- GAO Seeks New Members for Tribal and Indigenous Advisory Council
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- 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
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
Research Report: States with Broadband Funding Program Have Better Access
By Roberto Gallardo and Brian Whitacre
State broadband policies make a difference, a new report says. In particular, residents of states that have their own broadband funding programs did better. And in states that restrict municipal broadband, residents fared worse. Read more here.
Rural Journalists Deal with Mental-Health Toll Brought by Covid-19
By Liz Carey
With the epidemic still burning through the country and public trust in the media at an all time low, rural journalists struggle with added pressures and mental stress of the new and dangerous reality they help cover in the news. Read more here.
New Covid-19 Cases Are on the Rise Again in Rural Counties
By Tim Murphy and Tim Marema
Rural areas now account for a disproportionately large share of new infections and deaths. Read more here.
With Amtrak’s Proposed Cuts, What Will Happen to Rural Rail?
By Jefferson Sinclair
“There are things we want to pay for as a country so we can have a country,” says a passenger rail advocate. Read more here.
Pandemic Precautions Are Protecting Wildfire Fighters — So Far
By Alex Brown
While fire season picks up steam, wildfire crews are implementing new strategies to stave off the coronavirus. Some of the new measures could become a new standard beyond the pandemic. Read more here.
Farmers Work With Overwhelmed Food Banks to Stay Afloat
By Alex Brown
Programs that route surplus food to food pantries are helping some farmers stay in business during the pandemic. Read more here.
Review: An Anthology of Appalachian Literature Walks on New Ground
By James Branscome
A collection of essays, excerpts, songs, and poems covers centuries of reflection on the Southern mountains. A native son traces the history of Appalachian literature through 745 pages of a recently published anthology. Read more here.
No Fair! Covid-19 Disrupts Tradition and County Revenue
By April Simpson
Pandemic put a temporary stop to a long tradition of county fairs, putting the survival of many on the line. Read more here.
2020: On Track to Set a New Record for Rural Hospital Closures
Becker’s Hospital Review reported on the 14 rural hospitals that have closed this year. It is worth noting that eight closures occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when access to health care services is more important than ever before. Additionally, local reporting in Georgia confirms that two more rural hospitals are slated for closure in October. Last year set the record for the greatest number of rural hospital closures in a single year at 18; 2020 is on pace to smash that record.
Prognosis for Rural Hospitals Worsens with Pandemic
Kaiser Health News provided reporting on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural hospital closures. Sarah Jane Tribble writes, “As COVID-19 continues to spread, an increasing number of rural communities find themselves without their hospital or on the brink of losing already cash-strapped facilities.” The article also quotes UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health professor Mark Holmes, who says, “We know that a [rural hospital] closure leads to higher mortality pretty quickly…That’s pretty clear.”