- 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
Supreme Court to Consider ACA’s Birth Control Requirement
January 24, 2020
The Supreme Court on Friday announced it will hear two cases on whether employer health plans should be allowed religious and moral exemptions from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement to cover birth control. The Trump administration in November 2018 issued final rules to allow more employers to opt out of providing no-cost birth control, but federal judges stopped the rules from taking effect. The justices said Friday they would hear the administration’s appeal of lower-court decisions that blocked the rules nationwide. In the case before the court, Pennsylvania and New Jersey sued the administration, arguing that its exemptions would unlawfully deny preventive health care to millions of women. The Supreme Court will decide whether the Trump administration may allow employers to limit women’s access to free birth control under the ACA.
New Suicide Prevention NPSG for Critical Access Hospitals
Presents the prepublication requirements and elements for performance for the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) chapter on suicide prevention. Notes that these requirements will apply to Critical Access Hospitals beginning on July 1, 2020.
Draft Federal Health IT Strategic Plan Supports Patient Access to Their Own Health Information
Jan 15, 2020 — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the draft 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, which outlines federal health information technology goals regarding patients’ access to their health information. HHS is requesting public comments to be submitted by March 18, 2020.
New resource: CLOUD (Curated Library about Opioid Use for Decision-makers)
Searchable library of curated, evidence-based resources on opioids and the opioid crisis. Includes documents and reports, legislation, videos, and websites on topics such as addiction treatment, harm reduction, prevention, recovery, and pain management. Provides information targeted to policymakers and community leaders; payers and providers; and patients and caregivers.
School-Based Telehealth Makes Health a Priority for Teachers, Providers
Jan 17, 2020 — This report highlights several school-based telehealth programs that are addressing the healthcare needs of students in rural and underprivileged areas. Addresses the challenges of implementing these programs but explains how equal access to healthcare has improved student attendance and learning.
Rural Recruitment Reimagined Workshop Presents the “Safe Sites” Model
The Rural Recruitment Reimagined workshop is a traveling one-day workshop for healthcare facilities to learn recruitment and retention strategies.
Exploring Alternative Payment Models for Oral Health Care
An examination of the cost and utilization of alternative payment models for oral health care over a patient’s lifetime.
By Sean G. Boynes, DMD, MS, Carolyn Brown, DDS, MEd and Eric P. Tranby, MA, PhD
According to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, the United States pays the most for health care and achieves the lowest performance among comparable countries.1,2 In fact, dissatisfaction with U.S. health care continues to shape political talking points. It also encourages disruptive business models and drives demand for greater transparency, accountability and consumerism.3–6 This changing health ecosystem also affects dentistry. Agencies, organizations and care teams are shifting operational and financial constructs to better align with the changing health care landscape. Currently, the transition includes a switch from a silo-based construct driven by tertiary care to a person-centered format based on inclusive, holistic health care and enhanced quality of life.7–11
Continue reading “Exploring Alternative Payment Models for Oral Health Care”
Oral health assessment of children in rural Pa. demonstrates disparities
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — While the overall supply of dentists in Pennsylvania is sufficient to meet the current demand when assuming equal access for all residents, geographic access to oral health services is not equal across rural and urban areas. In a report, researchers in the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health (PORH) at Penn State found that urban rates of dentist supply are nearly twice that of rural rates, and that inequalities exist between areas of higher socioeconomic status and those of lower socioeconomic status.
Continue reading “Oral health assessment of children in rural Pa. demonstrates disparities”
Rural Health Leadership Radio: A Conversation with Lisa Davis
The global budget is underway in Pennsylvania, but there is a lot more than that taking place. In this episode of Rural Health Leadership Radio™ we are talking about Medicaid expansion, rural hospital budget transformation, medical student community orientation and other topics of interest to rural health leaders. We are having that conversation with Lisa Davis, Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health and Outreach Associate Professor of Health Policy and Administration at Penn State.
“Pennsylvania is considered to be one of the most rural states in the nation.”
In her role, Lisa is responsible for the overall direction and leadership of the state office of rural health, including ensuring that the office meets its mission of being a source of networking, coordination, and technical assistance to organizations focused on rural health care delivery; developing and sustaining linkages with state and national partners; and seeking ways to expand the office’s role in enhancing the health status of rural Pennsylvanians.
“Medicaid expansion has been very important here in the state for a number of reasons.”
On the national, state, and university levels, Davis serves on a wide range of boards of directors, advisory committees, and task forces focused on rural health policy, rural health research, economic development, outreach and education, and vulnerable populations and specific health issues such as oral health and cancer. She has extensive experience in the field of rural health research.
“They learned about what it means to be those individuals, what it means to live there, what the social structure is, what the economy is like in those communities.”
Davis is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, an Outstanding Leadership Award from the Pennsylvania Rural Health Association, and an Award for Individual Contributions to Public Health from the Pennsylvania Public Health Association. The Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health received the Award of Merit from the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health.
She holds a graduate degree in Health Administration from Penn State.
CDC: Tracking Transmission of HIV
CDC: Tracking Transmission of HIV. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released their latest report on rates of HIV transmission in the United States. Data for sexual and needle-sharing behaviors were obtained fromNational HIV Behavioral Surveillance, a system of research on behaviors of three populations at increased risk for HIV: 1) gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men; 2) persons who inject drugs; and 3) heterosexuals at increased risk of infection. These data for behavioral factors in 2016 were compared to data for newly diagnosed cases from the National HIV Surveillance System. The analysis found that, of the 38,700 new infections diagnosed in 2016, approximately 80% of new HIV transmissions were from persons who did not know they had HIV infection, or who had received diagnosis but were not receiving care. The report concludes that decreasing the rate of transmission relies on increasing the rate of testing and treating those who are HIV-positive with newer drugs proven to be effective at suppressing the virus. Last year, the CDC identified 220 mostly rural counties experiencing or at-risk of significant increases of infection. See the Approaching Deadlines section below for current funding opportunities related to the effort of reducing HIV transmission.