News stories of interest to rural health and human services, with information provided via the Rural Assistance Center Copyright 2012 Rural Assistance Center http://www.raconline.org/news/topstories.php 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. http://www.dailyyonder.com/rural-unemployment-ticks/2012/02/05/3743 Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.dailyyonder.com/rural-unemployment-ticks/2012/02/05/3743 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. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Issue-Briefs/2012/Feb/Income-Divide.aspx Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Issue-Briefs/2012/Feb/Income-Divide.aspx 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. http://www.cdc.gov/Features/iPadApp/index.html Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.cdc.gov/Features/iPadApp/index.html 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. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46282123/ns/business-retail/ Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46282123/ns/business-retail/ 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. http://www.raconline.org/news/details.php?news_id=17292 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/details.php?news_id=17292 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. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2012/February/03/doc-fix-and-war-savings.aspx Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2012/February/03/doc-fix-and-war-savings.aspx 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. http://www.dailyyonder.com/rural-jobs-four-years-after-recession/2012/02/05/3741 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.dailyyonder.com/rural-jobs-four-years-after-recession/2012/02/05/3741 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. http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/media/releases/2012/family-physicians-lead--in-rural-care.html Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/media/releases/2012/family-physicians-lead--in-rural-care.html 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. https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/02/06/2012-2531/statement-of-organization-functions-and-delegations-of-authority Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/02/06/2012-2531/statement-of-organization-functions-and-delegations-of-authority 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. http://www.govhealthit.com/news/udall-drafting-bill-remove-telemedicine-barrier Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:43:47 CST http://www.govhealthit.com/news/udall-drafting-bill-remove-telemedicine-barrier 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." http://www.dailyyonder.com/worth-rural-creative-economy/2012/01/30/3727 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:52:04 CST http://www.dailyyonder.com/worth-rural-creative-economy/2012/01/30/3727 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). http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20120203ahrqgeodata.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20120203ahrqgeodata.html 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. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/02/02/145860801/how-one-hospital-entices-doctors-to-work-in-rural-america Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/02/02/145860801/how-one-hospital-entices-doctors-to-work-in-rural-america 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. http://blog.ruralhealthweb.org/2012/02/rural-relevant-quality-measures-for-cahs/ Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://blog.ruralhealthweb.org/2012/02/rural-relevant-quality-measures-for-cahs/ 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. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/01/us-usa-economy-jobs-outlook-idUSTRE8102FT20120201 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/01/us-usa-economy-jobs-outlook-idUSTRE8102FT20120201 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. http://www.dailyyonder.com/transportation-bill/2012/02/02/3737 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.dailyyonder.com/transportation-bill/2012/02/02/3737 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. http://www.tristateneighbor.com/news/regional/article_cba81cf2-4923-11e1-982f-0019bb2963f4.html Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:19:22 CST http://www.tristateneighbor.com/news/regional/article_cba81cf2-4923-11e1-982f-0019bb2963f4.html 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. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/1/heat-from-farmers-results-in-rethinking-of-youth-l/ Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/1/heat-from-farmers-results-in-rethinking-of-youth-l/ 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. http://www.raconline.org/news/details.php?news_id=17270 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/details.php?news_id=17270 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). http://www.raconline.org/news/details.php?news_id=17268 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/details.php?news_id=17268 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. http://isu.edu/nursing/opd/research.shtml Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://isu.edu/nursing/opd/research.shtml 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. http://www.ahanews.com/ahanews/jsp/display.jsp?domain=AHANEWS&dcrpath=AHANEWS/AHANewsNowArticle/data/ann_020112_rural Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.ahanews.com/ahanews/jsp/display.jsp?domain=AHANEWS&dcrpath=AHANEWS/AHANewsNowArticle/data/ann_020112_rural 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. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/01/31/146152354/a-computer-beats-a-pen-for-getting-prescriptions-right Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:31:59 CST http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/01/31/146152354/a-computer-beats-a-pen-for-getting-prescriptions-right 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. http://www.raconline.org/news/details.php?news_id=17257 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:32:00 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/details.php?news_id=17257 As 450 of Americas 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 Associations 23rd annual Rural Health Policy Institute so far. http://blog.ruralhealthweb.org/2012/01/talk-of-the-town-at-policy-institute/ Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://blog.ruralhealthweb.org/2012/01/talk-of-the-town-at-policy-institute/ 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. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/education/one-room-montana-school-is-also-a-one-student-school.html?_r=1 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/education/one-room-montana-school-is-also-a-one-student-school.html?_r=1 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. http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/country-doctors-center-draws-doctors-to-underserved-areas/article_8229027f-b595-5ca9-a24f-7ee0472835c5.html Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/country-doctors-center-draws-doctors-to-underserved-areas/article_8229027f-b595-5ca9-a24f-7ee0472835c5.html 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. http://rca-usa.org/featured-home-page-feed/igr-partners-with-rca-to-deliver-educational-webinar-series-to-discuss-key-issues-facing-u-s-rural-operators/917587 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 CST http://rca-usa.org/featured-home-page-feed/igr-partners-with-rca-to-deliver-educational-webinar-series-to-discuss-key-issues-facing-u-s-rural-operators/917587 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. http://www.raconline.org/news/details.php?news_id=17247 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:33:00 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/details.php?news_id=17247 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. http://blog.ruralhealthweb.org/2012/01/wakefield-proud-to-partner-with-nrha/ Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:23:31 CST http://blog.ruralhealthweb.org/2012/01/wakefield-proud-to-partner-with-nrha/