Top news stories from the past 14 days. Please visit the News Archive for earlier stories.
New Commonwealth Fund Survey Finds Profound Income Divide in Health Insurance and Access to Health Care; Health Reform Could Nearly Eliminate Gaps When Fully Implemented in 2014
Feb 7, 2012 -- Adults in low - and moderate - income families are more likely to be uninsured, to lack a regular source of health care, and to struggle to get the health care they need compared to those in higher-income families, according to a new Commonwealth Fund survey.
Rural Unemployment Ticks Up
Feb 7, 2012 -- Daily Yonder article reports that for the first time since March, unemployment in rural America moved ahead of urban counties in December 2011, according to data just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Agriculture Deputy Secretary Merrigan Announces Funding to Create Jobs and Strengthen the Economic Foundation of Rural America
Feb 6, 2012 -- Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced that USDA has selected 298 recipients in 44 states and Puerto Rico to receive business development assistance through the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program.
CDC Releases Its First iPad "App"
Feb 6, 2012 -- In an effort to enable fast and efficient mobile delivery of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC's) critical health information, they have released their first iPad "App" . The CDC App is free for anyone to download.
Family Physicians Lead in Specialties in Providing Rural Health Care
Feb 6, 2012 -- AAFP News Now article reports that family physicians provide more health care to rural areas than other primary care or subspecialty physicians, according to data released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Questions Emerge About Whether War Savings Can Pay for 'Doc Fix'
Feb 6, 2012 -- Kaiser Health News brings together a variety of articles discussing how hospitals, physicians and some members of Congress want to use war savings as a way to get rid of Medicare's sustainable growth rate formula, but congressional rules could complicate things.
Rural Jobs Four Years After Recession
Feb 6, 2012 -- Most of rural America has not recovered from the recession that began four years ago, a Daily Yonder analysis of federal jobs figures has found.
Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority
Federal Register
Feb 6, 2012 -- In this notice the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention amends their Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority for a variety of agencies including the Division of Adolescent and School Health, the Division of Adult and Community Health, the Division of Oral Health, and many others.
With Uncle Sam's Help, Americans Return to the Farm
Feb 6, 2012 -- MSNBC article tells how fueled by an economic downturn that has curtailed the upward mobility of many corporate jobs, general dissatisfaction with suburban stresses and growing discontent with what they see as the ills of industrialized agriculture, thousands of families across the United States have left suburban cul de sacs and headed to the countryside - forging a new demographic of family farmer.
Aging America Creates Demand for Health - Care Workers
Feb 3, 2012 -- Reuters article reports that the graying of America and a booming Hispanic population is driving major changes in the structure of the U.S. workforce and the types of jobs that will be available over the next decade, according to a new government report.
Data Illustrate Geographic Dispersal of Family Physicians, Other Primary Care Professionals
Feb 3, 2012 -- AAFP News Now article reports that family physicians are the most likely of any physician specialty or subspecialty to practice in rural areas and the most likely to be geographically distributed in the same proportion as the U.S. population, according to a one-page fact sheet published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
House Bill Would Gouge Rural Transit
Feb 3, 2012 -- Daily Yonder article discusses how rural transportation leaders are speaking out against a proposal before Congress that would cut funding for needed public transit programs.
How One Hospital Entices Doctors to Work In Rural America
Feb 3, 2012 -- NPR Health Blog article tells how the Ashland Health Clinic, a tiny hospital in southwest Kansas, is trying a reverse-recruitment model, by offering potential candidates eight weeks off to do missionary work overseas.
Rural Relevant Quality Measures for CAH’s
Feb 3, 2012 -- NRHA Rural Health Voices blog reports that the FLEX Monitoring Team just released a Brief on rural relevant quality measures for Critical Access Hospitals (CAH). The purpose of the brief is to provide a set of rural relevant quality measure for policy makers and the rural health provider community.
Sen. Udall Drafting Bill to Kill Telemedicine Barriers
Feb 3, 2012 -- Government Health IT article reports that Sen. Tom Udall (D-Utah) anticipates introducing a bill this spring to make it easier for physicians to practice telemedicine in many states instead of applying for a separate license for each state.
The Worth of the Rural 'Creative Economy'
Feb 3, 2012 -- Daily Yonder article tells how from the Blues Trail through the Delta to the Walter Anderson Museum on the Gulf Coast, rural Mississippi's economy is buoyed by what they call the "creative economy."
Bill Would Improve Medicare Payment for Small, Rural Hospitals
Feb 2, 2012 -- AHA News Now article reports that Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) today introduced the Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act, a bill that would improve Medicare payment for rural hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income patients, and adjust the low-volume adjustment for small prospective payment system hospitals that do not qualify as critical access hospitals.
Health Reform Law Saves $2.1 Billion for 3.6 Million Americans with Medicare
Feb 2, 2012 -- Nearly 3.6 million people with Medicare saved $2.1 billion on their prescription drugs in 2011 due to the Affordable Care Act according to data issued today by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Heat from Farmers Results in Rethinking of Youth Labor Limits
Feb 2, 2012 -- Washington Times, (DC) article reports that bowing to an angry backlash from agriculture groups and family farmers across the country, the Obama administration Wednesday said it would scale back proposed new rules that would have sharply limited the amount of work young people can do on farms.
Obama Administration Announces Pilot Program to Help Rural Borrowers Refinance Mortgages, Get Lower Interest Rates
Feb 2, 2012 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is launching a pilot program to help rural borrowers refinance their mortgages to reduce their monthly payments.
Redirecting Rural Health Research: A Think Tank Summit
Feb 2, 2012 -- Idaho State University announces that abstracts are being accepted until February 28, 2012, for an interprofessional rural health research conference and Think Tank that will be held Aug 8-10, 2012, in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Rural Health: Residency Doctor Chooses to Return to Rural Roots
Feb 2, 2012 -- Tri-State Neighbor, (SD) article profiles students in the almost 40-year-old Sioux Falls Family Medicine Residency program that has helped produce about 300 doctors since 1973.
A Computer Beats a Pen for Getting Prescriptions Right
Feb 1, 2012 -- NPR article discusses how one way to reduce drug errors inside hospitals is to have doctors enter the prescriptions on a computer instead of with pen and paper. After the switch, hospitals can see error rates drop by a whopping 60 percent.
Country Doctors: Center Draws Doctors to Underserved Areas
Feb 1, 2012 -- WCF Courier, (IA) article discusses the efforts being made by the Area Health Education Center in Iowa to attract more doctors to rural and underserved areas.
iGR Partners With RCA to Deliver Educational Webinar Series to Discuss Key Issues Facing U.S. Rural Operators
Feb 1, 2012 -- iGR, a market strategy consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile communications industry, today announced a partnership with RCA (Rural Cellular Association) to provide a series of webinar sessions dedicated to addressing the unique challenges rural and smaller operators face in today's competitive consumer markets.
Medicare Advantage Premiums Down 7 Percent on Average, Enrollment Up 10 Percent
Feb 1, 2012 -- Medicare Advantage premiums have fallen by 7 percent on average and enrollment has risen by about 10 percent since this time last year, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.
One-Room School Also One-Student School
Feb 1, 2012 -- New York Times article tells how at a time when many schools are concerned about overcrowded classrooms, the Sunset school in a Montana ranching community has a different problem — keeping its lone student at her desk so it can remain open.
Talk of the Town at Policy Institute
Feb 1, 2012 -- As 450 of America’s most passionate advocates are fighting for rural health on Capitol Hill, the NRHA Rural Health Voices blog thought they would recap some of the memorable (and often unscripted) quotes from the National Rural Health Association’s 23rd annual Rural Health Policy Institute so far.
'Spam' Meat Tied to Diabetes Risk in Native Americans
Jan 31, 2012 -- FOX News article reports that Native Americans who often ate processed meat in a can, generically known as "spam" and a common food on reservations, one subsidized by the government -- had a two-fold increased risk of developing diabetes over those who ate little or none, according to a U.S. study.
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Investments to Promote Business Development, Improve Medical Services and Create Jobs in Ten States
Jan 31, 2012 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that loans and grants provided through USDA's Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program will be provided to applicants in 10 states to support businesses, improve the quality of medical care, and create or save hundreds of jobs.
HUD Secretary Donovan Announces New Regulations to Ensure Equal Access to Housing for All Americans Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity
Jan 31, 2012 -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today new regulations intended to ensure that HUD's core housing programs are open to all eligible persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
U.S. Recession Hikes Rate of Rural Poverty
Jan 31, 2012 -- Daily Yonder article reports that the percentage of people living in poverty was higher in rural America than in either exurban or urban counties in 2010, according to the U.S. Census, and these rates have increased since the recession began in 2007.
Wakefield: Proud to Partner with NRHA
Jan 31, 2012 -- NRHA Rural Health Voices blog gives excerpts of a talk given by Mary Wakefield, PhD, Health Resources and Services Administration administrator, at the Rural Health Policy Institute being held this week in Washington, D.C.
Wakefield outlined workforce, education, health information technology, telehealth and other HRSA projects and grant programs benefiting or with the potential to help improve rural health quality and access.
Affordable Care Act Will Save States and Taxpayers $17.7 Billion on Prescription Drugs
Jan 30, 2012 -- Provisions in the health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act, will save taxpayers and States an estimated $17.7 billion over five years on prescription drugs bought through Medicaid, according to estimates in a proposed rule issued today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Doctor, Did You Check Your Checklist?
Jan 30, 2012 -- Kaiser Health News article discusses patient safety issues and how faulty hospital care is one of the leading causes of death, behind heart disease and cancer.
Outpatient Move Saves Hospital
Jan 30, 2012 -- HealthLeaders Media article tells how an expanded physical therapy program helped save a 22-licensed-bed critical access hospital in Illinois, a facility that nearly shut down because of fiscal and management problems.
State of the Indian Nations
Jan 30, 2012 -- Daily Yonder article reports that The National Congress of American Indians every year releases its “State of Indian Nations,” an alternative prospect for the Congress reported during the week of the State of the Union. One goal set by Nation Congress of American Indians President Jefferson Keel is to turn out a record number of Indian voters in 2012.
Why Men From Rural Communities Avoid Seeking Mental Health Counseling
Jan 30, 2012 -- GoodTherapy.org article tells of a new study that suggests that men from rural communities are even more resistant than urban-dwelling men when it comes to getting psychological counseling.
Adoption of Health Information Technology in Rural Health Clinics
Jan 27, 2012 -- The Technical Assistance and Services Center, a program of the National Rural Health Resource Center, and the Maine Rural Health Research Center at the University of Southern Maine are developing a database of Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and will be utilizing this information to conduct a national survey focusing on meaningful use of Health Information Technology by RHCs.
Public Hearings: Attorney General’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence
Jan 27, 2012 -- The Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence will hold the second of four public hearings January 31, 2012 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The hearing will highlight the issue of children's exposure to violence in rural and tribal communities.
Score! for Two Rural Broadband Teams
Jan 27, 2012 -- Daily Yonder article tells how communities in Vermont and rural Lancashire, England, have kicked off efforts to finance rural broadband networks.
Filling the Gap
Jan 26, 2012 -- Times Daily, (AL) article discusses why rural health clinics are an important link to the health-care community.
RAC Launches New Online Health Information Technology Toolkit
Jan 26, 2012 -- Providing health information technology (HIT) resources to rural health care providers is the purpose of a new online toolkit from the Rural Assistance Center (RAC). A pilot program developed through RAC and the National Rural Health Resource Center (The Center), the toolkit is designed to help rural providers find HIT resources directed at them.
USDA Unveils Historic Improvements to Meals Served in America's Schools
Jan 26, 2012 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released new meal requirements that will raise standards for the first time in more than 15 years and improve the health and nutrition of nearly 32 million kids that participate in school meal programs every school day.
Getting Workers to Columbus
Jan 25, 2012 -- Daily Yonder article tells how the rural town of Columbus, Nebraska, lists 1,288 jobs available within 10 miles of their town, but it can't find workers to fill them even though they have gone on recruiting missions out of state to find new residents.
Obama on Health Insurance Reform: 'I Won't Go Back' (State of The Union Excerpts)
Jan 25, 2012 -- Kaiser Health News article reports that in his State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama made just one explicit mention of the 2010 health law and offers a transcript of the few parts of his speech that mentioned health care issues.
Some of Nation’s Finest Talk About Teaching in Rural America
Jan 25, 2012 -- ED.gov Blog tells how the White House recently celebrated the latest class of National Board Certified teachers with several of the honorees traveling to Washington from some of America’s most remote and distant rural communities to receive the teaching profession’s highest credential. During their visit these rural teachers shared their stories about what it’s like to teach in rural America.
