning sign for years to come.
Check out our data webpage to access these updates and more within the Pennsylvania KIDS COUNT® Data Center.
ARC Awards $11 Million to 32 Projects Supporting Appalachians in Recovery from Substance Use Disorder
Through ARC’s INSPIRE Initiative, the award package will expand support services to help Appalachians in recovery enter and re-enter the workforce in nine Appalachian states.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) awarded $11 million to 32 projects through its Investments Supporting Partnerships in Recovery Ecosystems (INSPIRE) Initiative, which aims to address workforce gaps and economic challenges due to the impact of substance use disorder (SUD) in Appalachia.
ARC’s 2025 INSPIRE grantees will strengthen the SUD recovery ecosystem in 165 counties across nine Appalachian states— Georgia, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia —by providing community support to help individuals in SUD recovery enter or re-enter the workforce while maintaining their recovery. Twenty of the impacted counties are first-time INSPIRE award recipients.
“In order to have a healthy Appalachian economy, we must make sure we have a healthy Appalachian workforce,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin. “I am so proud of the way ARC’s INSPIRE initiative ecosystem empowers Appalachians in substance use disorder recovery to gain the training, resources and support they need to enter or re-enter the workforce while also becoming productive members of their families and communities.”
Since April 2021, ARC’s INSPIRE Initiative has invested $65.7 million in 200 projects that have impacted 380 counties across all 13 Appalachian states. These investments have secured an additional $48.1 million in matching project funds and are projected to improve nearly 4,000 businesses and help prepare over 18,100 individuals for new job opportunities.
New Data Reveals Reduction in SUD-related Deaths in Appalachia
SUD recovery-to-work initiatives may be starting to make an impact on overdose mortality, according to a new ARC research report that examines trends in diseases of despair including overdose, suicide, and liver disease. From 2021 to 2023, the overdose mortality rate decreased 10 percent in the Appalachian Region. However, work remains to be done, as these rates—in both Appalachia and the rest of the country—remain much higher than the pre-pandemic figures of 2019.
Learn more about ARC’s INSPIRE Initiative and our new INSPIRE grantees at arc.gov/SUD.
Central Penn College Announces Scholarship Opportunities
The Central Penn College Education Foundation is offering scholarships to help aspiring dental professionals achieve their educational goals. Specifically, the foundation is offering 20 full scholarships for dental hygienists interested in exploring a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management or a Master of Professional Studies in Organizational Leadership. The programs are asynchronous so that working individuals can learn on a flexible schedule. These scholarships are made possible through the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation.