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Featured News Story
Annual Rural Photo Contest
The Rural Medical Training Collaborative (formerly RTT Collaborative) invites you to participate in our annual rural photo contest. Each year we hold a “bragging rights” competition for the shutter bugs associated with our organization to showcase their best photos that represent rural healthcare and training. The deadline for submission is the end of April, but this year, for the first time ever, all entries that are submitted prior to the start of our annual meeting on April 10th, will be featured at the meeting and eligible to win the new “Rural Educators” award, to be selected by the attendees at the annual meeting in Asheville,
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Latest News
News stories via the Rural Health Information Hub News stories of interest to rural health, with information provided via the Rural Health Information Hub
- Enticing Rural Residents to Practice Where They Trainon December 19, 2024 at 6:00 am
Reports on physician shortages in rural communities and efforts to reduce those shortages through practice incentives. Discusses remaining barriers including funding for rural residencies, the amount of time necessary to launch a rural residency, and patient density for specialists.
- Gaps in Mental Health Training, Rural Access to Care Compound Az's Maternal Mortality Crisison December 19, 2024 at 6:00 am
Reports on trends on maternal health and mortality in Arizona and drivers of poor outcomes such as limited mental health training for providers, mental health workforce shortages, and stigma. Discusses rural-specific challenges in accessing care like transportation, labor and delivery service access, broadband, and low provider reimbursement rates for care.
- UAA Training for Health Care Providers Keeps Victims of Violent Crimes from Falling Through the Crackson December 17, 2024 at 6:00 am
Describes a forensics training to teach healthcare professionals how to provide care to patients that have experienced sexual violence. Notes that rural communities with limited access to the state's sexual assault response team benefit from trained healthcare workers. Discusses the value in healthcare worker documentation of signs of abuse in patients.
- New Round of Federal Funding Open for Rural Health Initiativeson December 17, 2024 at 6:00 am
Announces a new round of funding for the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program, a Health Resources and Services Administration program aiming to increase access to healthcare for rural communities. Describes how previous funding has been used in rural Pennsylvania.
- 'It's a Crisis': How the Shortage of Mental Health Counselors Is Affecting the Rural Northweston December 15, 2024 at 6:00 am
Explores the impacts of behavioral health provider shortages on rural communities in the northwest. Notes that immigrants may face additional challenges finding care due to language barriers and some providers not accepting Medicaid. Describes strategies to increase access to behavioral health providers, including telehealth, increased reimbursement for services, and workforce programs.
- How Mobile Clinics Are Transforming Rural Health Access for Cochise County Farmworkerson December 13, 2024 at 6:00 am
Highlights a free mobile clinic in rural Arizona making routine healthcare more accessible to farmworkers in the area. Discusses effective outreach methods including collaborations with the farm supervisors and using promotoras.
- FCC Launches New Maternal Health Mapping Platformon December 13, 2024 at 6:00 am
Announces a major update to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Mapping Broadband Health in America platform. Notes that the tool can be used to analyze data at the intersection of broadband connectivity and a range of public health challenges, now including maternal morbidity and mortality.
- Struggling to Adapton December 12, 2024 at 6:00 am
Highlights the occupational exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for firefighters, efforts to adapt best practices and policies to reduce exposures, the associated costs with those efforts, and changing firefighter culture to account for health and safety. Profiles one rural Maine fire department, describing challenges for adapting with fewer resources and the impact on workforce.
- Rural Governments Often Fail To Communicate With Residents Who Aren't Proficient in Englishon December 10, 2024 at 6:00 am
Reports on a new Nevada language-access law that exempts smaller counties and discusses the impacts on rural residents that speak a language other than English. Highlights the growing diversification of rural areas as well as the challenges with offering services and information in languages other than English for small jurisdictions with limited resources. Discusses the importance of language-access for topics related to public health and voting for health-related issues.
- Mental Health Association Launches Hub To Help Rural Residentson December 9, 2024 at 6:00 am
Provides overview of resources available through the Rural Mental Health Resources Hub, created by Mental Health America (MHA). Describes resources including a free mental health screening, educational overviews, and information for communities looking to better serve residents with mental health conditions. Discusses rural disparities in access to mental health treatment and efforts by MHA's South Carolina chapter to expand access through a mobile mental health clinic program.
Helpful Resources
Rural resources via the Rural Health Information Hub Resources, reports, and other documents on rural health topics from a variety of sources, with information provided via the Rural Health Information Hub
- 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Reporton December 20, 2024 at 9:20 pm
Report highlights the rate of suicide among veterans and the VA's role in suicide prevention. Discusses the causes of veteran suicide and the steps the VA is taking for suicide prevention. Breaks down rates of suicide by gender, contact with the VHA, and rurality, among other factors. The 2024 report is split into two parts. The second part is added as and additional link. -- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Discharge Instructions, Readmission, and Mortalityon December 20, 2024 at 7:22 pm
Analyzes discharge, readmission, payment, and mortality data in hospitals by patient-physician communication and health condition. Includes interactive data visualizations comparing metro and nonmetro differences at the county level. Offers a video tutorial for interacting with the data. -- National Rural Health Resource Center
- How Community Health Centers Respond to Rural Hospital Closureson December 20, 2024 at 7:20 pm
Describes how community health centers work to fill gaps in healthcare services and impact the economy when a local rural hospital closes. -- National Association of Community Health Centers
- The National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (NAFC) Data Report 2024on December 20, 2024 at 7:04 pm
Reports on 2023 activities of clinics and pharmacies that are members of the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (NAFC). Includes information on patient demand and demographics, workforce, services offered, financial data, social determinants of health (SDOH) screenings, and more. Provides rural-specific data on patient demographics and facility types. -- The National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics
- COPD Risk Factors and Ruralityon December 20, 2024 at 6:54 pm
Analyzes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rate data by obesity, smoking, uninsured status, premature mortality, and race and ethnicity. Includes interactive data visualizations comparing metro and nonmetro differences at the county level. Offers a video tutorial for interacting with the data. -- National Rural Health Resource Center
- Cancer Risk Factors and Ruralityon December 20, 2024 at 6:54 pm
Analyzes cancer rate data by smoking, healthcare visits, uninsured status, premature mortality, and race and ethnicity. Includes interactive data visualizations comparing metro and nonmetro differences at the county level. Offers a video tutorial for interacting with the data. -- National Rural Health Resource Center
- The Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM): Fourth Annual Evaluation Reporton December 20, 2024 at 4:32 pm
Evaluates the fourth performance year of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM), an initiative designed to test if global budgets can help rural hospitals improve their financial viability, provide flexibility to meet locally defined community health needs, and reduce overall healthcare spending. Provides an overview of the model and describes the implementation experience of participating hospitals and payers. Presents a descriptive quantitative assessment of financial performance, spending and utilization, access to care, and quality of care outcomes from 2016, the model's baseline, through 2022. Includes three case studies discussing three themes: experiences with global budget reconciliation, behavioral health transformation, and interactions and alignment between PARHM and other value-based care programs. -- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- Telehealth Access Points (TAPs) Best Practices Guideon December 20, 2024 at 2:58 pm
Outlines how communities can create Telehealth Access Points (TAPs), public spaces where individuals can access telehealth appointments. Highlights equipment needed, sanitization procedures, scheduling tools, building community partnerships, and more. Includes links to information about different TAP models and additional resources. -- National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
- The Effects of Message Framing on US Police Chiefs' Support for Interventions for Opioid Use Disorder: A Randomized Survey Experimenton December 20, 2024 at 2:41 pm
Examines how U.S. police chiefs frame cultural messages surrounding opioid use disorder interventions and the focus on public health and harm reduction versus public safety. Analyzes data from 276 police chiefs related to overdose prevention centers, syringe service programs (SSPs), Good Samaritan laws, Narcan distribution, collaboration for public health and safety, and acceptance of officers in recovery. Includes demographic breakdowns of police chiefs, such as region, urbanicity, and population per officer.
- Household Food Sourcing Patterns and their Associations with Food Insecurity in Appalachian Ohioon December 20, 2024 at 2:26 pm
Examines food insecurity and patterns in rural, Appalachian Ohio during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzes data from 663 households at 4 separate time periods between July 2020 and April 2021 according to household demographics, food sourcing locations, and more.