- 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
Nursing Student Opportunity to Advance Equity
Are you a nursing student passionate about advancing equity and representation in nursing education? The Pennsylvania Nursing Workforce Coalition (PA-NWC) is seeking members for its Pre-licensure and Post-Graduate Student Nurse Subcommittees.
These subcommittees design, plan, and implement inclusive, engaging events that foster professional growth for nursing students at all stages. Members will collaborate on at least one session for the 2026 Student Nurse Professional Development Day, supporting PA-NWC’s mission to promote equity, representation, and cultural humility in nursing education and the workforce. See below for more information:
Pre-licensure and Post-Graduate Roles & Responsibilities
Term: One year (April 2026 – April 2027)
Deadline to apply: April 10, 2026
APPLY HERE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6B6XXS
New PPC Maps Show Impact of H.R. 1 on Children’s Health, Food Security in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children announces the release of an exclusive, interactive series of 24 maps that show, in unprecedented local detail, how H.R. 1’s cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will affect health care access, food security, and economic well-being in every corner of the state.
As federal changes have begun to take effect, it is anticipated that deep cuts and eligibility changes to these critical programs will negatively affect children and their families, leading to the loss of health coverage and reduced food assistance.
In Pennsylvania and across the country:
- Medicaid is the single largest insurer of children. More than 1.1 million Pennsylvania children rely on Medicaid, or 40% of all children in the state.
- SNAP is the most extensive child anti-hunger program. Over 309,000 SNAP households in Pennsylvania include children, making kids among the most vulnerable to food assistance cuts.
The maps show impacts geographically by county and state House and Senate legislative districts.
Click here for the report and maps.
New Report Highlights Importance of Long-Term Services and Supports
A new policy brief investigates the Importance of Long-Term Services and Supports to a High-Performance Rural Health System: Demographic, Policy and Economic Challenges.
The long-term services and supports (LTSS) system is an important element of a high performing rural health system. The purpose of this brief is to assess the potential for transforming the LTSS system while it faces considerable challenges driven by demographic, economic and policy forces. The policy forces include the potential impact of planned expenditure reductions to Medicaid over the 2026-2034 period, with intended as well as unintended effects.
Prepared by the RUPRI Health Panel: Alva O. Ferdinand, DrPh, JD; Mark Holmes, PhD; Alana D. Knudson, PhD; Jennifer P. Lundblad, PhD, MBA; A. Clinton MacKinney, MD, MS; Timothy D. McBride, PhD; and Keith J. Mueller, PhD (Chair)
Contact: Keith J. Mueller, PhD; keith-mueller@uiowa.edu, Chair, RUPRI Health Panel, University of Iowa College of Public Health, 1-319-384-3832
Now Open! Million Hearts® 2026 Hypertension Control Challenge
High blood pressure remains a critical public health challenge, affecting nearly 120 million American adults, yet only about a quarter have their condition under control. A higher rate of hypertension among rural residents remains a major factor that may contribute to their higher risk of potentially preventable premature deaths compared to urban residents. The consequences of uncontrolled hypertension are severe and far-reaching—from heart attacks and strokes to chronic kidney disease and cognitive decline. These outcomes are largely preventable through effective blood pressure management.
The Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Challenge recognizes clinicians, medical practices, and health systems in the United States and its territories that have helped at least 80% of their patients with high blood pressure get it under control. Since 2012, Million Hearts® has recognized 199 Hypertension Control Champions in 44 states and has shared their successful strategies for blood pressure control.
The 2026 Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Challenge is open from March 10 through April 30, 2026, for applications to join these outstanding health care professionals.
- Team-Based Care to Manage Hypertension in Rural Iowa (Sioux Center, Iowa)
- Hypertension Control Innovation in Rural Settings (Bering Strait region in Alaska)
- Excellence in Hypertension Control in a Rural Setting (Lamar, Colorado)
- Rural Kansas Physicians Collaborate to Control Patients’ Blood Pressure (Plainville, Kansas)
Join this collaborative effort to prevent heart disease and stroke nationwide by:
- Encouraging high-performing practices, large or small, to enter the 2026 Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Challenge.
- Inviting those who have not yet reached 80% blood pressure control to read Champion success stories and use the Hypertension Control Change Package to find resources that can help.
- Promoting the Challenge by reaching out to practices that are achieving 80% control and sharing social media messages and graphics about the Challenge and the importance of blood pressure control.
Hypertension Control Champions will be announced in the fall of 2026. If you have questions, please email millionhearts@cdc.gov with “Million Hearts Hypertension Control Challenge” in the subject line.
New Safety Net Data Tool Launched
The Urban Institute’s new State of the Safety Net data tool allows users to explore national- and state-level estimates of eligibility and participation across major safety net programs—including SNAP, WIC, and TANF—to better understand who qualifies, who receives benefits, and where gaps remain.
New Report Examines Challenges for Black Families with Young Children
A new report using national survey data examines the experiences of Black families with young children, focusing on economic stability, health, child care access, and community well-being. It highlights the challenges many families face related to financial hardship and access to services, as well as the strengths they draw on through family connections, community networks, and cultural traditions.
New CDC Resources Launched for Rural Public Health Data Analysis
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Rural Health has released new resources designed for public health professionals and others working with data. The Rural Health Science Tip Sheets provide guidance and examples for selecting and applying rural-urban classification variables, accounting for demographic differences, and strengthening the rigor and relevance of rural data analyses.
These resources can help researchers approach their work with greater confidence and accuracy, leading to improved analytic studies and interpretation of results.
Add the Rural Health Science Tip Sheets to your research and data analysis toolkit. Share these resources with colleagues in your network to help ensure rural communities are accurately reflected in public health data reporting and program decisions.
Better rural health research and analysis start with good data and the right tools to understand it. That is why the CDC Office of Rural Health has developed tip sheets to help you:
- Define and understand what makes an area rural.
- Apply rural categories when analyzing data.
- Present rural findings clearly and accurately.
Share these tools with your network to foster collaboration, improve accuracy, and strengthen efforts in public health. https://bit.ly/4uihVUS.
For more information about CDC’s ongoing work in rural public health, please visit www.cdc.gov/rural-health, and check our web page regularly for new rural health science tip sheets. For additional support or to explore collaboration opportunities, contact the CDC Office of Rural Health at ruralhealth@cdc.gov.
Pennsylvania Budget Continues Support for Free Period Products in Schools
The Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Education announced that $3 million allocated in the 2025/26 budget will be distributed to more than 750 Pennsylvania school districts, intermediate units, career and technical centers, and brick-and-mortar charter schools to continue providing free period products for their students.
Building on historic, first-time investments of $3 million over each of the past two years, Governor Shapiro’s budget proposal for 2026/27 includes another $3 million to help schools provide free period products for students.
The funding enables schools to provide students with access to period products at no cost, in line with efforts to improve health equity.
PA Physicians Are Still “On Call” for Childhood Immunizations
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is continuing to work with physicians across the Commonwealth to create a series of short social media videos on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube to provide health care providers’ perspectives on the value of vaccines that are available to prevent diseases.
The Shapiro Administration remains committed to standing with medical experts, to trust science, and to support evidence-based vaccine guidance. The Administration continues to recommend following the vaccine schedule for children developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics to protect Pennsylvania’s children from vaccine-preventable diseases.
For more information on vaccinations in Pennsylvania, visit www.pa.gov/vaccines.
Proposed SAM.gov Registration Adds DEI and Immigration Certifications for Federal Grantees
Federal grantees should be aware that the General Services Administration (GSA) has proposed requiring applicants, both when initially registering in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and during each annual renewal, to agree to three new certifications.
These certifications would affirm that grantees:
- Do not operate programs promoting “illegal DEI” or “discriminate on the basis of race or color” in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws;
- Will not knowingly transport, conceal, harbor, shield or hire “an illegal alien;” and
- Will not “fund, subsidize or facilitate violence, terrorism… or threaten public safety or national security.”
GSA’s proposal, “Information Collection; System for Award Management Registration Requirement for Financial Assistance Recipients,” seeks to align longstanding financial assistance representations and certifications in SAM.gov with the Administration’s new policies.