- Fact Sheet: The Biden-Harris Administration Highlights Investments in Rural America, Invites Public Nominations for Rural Innovators Initiative
- Rural Victims of Intimate-Partner Violence Need More Resources and Support, Study Finds
- A Tribe in Maine Is Using Opioid Settlement Funds on a Sweat Lodge to Treat Addiction
- Fact Sheet: USDA, HHS Announce New Actions to Reduce Impact and Spread of H5N1
- Call for Experts: Forum on Aging, Disability, and Independence
- Bill to Expand Definition of 'Village' Qualifying for Water Funds Passes Alaska House
- Child Care Workers Caught in Middle of Michigan's Broken Child Care System
- Few Options Available for Substance Abuse Treatment in the Big Bend
- In Rural Texas, ERs Are Facing a Growing Mental Health Crisis
- Ways and Means Members Put Forth Solutions to Strengthen Telehealth Access and Improve Health Care for Rural Communities
- Sage Memorial Hospital in Navajo Nation Constructs New Facility to Improve Health Care
- How the State, Tribes and Federal Government Are Working to Curb SD's Syphilis Epidemic
- Rural Children Struggle to Access Hospital Services, Say Researchers
- RPHARM Program Fulfills Need for Rural Pharmacists
- A Pilot Program in Rural Vermont Hopes to Build a Blueprint for Substance Abuse Recovery
USDA’s Announces New Rural Data Gateway
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new online tool showing its rural investments, overall and for each state, going back to 2012. USDA’s Rural Development division offers a wide range of loans, grants, and loan guarantees (many in our Ongoing Opportunities section, below) that provide essential services, help create jobs and support economic development. With the Rural Data Gateway, USDA shows where and how Rural Development has supported local and regional economies in the last 11 years through 69 programs.
The Internet For All Map Has Been Released
The interactive map shows 56 states and territories that have received grants from the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. More than $42 billion has been committed to infrastructure planning and deployment nationwide. Click each state or territory on the map to learn the details of current internet availability, amount of funding, and contact information for the state/territory Broadband Office.
read About a New Approach to Integrating Behavioral Health in Rural Primary Care Practices
This resource highlights the role of a behavioral health care manager (BHCM) to screen and monitor patients, coordinate care with other healthcare providers, track treatment response, and recommend patient medications. The University of Rochester is one of three Centers of Excellence for the federal Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP).
Watch the Orientation to Rural Emergency Hospital Conversion and Technical Assistance Presentation
Here, you’ll find a recording and presentation slides from the January 18 webinar that gives an overview of the new Rural Emergency Hospital designation, policy and regulatory requirements, and an introduction to technical assistance provided by the Rural Health Redesign Center.
Rural Provider Participation Has Started in Accountable Care Relationships
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released information on three Medicare accountable care initiatives in which groups of providers collaborate to improve care. For 2023, the Medicare Shared Savings Program will have 456 accountable care organizations (ACOs), including 2,240 Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and 467 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). The ACO Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (ACO REACH) model will have 132 ACOs with 78 RHCs and 15 CAHs. The Kidney Care Choices Model will have 130 entities with more than 8,000 providers participating, including newly expanded areas in North Dakota and South Dakota.
A Rural Hospitals Make Gains in Interoperability
According to a new report, interoperability – the ability of healthcare providers to exchange electronic health information – continues to improve among hospitals. As of 2021, 88 percent of hospitals engaged in sending and obtaining patient health information electronically. The rate of availability of outside information at the point of care grew over 20 percent in 2021 reaching 62 percent nationwide. For rural and small hospitals the rate grew by more than 26 percent, reaching a rate of 48 percent. Additionally, usage of information received electronically from outside sources by rural and small hospitals increased at twice the rate of hospitals nationally (over 40% vs. over 20%) between 2017 and 2021. The report concludes these less-resourced hospitals are still not on par with their counterparts, indicating the need to continue addressing challenges with having full access to electronic information from external sources.
OMB Proposes Updates to Race and Ethnicity Standards
Last week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a notice and request for comments on their effort to improve the quality and usefulness of Federal race and ethnicity data. The topics for evaluation include 1) whether the guidelines for collecting and reporting race and ethnicity data can be improved, 2) how to best address detailed race and ethnicity groups; and 3) the wording of questions and instructions for respondents. The working group is also seeking participants for their virtual, bi-monthly listening sessions to hear directly from members of the public. According to one study analyzing the latest Census data, the rural population declined between 2010 and 2020 to just 14 percent of the U.S. total. At the same time, racial and ethnic diversity in rural areas increased overall, with Hispanics representing 9 percent of the rural population, followed by non-Hispanic Black people, representing 7.7 percent. Nearly one-third of all rural children (32.5 percent) come from racial or ethnic minority populations, compared to 28.1 percent in 2010. Comments are due by April 12, 2023.
Changes Were Made in Service Offerings Post-System Affiliation in Rural Hospitals
Among the findings in this policy brief from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Analysis: gains in services occurred more frequently in hospitals that left healthcare systems, while the majority of service losses occurred in hospitals that joined systems.
The Community Socio-Demographics and Rural Hospital Survival Analysis Has Been Released
Among the key findings in this study from the Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health: among rural hospitals at risk of financial distress, closures disproportionately took place in communities with specific sociodemographic characteristics: lower incomes, a lower percentage of college graduates, larger populations, lower percentages of the White population, higher percentages of the Black population, higher child poverty, higher unemployment rates, higher uninsurance rates for those younger than 65, a higher percentage of adults reporting fair or poor health, higher obesity levels, and higher rates of smoking.
New Guidelines Have Been Released for Pregnant People with HIV
This week, a federal panel of experts issued new guidelines for people with HIV who are pregnant, have recently given birth, or are trying to conceive. Thanks to antiretroviral medications and other viral suppression strategies, parent-to-child transmission of HIV is less than 1 percent in the United States. The updated recommendations include new information about the use of antiretroviral drugs before and during pregnancy, guidance for pregnant people who have not achieved viral suppression, and infant feeding options. The Panel on Antiretroviral Therapy and Medical Management of Children Living with HIV also co-authored sections published in the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Pediatric HIV Infection. Updates to these guidelines are anticipated in April 2023.