A new article published in the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) focuses on integration of antibiotic stewardship an infection prevention and control programs in dentistry. The authors conclude that infection control and stewardship programs complement each other and work synergistically to improve patient safety and health outcomes.

Click here to read the article.

A new analysis sheds light on the far-reaching costs of the opioid epidemic. The bill for opioid use disorder treatment shouldered by Pennsylvania and local governments in the state neared $5.3 billion in 2024, according to a report from Avalere Health. Pennsylvania ranked high in both the cost of treatment and the price tag for property crime linked to opioid addiction.

Read more.

Some hospitals are operating on a razor-thin margin. Any disruption can lead to the elimination of services or complete closures. With declining Medicare reimbursement and cuts to Medicaid, uncompensated care will increase and budgets will not be sustainable.  Over the past 25 years, Pennsylvania has seen 78 closures or reductions in core services statewide, 26 of which were in rural counties. The Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN) has identified eight criteria that describe a hospital’s likelihood to be impacted should cuts or changes to the Medicaid program occur.

View the report.

Today, ARC released their Fiscal Year 2026 economic status designations for Appalachia’s 423 counties.

• In FY 2026, the number of Appalachian counties designated as economically distressed will decrease to 75.
• This is the lowest number since ARC began using this index-based classification system 20 years ago.
• Improvement comes from a decrease in the number of distressed counties in Appalachian Alabama, Ohio and West Virginia. Thirty-three counties will see a positive shift in their economic status.

Work remains to ensure that all of Appalachia experiences upward growth. Fourteen of Appalachia’s counties experienced a decline in economic status. ARC uses county designations to set grant match rates, monitor trends and direct investments to the region’s most distressed communities. Learn more about the FY 2026 data

The Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports on recent data showing that the number of rural people of working age (between 15 and 64 years old) has fallen in recent years, dropping to 28 million in 2023 from more than 30 million in 2010.  At the same time, the number of rural residents aged 65 and over grew from 7.4 million in 2010 to 9.7 million in 2023.

Read the report here.

The Medicaid portion of the House GOP’s massive domestic policy bill would result in 10.3 million people losing Medicaid coverage by 2034 and 7.6 million people going uninsured, according to a partial (CBO) Congressional Budget Office estimate. Republicans released the estimates just ahead of the start of Tuesday’s markup of the Energy and Commerce portion of the party-line legislation.

Source: The Hill

The Center’s latest fact sheet, Access to Maternity Care in Pennsylvania: Labor and Delivery Services, provides an overview of current access to maternity care, specifically labor and delivery services, in rural Pennsylvania. The closure or consolidation of labor and delivery services has increased travel distances for expectant mothers, effectively creating barriers to maternity care in many rural communities. Timely access to labor and delivery services is a critical factor in supporting maternal and infant health outcomes.

In 2024, rural Pennsylvania saw a welcome decrease in the number of drug overdoses and related deaths. According to 2023 and 2024 data from the Pennsylvania State Police Overdose Information Network (ODIN), the number of reported rural overdoses decreased 40 percent, and the number of deaths decreased 52 percent. Urban areas had a similar decrease. While the drug crisis remains a serious issue, any reduction in overdoses is a positive step forward. Read the Center’s fact sheet, Reported Rural Drug Overdoses Decline 40 Percent in One Year, to learn more.

In March 2025, the U.S. Census Bureau released its 2024 population estimates for counties, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, and Puerto Rican municipalities. The U.S. Census Bureau releases these estimates on an annual basis, and the 2024 estimates serve as an update to the previous estimates for 2020 through 2023. Check out the Center’s fact sheet, Rural Pennsylvania Shows Slight Population Decline but Attracts Out-of-State Residents, analyzing the U.S. Census Bureau’s updated county and municipal population estimates.

The Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) is excited to announce a new product, Characteristics and Trends of CAHs That Own or Operate Ambulance Services. This study addresses the extent to which CAHs do so, identifying trends in the number of CAH-based ambulance services and comparing the characteristics (location, ownership, financial) of CAHs that own or operate ambulance services to CAHs that do not.

Data collected through qualitative interviews with eight CAH-based ambulance services highlights the challenges of operating these services, workforce recruitment and retention issues, the role of partnerships and community involvement, and lessons learned. The results of this study provide useful information to State Flex Programs seeking to improve the performance of CAH-based ambulance services in their states and/or explore the use of the model to expand access to ambulance services in rural communities.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) is a federal agency, part of the U.S.  Department of Transportation, with a mission to save lives on American roads.  NHTSA provides national leadership to emergency medical services (EMS) and 911 systems through its Office of EMS.  Check out EMS.gov for resources, events, and training that celebrate EMS. A 2023 report from the Maine Rural Health Research Center analyzed 41 states and found that 4.5 million people lived in an ambulance desert; more than half of them in rural counties.

This study from the Rural and Underserved Health Research Center compares access to, and services offered by, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) in rural and urban communities. The increasing numbers of CCBHCs in rural communities combined with their range of offered services holds promise towards increasing the availability of care for rural communities within an integrated model.

Access the full report here:  Rural Access to Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics.