Rural health and human services resources for Pennsylvania, with information provided by the Rural Assistance Center Copyright 2008 Rural Assistance Center http://www.raconline.org/states/ PRNewswire article via Bio-Medicine reports that in releasing a new Lewin Group analysis of the Bush administration's $770 million cut to Medicare-financed nursing home care, national and state long term care leaders warned the regulatory-driven cuts not only jeopardize seniors' access to quality nursing home care -- particularly in rural areas -- but also present a clear and present danger to the U.S. economy and the state and local caregiver jobs base. http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/New-Studies-of-Bush-Administration--24770-Million-SNF-Medicare-Cut-Find-Seniors-Care-Jeopardized--Local-Jobs-Lost--National-and-State-Economies-Threat-19216-1/ Wed, 14 May 2008 08:42:34 CST http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/New-Studies-of-Bush-Administration--24770-Million-SNF-Medicare-Cut-Find-Seniors-Care-Jeopardized--Local-Jobs-Lost--National-and-State-Economies-Threat-19216-1/ Uses case studies to provide a description of how healthcare, local government, education and business, in rural Pennsylvania are using broadband Internet technology. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/broadband2008.pdf Mon, 12 May 2008 12:25:59 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/broadband2008.pdf Discusses wind energy and is intended to be a first step in determining whether installation of a wind energy system is suitable for a particular site. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/wind_protocol_report08.pdf Mon, 12 May 2008 11:48:28 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/wind_protocol_report08.pdf Was developed so that homeowners, local officials, and others located in rural communities could evaluate the feasibility of installing wind energy in their home, business or community, and determine its cost-effectiveness. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/wind.html Mon, 12 May 2008 11:31:03 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/wind.html Associated Press via AOL News reports that many states often fail to release adequate information about fatal and near-fatal child abuse cases, placing confidentiality above disclosure to a degree that thwarts needed reforms, two child advocacy groups say in a new report. http://news.aol.com/story/_a/report-faults-many-states-on-child-abuse/n20080429010809990024 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:18:30 CST http://news.aol.com/story/_a/report-faults-many-states-on-child-abuse/n20080429010809990024 Describes the health and food security issues facing Hispanic migrant and seasonal farm workers in rural Pennsylvania. Includes information on barriers to health care access and barriers to good nutrition. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/migrant_farm_workers.pdf Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:42:32 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/migrant_farm_workers.pdf Pittsburgh Business Times, (PA) article reports that first blush, Pennsylvania's hospitals are in the pink, with increasing average income from investments and patient care in fiscal 2007 compared to a year earlier, according to a report by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/04/14/daily41.html?ana=from_rss Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:37:58 CST http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/04/14/daily41.html?ana=from_rss The Pennsylvania Critical Access Hospital Consortium (PACAHC) has had success with an ambitious plan to bring together 12 small rural hospitals to support performance improvement initiatives. PACAHC differs from most other rural health networks or state Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Programs because of its multiyear process to implement Balanced Scorecards at every member hospital and its innovative coordination of data collection and reporting systems to enable performance comparison. PACAHC also convenes statewide performance improvement meetings that allow partner organizations, such as the state quality improvement organization, to contribute to improvement activities. -- National Association for Healthcare Quality http://www.nahq.org/journal/ce/article.html?article_id=261 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:51:56 CST http://www.nahq.org/journal/ce/article.html?article_id=261 Funding for safety, security and well-being of children and families, education and health programs, community service opportunities, and hunger and disaster relief. -- BJs Charitable Foundation http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=1874 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:37:15 CST http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=1874 Provides a comprehensive picture of the progress Pennsylvanias rural and urban schools are making in meeting the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates and offers considerations for additional program support for all schools. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/NCLB.pdf Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:43:54 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/NCLB.pdf Provides characteristics of rural Pennsylvania households with and without Internet access. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/Internet_connectivity.pdf Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:32:16 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/Internet_connectivity.pdf Looks at the population of elderly women who are 65 years old and older living in rural Pennsylvania. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/Elderly_Women.pdf Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:19:54 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/Elderly_Women.pdf Describes available public housing in rural Pennsylvania, occupancy, and characteristics of rural public housing residents. Discusses housing challenges in rural areas. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/public_housing.pdf Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:19:13 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/public_housing.pdf Discusses business-sponsored healthcare and the challenges facing small businesses, which are those that employ less than 50 workers, to provide healthcare benefits for employees and their dependents. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/small_business_health_insurance.pdf Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:46:37 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/small_business_health_insurance.pdf Philadelphia PA October 12, 2008 -- American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging http://www.aahsa.org/conferences/annual_meeting/default.asp Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:00:29 CST http://www.aahsa.org/conferences/annual_meeting/default.asp Compares Pennsylvanias rural and urban middle-income households, which are defined as those with yearly incomes of $37,501 to $57,000. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/middle_income07.pdf Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:00:00 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/middle_income07.pdf Reports on the current status and trends in substance use and treatment in rural Pennsylvania. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/substance_abuse07.pdf Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:40:07 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/substance_abuse07.pdf School nurses are the health professionals most consistently involved with the health needs of children, particularly in rural areas where primary care providers are less likely to be located. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/school_nurses07.pdf Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:03:36 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/school_nurses07.pdf Set of maps showing the geographic coverage provided by 9 different rural definitions for the state. -- USDA Economic Research Service http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/ruraldefinitions/PA.pdf Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:25:00 CST http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/ruraldefinitions/PA.pdf Pittsburgh PA August 26, 2008 -- Meals on Wheels Association of America http://www.mowaa.org/displayContent.asp?MemberNo=59&type=I&CurrentNo=5D5B57 Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:21:13 CST http://www.mowaa.org/displayContent.asp?MemberNo=59&type=I&CurrentNo=5D5B57 Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information. http://www.nachc.com/research/pa.asp Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:00:00 CST http://www.nachc.com/research/pa.asp Provides data on Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for the state. -- North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center (Cecil G. Sheps Center) http://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/medicaidprofiles/StateProfile_Pennsylvania.pdf Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:40:00 CST http://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/medicaidprofiles/StateProfile_Pennsylvania.pdf Focuses on rural and urban similarities and differences among Pennsylvania demographic characteristics, income, health insurance, education, employment, and housing. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/Rural_by_numbers07.pdf Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:35:14 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/Rural_by_numbers07.pdf State College PA June 18, 2008 -- Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health http://porh.psu.edu/ Wed, 11 Jul 2007 09:44:10 CST http://porh.psu.edu/ Profiles the states health information technology (HIT) issues. Contains sections on demographics, HIT legislation, telemedicine, Health Information Exchanges (HIE) & Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIO), grant funded HIT projects, and HIT survey information. -- Rural Health Resource Center http://www.ruralcenter.org/hit_profiles/pa/ Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:24:47 CST http://www.ruralcenter.org/hit_profiles/pa/ Examines the relationship between rural communities and State Correctional Institutions in four rural communities in Pennsylvania. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/Prisons.pdf Mon, 04 Jun 2007 11:26:11 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/Prisons.pdf Discusses economic growth, employment, wages, and business establishes in rural Pennsylvania. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/economic_2ndq-2005-2006.pdf Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:36:18 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/economic_2ndq-2005-2006.pdf Overview of the need for and availability of adult day services in rural Pennsylvania. Includes information on services offered, staffing, and funding. -- Center for Rural Pennsylvania http://www.ruralpa.org/adult_daycare.pdf Mon, 05 Feb 2007 11:46:37 CST http://www.ruralpa.org/adult_daycare.pdf