In an attempt to avoid dangerous heat during harvest, some farmworkers are working at night. Outlines risks and challenges associated with this work including limited visibility, fatigue, gender-based violence, and childcare. Notes that night work on farms is understudied, and so the risks are not fully understood.

Describes the challenges with providing high-speed internet service in rural communities, discussing in particular infrastructure and affordability issues. Notes that reliable high-speed internet can provide better access to healthcare and emergency services.

Highlights Project Swaddle, a program run by a rural Indiana fire department providing education and care to pregnant and postpartum women. Discusses a national trend of declining access to maternal care in local hospitals and mortality. Results show a reduction in emergency department visits and higher breastfeeding rates among other successes.

Part 1 of a documentary discussing shortages of physicians in rural areas. Offers overview of why shortages exist including historic trends in physician training, clinic ownership trends, facility closures, and more. Captions are available in the video player.

Requesting comments on the Federal Communications Commission plan to increase 5G service to rural communities. Specific issues include budget allocation, defining areas eligible for bidding, inclusion of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, inclusion of cybersecurity and supply chain risk management plans, and use of the Open Radio Access Networks. Comments can be submitted electronically at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/ or mailed by October 23rd.

Discusses care coordination between primary care physicians and specialists for rural cancer survivors. Notes that good communication between the care team can ensure that each participant understands everyone's scope of practice and what guidelines are being followed. Describes a project offering educational intervention to primary care physicians and tracking quality measures to find improvement in guideline-concordant care.

Request for input from rural stakeholders by the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) on issues and opportunities around population-based total cost of care (PB-TCOC). Particular areas of interest include rural definitions, characteristics and needs of Medicare beneficiaries, characteristics and needs of rural providers, barriers to participations in alternative payment models, value-based care, social determinants of health, workforce development, and more. Comments can be emailed to PTAC@HHS.gov by October 20th.

Describes the role of navigators tasked with helping guide people through health insurance enrollment, particularly during the Medicaid unwinding process. Notes that disenrollment could disproportionately impact rural residents who already disproportionately experience barriers to care. Navigators are more likely to be located in urban areas or cover large regions. States that other methods for receiving assistance have proven unreliable. Discusses data gathering techniques that make it challenging to understand rural and urban differences.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $45 million, through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to support existing multidisciplinary Long COVID clinics in the U.S. Seeks to expand access to care for populations disproportionally impacted by Long COVID, including underserved, rural, vulnerable, and minority populations.

Announcement of funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a new innovation center focusing on detecting and preparing for infectious disease, particularly for rural areas. The center will use surveillance and data to help local healthcare facilities and other government officials respond to predicted outbreaks.