- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- NRHA Continues Partnership to Advance Rural Oral Health
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
- Q&A: What Are the Challenges and Opportunities of Small-Town Philanthropy?
New Releases from the ADA Health Policy Institute
The American Dental Association (ADA) Health Policy Institute (HPI) released an annual update on trends from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the National Health Interview Survey. This includes trends in dental care utilization, dental insurance coverage, and cost barriers. Data is broken down by population age, race/ethnicity, income level, and insurance type. Among the findings, only 40 percent of working-age adults had a dental visit. They also found that dental care continues to pose the highest cost barriers when compared to other health services such as medical, prescription drugs, and mental health.
Click here to review the trend updates.
HPI also released an update on Medicaid reimbursement for child and adult dental care services by state using data from state Medicaid fee schedules. The data table includes Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement as a percentage of average dentist charge and as a percentage of average private dental insurance payment rates.
Broadband Authority Provides Updates to Pennsylvania Broadband Map Data
The PBDA would like to remind stakeholders of recent updates to the Pennsylvania Broadband Map, to include posting of BEAD Broadband Serviceable Areas (BSAs). A BSA is a Census Block Group or an aggregation of multiple Census Block Groups, which eligible applicants will use to develop proposed project areas for consideration under BEAD. When opening the map, BSAs are identified on the initial layer. Once you zoom in to a specific area on the map and click on an individual BSA you will find additional information about the selection to include the tentative number of eligible BSLs (Broadband Serviceable Locations), estimated reference cost per BSL, and an estimated cost to build out the entire BSA. Note that these costs are estimated and may differ from applicant’s anticipated costs.
While the eligible BSLs are not yet final for each BSA, this level of detail will help interested BEAD applicants begin to evaluate potential project areas. PBDA is collaborating with NTIA to finalize the list of BSLs, and upon approval by NTIA, the map will be updated with this information and a CSV file of all locations will be available on the PBDA website. The final listing of eligible BSLs will be posted for at least 10 days prior to PBDA beginning to accept applications for the BEAD Program.
Important Updates on Medicaid and CHIP Renewals: Recent CMS Releases, Updated School-Based and Early Education and Care Toolkit, and More
This Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) listserv includes the following Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) renewal information:
- Recent CMS Releases
- Updated Toolkit: Reaching Children and Families in School-Based and Early Education and Care Settings
- Free CMS Printed Product Ordering
RECENT CMS RELEASES
In September 2024, CMS released an informational bulletin to provide updated information on the timing and expectations for all states to achieve compliance with all federal renewal requirements, including states that implemented CMS-approved mitigation strategies and those who have since identified areas of non-compliance with renewal requirements. Compliance plans will detail how states will achieve compliance with all applicable requirements no later than December 31, 2026. To accompany the informational bulletin, CMS also released a compliance template, which the state should use to submit the compliance plan and a slide deck to serve as an additional resource on renewal compliance guidance.
- Informational Bulletin: State Compliance with Medicaid and CHIP Renewal Requirements by December 31, 2026
- Compliance Template: Assessment and Plan for Compliance with All Federal Medicaid and CHIP Renewal Requirements
- Slide Deck: Overview of Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility Renewals
UPDATED TOOLKIT: REACHING CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN SCHOOL-BASED AND EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE SETTINGS
CMS recently updated the Reaching Children and Families in School-Based and Early Education and Care Settings Toolkit on the Medicaid and CHIP Renewals Outreach and Educational Resources page. This update includes evergreen language that education and early education professionals can use to share information about regular Medicaid and CHIP renewals with parents and families. The toolkit includes ready-to-use resources, such as:
- Letter from School/ECE Leadership to Teachers, Nurses, Counselors, etc.
- Letter from Schools/ECE, Teachers, Nurses, Counselors, etc. to Parents/Students
- Social Media Messages
- “Three Things You Can Do” Checklist
- Robocall Script
- No Reply Text/Group Message/Email
FREE CMS PRINTED PRODUCT ORDERING
Select CMS Medicaid and CHIP renewals materials are available to order for free through the CMS Product Ordering website. To order free printed materials, visit the CMS Product Ordering website. If you do not have an account, you will need to request an account on the login page. Once you log into your account, you can enter the term “Unwinding” in the search bar to view the materials that are available for order.
Materials on enrolling in health coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace are also available to order for free through the CMS Product Ordering website. Once you log into your account, you can select the tab titled “Marketplace” to view materials related to Marketplace enrollment, Coverage to Care, and more that are available to order.
ARC Awards $68.2 Million for Economic Revitalization in Appalachia’s Coal-Impacted Communities
Largest POWER funding package to date is expected to create more than 2,400 new jobs and train over 10,500 workers for new opportunities in Appalachia’s coal-impacted communities across 10 states.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) awarded $68.2 million to 65 projects through its Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative. POWER directs federal resources to economic diversification and revitalization projects in Appalachian communities affected by the downturn of the coal industry.
Today’s award package is ARC’s largest POWER investment since the initiative was launched in 2015, with projects impacting 188 counties in 10 Appalachian states: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. ARC recognizes that Hurricane Helene has impacted multiple Appalachian communities and grantees, including some POWER award recipients. ARC will continue working with affected state and grantee partners to address their needs as they recover and rebuild.
“ARC’s POWER initiative supports coal-impacted communities’ preparation for the next phase of Appalachia’s economy, while ensuring that residents have a say in the course of their own futures,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin. “The investments announced in this round of POWER will help train workers, advance new industries, and build upon the progress already being made toward a brighter future full of economic opportunity for our region.”
ARC’s 2024 POWER awardees and their partners will use funding to strengthen a variety of industries – including advanced manufacturing, entrepreneurship, healthcare, and workforce development – to enhance job training and employment opportunities, create jobs in existing and new industries, and attract new sources of private investment in coal-impacted communities.
ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin announced the awards alongside state and federal partners and grantees at the Mill 19 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, headquarters of POWER grantee Catalyst Connection and sub-grantees Carnegie Mellon University’s Manufacturing Futures Institute and the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute. Catalyst Connection’s CEO Petra Mitchell spoke about the new $2 million POWER grant to help create pathways to employment in advanced manufacturing.
“We are excited for our new POWER project, which will allow us to build on our progress of preparing our regional workforce for in-demand jobs in the advanced manufacturing industry,” said Catalyst Connection President and CEO Petra Mitchell. “Manufacturing jobs offer workers from hard hit Appalachian communities hope and opportunities for family-sustaining wages and community development. When manufacturing companies and workers succeed, everyone in the local community can benefit.”
Since 2015, ARC has invested $484.7 million in 564 projects impacting 365 coal-impacted counties. Collectively, these investments are projected to support nearly 54,000 jobs and prepare nearly 170,000 workers and students for new opportunities in growing industries.
ARC plans to release a notice of solicitations of applications (NOSA) for the POWER Initiative in early 2025.
Learn more about ARC’s POWER Initiative and our new POWER grantees at arc.gov/POWER.
This Rural Hospital Closed Amid COVID. Now It’s Back on Its Feet
From Becker’s Financial Management
Williamson (W.Va.) Memorial Hospital exemplifies a rare success story in today’s challenging healthcare environment.
As the only hospital in Mingo County, it provides healthcare services in a rural area and, as CEO Tim Hatfield puts it, “is seen as a beacon on the hill of hope for our community and region.”
It closed in April 2020 but reopened June 25 under the management of the Williamson Health and Wellness Center.
In conversation with Becker’s, Mr. Hatfield detailed the hospital’s reopening journey and shared future plans for services.
He noted that the June opening of the 76-bed facility has been years in the making, and it began with Williamson Health and Wellness Center CEO C. Donovan “Dino” Beckett, DO, who worked with the board to purchase the hospital.
“The vision was to have an integrated healthcare system,” Mr. Hatfield said.
“In our clinics we have today we have medicine, occupational health, behavioral health, dentistry and optometry. We have a mobile unit that we just received not that long ago, that’s on the road taking care of folks. We have an integration into the school systems with telehealth here in Mingo County, W.Va. So, the only piece that was missing from having a fully integrated healthcare system was the hospital.”
So, the Williamson Health and Wellness Center board and Dr. Beckett led a push to purchase the hospital out of bankruptcy, at a cost of about $3 million.
“The intent was to actually turn the hospital around under new leadership and ownership in less than 30 days and be back open again,” Mr. Hatfield said.
But the pandemic and needed facility repairs got in the way of those plans. The hospital opened in 1988, and around the beginning of the pandemic, all the sewage pipes in the building collapsed.
“The whole first floor had to be dug up — eight feet deep, four feet wide. So what was going to be a 30-day closure and reopening didn’t happen,” Mr. Hatfield said.
“Now you’re in the middle of COVID, so you can’t find folks that want to work, are afraid to work, and you can’t get equipment or supplies in. At the same time, the Williamson Health and Wellness Center took out a couple of personal loans to reinvest close to $16 million, with a little help from the state of Kentucky and some help from [Washington] D.C., to reinvest in the hospital. They completely gutted out the patient rooms and redid them. They remodeled the entire first floor, which consists of the doctor’s office that handles family medicine, as well as a podiatrist, X-ray, lab, RT and the cafeteria. Everything was completely redone over the last four-plus years.”
In January, Mr. Hatfield took the helm, and the hospital successfully applied with CMS to enroll in Medicare and Medicaid. In June, Williamson Memorial opened up for inpatient care. The hospital underwent a survey by the West Virginia Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification and was recommended to CMS for accreditation following this survey. Williamson Memorial received its Medicare billing number on Sept. 28. Shortly thereafter, it received its Medicaid billing number.
“I found out we had just completed our state survey and our licensure survey, and it was all very positive, it was very emotional. I had an opportunity with our directors — we have a safety meeting every morning. I’m very transparent. I’m like, ‘Look, we just finished our survey. Let me tell you what the results were,'” he said.
“And I teared up because, not me, but as a team — the administrative team here, the board and Dr. Beckett — has invested so much time, so much energy, and so many resources from a financial standpoint. Seeing a hospital open becomes a little overwhelming when you think, ‘Wow, we were able to accomplish that.'”
Mr. Hatfield acknowledged that getting to that point — essentially a four-year process — was not always easy and required laying groundwork.
“It was already in place and the infrastructure was there,” he said. “It was just about taking the hospital to the next level.”
Early in the reopening process, there was an area called the “war room.” Members of the C-suite met weekly in a conference room, with three copies of big post-it sheets around the room.
“Each week, we’d color-code what still needed to be done, what was taken care of, and who was responsible for it,” Mr. Hatfield said. “Thirty days before June 25, we were down to one sheet on the wall, and that was a clear sign we were accomplishing what we needed.”
Today, the hospital has a clinic on site for medicine as well as podiatry, which is tied to Williamson Health and Wellness Center, a federally qualified health center. Williamson Memorial admits patients and provides respiratory, inpatient and outpatient care, along with radiology and lab services.
To date, the hospital has initially employed 52 healthcare professionals with an estimated annual payroll of more than $2.4 million. Of the 52 workers, about 65% worked at the hospital before it faced closure in 2020.
This “is great because, when the hospital closed, they had to leave the area for jobs — some 45 minutes to two hours away,” Mr. Hatfield said. “Now they get to come back home and take care of patients here.”
Mr. Hatfield said the hospital also recently hired an emergency room physician director, who will begin in the role Nov. 1, with an anticipated ER opening date in January.
“The last phase of the process is that we have applied — we’ve actually submitted our plans to the state of West Virginia for review — on our OR suite,” he added. “We have a $3 million OR project that will consist of two OR suites and a scoping room, along with a federal recovery room and beds. From start to finish, that will complete the last piece we’re trying to get in place.”
He also sees the potential of the hospital being a catalyst to turn around some of the migration of jobs away from the county.
“For years, mining was the main source of income for most individuals in this community, and there aren’t that many coal mines left,” he said. “So it’s not just about the hope of creating good jobs and patient access.”
“The bigger vision is that we become a stimulus to create more thought processes, to create more jobs that can come alongside healthcare and education. At the same time, we want to see a movement of people who really want to move into rural Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. We’re on the border of Kentucky, so they can understand the quality of life, the culture, and the safety of building relationships.”
New Toolkit Available on Talking to Workers, Understanding the Economy
Building trust. Removing bias. Empowering people to share their experiences.
These are just three things that come from using community-engaged research practices. They are also among the reasons why the Federal Reserve chose these methods to look beyond the numbers to understand the experiences and motivations of workers without a four-year degree in a post-pandemic labor market.
A new toolkit offers insights on using community-engaged research principles gleaned from the Worker Voices Project and shows how others can use them in their own work.
More Mobile Clinics Are Bringing Long-Acting Birth Control to Rural Areas
Twice a month, a 40-foot-long truck transformed into a mobile clinic travels the Rio Grande Valley to provide rural Texans with women’s health care, including birth control.
The clinic, called the UniMóvil, is part of the Healthy Mujeres program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine.
The U.S. has about 3,000 mobile health programs. But Saul Rivas, an OB-GYN, said he wasn’t aware of any that shared the specific mission of Healthy Mujeres when he helped launch the initiative in 2017. “Mujeres” means “women” in Spanish.
It’s now part of a small but growing number of mobile programs aimed at increasing rural access to women’s health services, including long-acting reversible contraception.
There are two kinds of these highly effective methods: intrauterine devices, known as IUDs, and hormonal implants inserted into the upper arm. These birth control options can be especially difficult to obtain — or have removed — in rural areas.
“Women who want to prevent an unintended pregnancy should have whatever works best for them,” said Kelly Conroy, senior director of mobile and maternal health programs at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
The school is launching a mobile women’s health and contraception program in rural parts of the state this month.
Rural areas have disproportionately fewer doctors, including OB-GYNs, than urban areas. And rural providers may not be able to afford to stock long-acting birth control devices or may not be trained in administering them, program leaders say.
Mobile clinics help shrink that gap in rural care, but they can be challenging to operate, said Elizabeth Jones, a senior director at the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association.
Money is the greatest obstacle, Jones said. The Texas program costs up to $400,000 a year. A 2020 study of 173 mobile clinics found they cost an average of more than $630,000 a year. Mobile dental programs were the most expensive, averaging more than $1 million.
While many programs launch with the help of grants, they can be difficult to sustain, especially with over a decade of decreased or stagnant funding to Title X, a federal money stream that helps low-income people receive family planning services.
For example, a mobile contraception program serving rural Pennsylvania lasted less than three years before closing in 2023. It shut down after losing federal funding, said a spokesperson for the clinic that ran it.
Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority Approves $45M for High-Speed Internet in Public Facilities
The Multi-Purpose Community Facilities program grants — approved for 49 projects in 26 counties — will give people free, digital access in public places like schools, local libraries, and community health centers.
The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Executive Director Brandon Carson announced the approval of $45 million in Multi-Purpose Community Facilities grant funding to 49 projects in 26 counties across Pennsylvania. This funding will support key projects in local communities and help connect Pennsylvanians to the internet at places like a primary care health center in Allegheny County, affordable housing in Delaware County, and a public library in Northumberland County.
The PBDA Board of Directors approved the grants to eligible entities with public-facing facilities such as schools, local libraries, and community health centers to make improvements that will ensure people have free access to reliable, high-speed internet.
Today’s approval of the Multi-Purpose Community Facilities grants will help ensure that Pennsylvanians can access the resources they need to further their education, advance career opportunities, and utilize telemedicine options no matter where they live.
“Pennsylvania is leading the way when it comes to driving out these federal dollars to ensure more people have access to the internet. By expanding access to affordable, high-speed internet to every Pennsylvanian, we can create real opportunities for our students, our businesses, and our communities to learn, grow, and thrive,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “Thanks to this historic investment from the federal government, my Administration has the resources to work with our community partners across the Commonwealth to bring reliable internet at high speeds and for affordable prices to every corner and every community in Pennsylvania — and we’ll continue to do that work effectively and efficiently.”
“Investing in public facilities improvements is an essential step in ensuring Pennsylvanians have access to reliable, high-speed internet across the Commonwealth,” said Executive Director Carson. “Public places like our libraries, health centers, and non-profit organizations are the fabric of our communities and this funding will help them better serve Pennsylvanians.”
The Multi-Purpose Community Facilities program was established by the PBDA utilizing a portion of the $279 million in Capital Projects Funds (CPF) awarded to Pennsylvania in June 2022 under the American Rescue Plan Act.
Eligible applicants for funding included, but weren’t limited to, schools, libraries, recreation centers, community health centers, non-profit organizations, municipalities, and local government institutions. The program requires projects be for construction or improvements to full-service community buildings, structures, and public spaces that directly enable work, education, and health monitoring. The physical structure must also be available year-round to the public.
A complete listing of the grants approved by the PBDA Board of Directors can be found here and includes:
$2,000,000 to Primary Care Health Services Inc. in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County
The new 44,112-square-foot Wilford A. Payne Medical Center and office building will be constructed on a surface parking lot adjacent to the current facility. It will become the most significant anchor for the redevelopment of the Homewood community — accommodating significant growth in patient services and providing publicly accessible internet.
$1,500,000 to the Chester Housing Authority in Chester County
The proposed project will launch a Chester e-Health Center to address the health disparities of seniors, lack of access to technology for employment and healthcare, improve access to e-learning training and job boards which are barriers to success for residents in the City of Chester.
$1,617,435 to Fox Township in Elk County
The township is planning to construct a History and Humanities Center to serve Fox Township and surrounding communities. The center will feature, among other things, a public cybercafe and Wi-Fi Hot spot for the public.
$522,205 to Allentown School District in Lehigh County
The Family and Community Engagement & Welcome Center project involves providing a 3,650-square-foot area for central registration for Allentown School District students and families. The space will accommodate activities aimed at creating a fast and easy registration process where students are directly connected to the services they need, including workforce and health monitoring for the public.
$379,000 to the Ralpho Township Public Library in Northumberland County
This project entails the renovation and adaptation of community space within the library. The space will be equipped with amenities such as public computers and privacy pods to support the public’s ability to engage in internet enabled workforce, education, and health monitoring activities.
$787,323 to Liberty Township in Susquehanna County
This project involves the rehabilitation of a public venue, Grange Hall, to enable Liberty Township to establish a centralized hub for the community and address the public’s critical need for broadband access to essential services.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is making progress across the country to ensure Americans have access to affordable high-speed internet,” said U.S. Deputy of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “With these investments in libraries and other community facilities, families in Pennsylvania will gain access to critical services like health care and education.”
In addition to approving the Multi-Purpose Community Facilities funding, under the Shapiro Administration the PBDA has also:
- Announced in March 2024 that Pennsylvania secured a$20 million federal investment to provide laptops for distribution to schools, libraries, municipalities, workforce training organizations, and other non-profits who can make them available to individuals that lack the technology needed to access the internet through American Rescue Plan Capital Projects Funding. On June 18, 2024, the PBDA announced it was accepting applications for the funding.
- Governor Shapiro and Executive Director Carson announced in June 2023 the Commonwealth will receive more than$1.16 billion in federal funding to expand broadband in unserved and underserved areas to make sure every Pennsylvanian has access to affordable, high-speed internet. The funding is coming to Pennsylvania through the federal BEAD Program and is part of President Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative.
- The Shapiro Administration is also investing $204 million in funding through the Capital Projects Fund Broadband Infrastructure Program to connect unserved and underserved areas.
Visit the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority’s website to learn more about its work to close the digital divide in the Commonwealth.
Roadside Childbirth, Health Care Worries Spur Rural Pennsylvania County in Search for Options
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
An emergency childbirth on the side of Route 219 in Elk County, four months after the closing of the maternity unit at the nearest hospital, is stoking health care worries in the sparsely populated county, 2½ hours northeast of Pittsburgh.
Ridgway Ambulance Corp. paramedic Missy Lecker, 54, and her crew delivered a healthy baby girl on the side of the road Sept. 24, when it became clear they were not going to make it to Penn Highlands Healthcare’s maternity hospital in Clearfield County, about 29 miles from where the call was received.
“She was in labor,” Ms. Lecker said about the 27-year-old mother. “Her water had broken.”
Penn Highlands, which reported an operating loss of $36.4 million for the year ending June 30, closed the maternity unit at its St. Marys hospital in May.
“Unfortunately, this is becoming way too commonplace with the closure of Penn Highlands Elk maternity,” the ambulance service posted on its Facebook page. Ms. Lecker declined further comment.
A Penn Highlands spokeswoman said the hospital system had no plans to reopen the closed unit at the St. Marys hospital or create a freestanding birthing center alternative for moms-to-be.
Operating losses for the eight-hospital, DuBois-based system for fiscal years ending June 30 in 2023 and 2024 totaled $68.7 million, spurring a Fitch Ratings bond issuer default and revenue bond ratings cut to BBB from A-minus in August.
Elk County is part of a six-county swath of the state — twice the size of Delaware — that has no hospital maternity care, which concerns Ridgway Borough Council member Zack Pontious, who has met with Penn Highlands officials to discuss its decision to end obstetrics services at the local hospital.
“A more vibrant, community-minded health care delivery system delivers high-quality care, even for the most basic medical needs,” he said. “We do not have that in Elk County today.”
In response, a group of local residents and business owners have formed the Elk County HealthCare Coalition, with the aim of creating an independent, countywide authority that would find ways of enhancing health care services. The county commissioners will conduct a public hearing on the proposal to create the Elk County Health Care Authority on Oct. 11.
“It did seem the idea had merit,” Elk County Commissioner Matthew G. Quesenberry said. “It’s an idea worth pursuing. They’ve got their facts together.”
The Penn Highlands spokeswoman said the health care system would continue consulting with county commissioners on the creation of the authority, but said it was premature to say whether the discussions would result in a partnership.
Elk County has a population of just 31,000, smaller than some Pittsburgh-area townships, which includes 4,500 women between the childbearing ages of 15 and 44, according to the U.S. Census.
Rural residents generally face poorer health outcomes from cancer, heart problems and other chronic diseases while rural hospitals often face bigger fiscal challenges than their urban counterparts, according to KFF Health News, a San Francisco nonprofit.
Rural health care providers often face bigger fiscal challenges than their urban counterparts, according to KFF, while studies have shown wide disparities in longevity and how well patients do in recovering from chronic diseases, depending on whether they live in rural or urban areas.
Between 2010 and 2019, 114 rural hospitals eliminated inpatient services or closed altogether while others cut specific service lines, such as obstetrics. In 2019, the year before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, median operating margins at rural hospitals were 1.5%, which compared to 5.2% among other hospitals.
In addition to maternity care, Mr. Pontious said a health care authority could try to find physicians and other partners and solutions for a variety of health care issues in the county, including expanding primary care.
“We hear this mantra that rural health care doesn’t work,” Mr. Pontious said. “What’s interesting is that an independent authority could find creative ways to fill a number of health care gaps in the county.”
“Everything is on the table,” he said. “The problem is so big.”
Free Print and Electronic Oral Health Materials Available
Do you know of any organizations that would benefit from free electronic and print oral health materials? Please share information about the PCOH Request Materials Page. We have nearly 50 resources available on topics such as general oral health education, children’s health. fluoride, workforce, tobacco and nicotine, HPV prevention, and older adults. Materials include flyers, brochures, posters, postcards, stickers, and magnets. We have a few resources in Spanish and Swahili as well. Please allow 2-3 weeks for order processing and shipping.