- 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
Survey Shows Rural-Urban Differences in Barriers to Care and Utilization of Preventive Care
Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data were used to examine barriers to care, such as out-of-pocket costs, and utilization measures, such as flu shots and cholesterol tests, comparing rural and urban Medicare Advantage enrollees, rural and urban traditional Medicare enrollees, and rural traditional and Medicare Advantage enrollees.
See Rural-Urban Differences in Barriers to Care and Utilization of Preventive Care Among Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries.
RHIhub Publishes Compilations of Publicly Available RHTP Applications
The Rural Health Information Hub has compiled a list of publicly available state Rural Health Transformation Program applications, including project narratives, summaries, and related information.
Pennsylvania Unveils Rural Health Transformation Plan to Improve Rural Health Care Services
The Shapiro Administration unveiled its Rural Health Transformation Plan (RHTP), which serves as Pennsylvania’s application for support from the federal Rural Health Transformation Fund and comprehensive plan to support innovation and improve access to essential health services in rural communities so Pennsylvanians of all ages can access timely, high-quality care close to home.
If approved by the federal government, the RHTP will provide up to $200 million per year for five years to improve health care access, quality, and outcomes in rural communities across Pennsylvania. The funding will be used to make investments that allow rural health providers to better use technology to support access to high-quality, evidence-based care. This work will also be focused on supporting the rural health workforce through recruitment and retention initiatives that help people at all levels of the health care system grow their career in rural communities.
Pennsylvania’s RHTP will strengthen rural health care and bolster overall economic development by building systems of care that can support growing communities. Community Health Centers are an integral part of the plan.
Click here to learn more.
2025 Compendium of Rural Oral Health Best Practices Released
The National Rural Health Association released the 2025 Compendium of Best Practices in Rural Oral Health. This collection contains best practices in programs, models, and policies aimed at enhancing access to quality rural oral health care.
Pennsylvania Launches New State Health Improvement Plan Dashboard
The Pennsylvania Department of Health Office of Operational Excellence has published the State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) dashboard. The dashboard features trends related to overarching SHIP objectives as well as individual objectives organized by workgroup and goal. It includes a list of current strategies and activities being implemented by SHIP goal team members and member organizations.
2023 ACS 1-Year Estimates Released
The latest research brief highlights key findings from the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year Estimates. This report provides updates on Pennsylvania’s demographic, social, and economic trends, covering topics such as household income, housing, educational attainment, and internet access. Additionally, the brief discusses changes in housing burdens across different racial and ethnic groups.
Best Online Health and Safety Practices for Children and Youth Released
The Online Health and Safety Task Force released a report with recommendations and best practices for safer social media and online platform use for youth. The recommendations underscore the Administration’s efforts to address the ongoing youth mental health crisis and support the President’s Unity Agenda for the nation. Read more and access the report via the press release.
Supreme Court Preserves Abortion Pill Access After Tossing Challenge
Why it matters: It’s the court’s biggest abortion-related decision since overturning Roe v. Wade and ensures that mifepristone — one of the most widely used drugs for medication abortions — will remain available. Click here to learn more.
New Hypertension in Pregnancy Change Package Released
Visit the Million Hearts website to download their Hypertension in Pregnancy Change Package. This quality improvement guide is full of tools and resources gathered from and tailored for clinical teams caring for pregnant and postpartum women in outpatient settings. Share it with your colleagues and networks. Select at least one change idea to implement and collaborate with others to expand the reach of this important work.
House Members Introduce Legislation to Ensure Access and Transparency in 340B Drug Pricing Program
U.S. Representatives Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN-08), Buddy Carter (R-GA-01), and Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) introduced the 340B Affording Care for Communities and Ensuring a Strong Safety-Net Act (340B ACCESS Act). This legislation, H.R. 8574, establishes critical oversight and transparency of the 340B program while providing clear, practical, and achievable solutions to ensure the 340B program can be a force for good in the nation’s health care safety net. The 340B ACCESS Act seeks to capture the policy principles which reflect the consensus of ASAP 340B members and will guide efforts to realign the 340B program in the interest of true safety-net providers and the communities they serve. Here are a few key highlights for those of us not in the weeds on 340B. This legislative solution:
· Protects Community Health Centers’ ability to serve all patients, regardless of their ability to pay, by increasing access to affordable medications and health services for medically underserved communities.
· Restores access to unlimited contract pharmacies, including access to mail order and specialty pharmacies, enabling greater access for health center patients.
· Ensures health centers and their patients have access to affordable medications for prescriptions written by specialty providers.
· Stops “middlemen” (corporations that seek to profit from savings) from taking the savings away from the health center that is providing overall care to the patient and their community.
· Increases transparency and accountability for all stakeholders in the program.
Click here to learn more. Call and email your Representative and ask them to cosponsor this legislation! NACHC is hosting a webinar on June 3 at 3:00 pm to provide additional information about the legislation. Register here.