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Rural Living RSS FeedsRural Groups Call for Transportation Alternatives - Statement released in September 9, 2010 regarding a report from the American Association of State Highway Officials, which focuses on building highways to improve rural transportation needs. This statement from the Rural Transportation Policy Group, identifies other needs than just roads and highways. -- National Rural Assembly...Feed Source: www.ruralassembly.org North Dakota Kids Count 2010 Fact Book - Provides current data on six components of child well-being: demographics, family and community, economic well-being, education and early care, health, and safety and risky behaviors. Data is available for the state, its eight planning regions and the 53 North Dakota counties. -- North Dakota State Data Center... WIRED for Health: Wisconsin's Health Information Technology (HIT) Strategic and Operational Plan - Describes the HIT and HIE (health information exchange) goals and objectives Wisconsin aspires to achieve and the strategies and operational details on how Wisconsin proposes to accomplish the goals and objectives. Includes specific measures that address rural and workforce shortage areas. -- WIRED Wisconsin... Realizing Health Reform's Potential: Small Businesses and the Affordable Care Act of 2010 - This issue brief examines the provisions set forth in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that help small businesses pay for and maintain health insurance for their workers. Describes the affects these provisions will have over the next ten years and includes data about insured and uninsured employees. -- Commonwealth Fund... National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Charleston, South Carolina, June 14-16, 2010 - Minutes from the NACRHHS, which provides recommendations on rural health and human services issues to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Meeting included the following topics: childhood obesity, Early Head Start programs, and rural implications of payment bundling and accountable care organizations. -- National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services... Health Care Broadband in America: Early Analysis and a Path Forward - Addresses the content presented in Section 10.5 of the National Broadband Plan, entitled, Closing the Health IT Broadband Connectivity Gap. This paper further analyses and explains assumptions and methodology used and intends to solicit feedback and new ideas to enhance the understanding of health care connectivity issues. Includes aspects of the connectivity gap as it applies to rural areas and Rural Health Clinics. -- Federal Communications Commission... A Comparison of Rural Hospitals with Special Medicare Payment Provisions to Urban and Rural Hospitals Paid Under Prospective Payment (Final Report) - Compares the financial performance and condition of rural hospitals with special Medicare payment provisions to urban and rural hospitals paid under prospective payment (U-PPS and R-PPS hospitals, respectively). -- North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center (Cecil G. Sheps Center)... Rural Health Advisory Committees Report on Telemental Health in Rural Minnesota - Provides an overview of the current mental health landscape in rural Minnesota and identifies the barriers and benefits of providing telehealth mental health services in rural regions of the state. -- Minnesota Office of Rural Health and Primary Care... The Future of Family Medicine and Implications for Rural Primary Care Physician Supply (Final Report) - Examines the rural physician shortage, the effect of recent trends in specialty choice on provider supply, and major trends that are changing the dynamics that shape the delivery of health care. -- WWAMI Rural Health Research Center... The Medicare Physician Quality Reporting Initiative: Implications for Rural Physicians (Policy Brief) - Rural practices may be at a disadvantage withrespect to participating in the Physician QualityReporting Initiative (PQRI), not necessarilybecause of their geographic location, but becausethey tend to be smaller, and have fewer resourcesand a less developed quality measurement infrastructure. -- NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis... The Medicare Physician Quality Reporting Initiative: Implications for Rural Physicians (Final Report) - Discusses the impact of rurality on office-based physicians' participation in the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), a voluntary pay-for-reporting program in Medicare. -- NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis... The New Frontier: Older Adults in Nebraska Rural Senior Centers - Examines current wellness activities for older adults in rural Nebraska senior centers. -- Marshall University... Utilizing Quality Clinical Supervision as a Workforce Retention Strategy in Rural Community Mental Health - Discusses how rural community mental agencies are vulnerable to increased turnover rates for mental health care professionals. Identifies challenges that face community mental health staff that can be addressed using clinical supervision to alleviate weary clinicians and promote accountability and best-practices. -- Marshall University... Use of Emergency Departments for Conditions Related to Poor Oral Health Care - Persistent and worsening shortages of oral health care providers in rural areas, combined with limited acceptance of Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP), have left many patients without adequate access to dental care. -- NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis... Substance Abuse in Rural America: Surprising Findings on Prevalence of Alcohol Abuse - Fact Sheet based on the full report, Substance Abuse in Rural and Small Town America, summarizes statistics on alcohol and meth use in rural and urban areas. It also explores the roles of treatment, law enforcement, and the community. -- Carsey Institute... Rural Medicare Advantage: Modest Enrollment Growth in 2010 - Reports that despite a slight drop in enrollment and a dramatic shift in the landscape of the rural Medicare Advantage (MA) market in early 2010, MA plans have experienced modest growth in enrollment in rural areas over the last two quarters of 2010. The majority of the growth is concentrated in preferred provider organization plans, counteracting a decline in private fee-for-service plan enrollment. -- RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis... Small Business Profile: United States - Profile of the United State's economy, covering the number of firms, industry composition, small business income, banking, women and minority business ownership, and employment. Also provides a breakdown of data for each state U.S. Territory. -- Small Business Administration... Long Term Care in North Dakota - Provides information about the long term care workforce and addresses demographic changes and the challenges of caring for aging North Dakotans. Includes statistics and data specific to rural North Dakota. -- North Dakota Long Term Care Association... Beyond Bingo - Proving the Stereotypes Wrong: How Technology Can Better Seniors Lives - Focus group gathers information from seniors on their relationship with technology with the premise that technology including computers and the Internet may have the potential to greatly benefit their health. -- HealthShare Montana... Rural Homelessness: Better Collaboration by HHS and HUD Could Improve Delivery of Services in Rural Areas - Report of GAO study on the characteristics of rural homelessness, available assistance, and barriers. -- Government Accountability Office... Training for a Rural Surgical Career: The Reflections of Two Gundersen Lutheran Graduates - Describes a Wisconsin residency program that works to prepare medical graduates for rural general surgery practice. Explores training factors that may influence the workforce shortage issues. -- ... Putting Smart Growth to Work in Rural Communities - Report focuses on smart growth strategies that can help guide growth in rural areas while protecting natural and working lands and preserving the rural character of existing communities. -- International City/County Management Association... Rural Spotlight: An Interview with Kristine Sande - The program director of the Rural Assistance Center (RAC) and the Health Workforce Information Center discusses her rural roots and the evolution of the RAC. -- Rural Assistance Center... Around the Country: Finding New Ways to Meet Oral Health Needs in Rural Areas - Reports that dentist shortages are prompting rural doctors and nurses to provide dental care themselves. Describes programs in Maine and Iowa in which oral health services are not provided by dental care professionals. -- Rural Assistance Center... Look What's Coming: Too Much in Common With China - Describes the Gini index, which reveals economic disparities, and shows that the United States is now on par with Mexico and China. -- Rural Assistance Center... Challenges for Human Services: Why Not a Rational Policymaking Process? - Addresses the issue that a comparative perspective on poverty has never revealed an encouraging storyline for U.S. policies. -- Rural Assistance Center... Innovative Programs Aim to Prevent Premature Births - Outlines programs in North Carolina and Georgia that help women carry their pregnancies longer, working to fight the trend that preterm births and infant mortality are higher in rural areas. -- Rural Assistance Center... Nurse Midwives Deliver Needed Services in Rural Areas - Offers an example of how midwives increasingly help fill gaps in rural obstetric care. -- Rural Assistance Center... A National View of Rural Health Workforce Issues in the USA - Australian study explores workforce shortage issues in rural America, including factors that influence recruitment and retention. Poses policy and program interventions. -- ... Substate Estimates from the 2006-2008 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health - Uses maps and charts to present estimates of the prevalence of substance use in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged 12 or older by both substate and census regions. -- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration... U.S. Accelerates Suicide Prevention with National Action Alliance Leadership - Today, on World Suicide Prevention Day, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Department of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced acceleration of efforts to respond to what has become a foremost, preventable public-health tragedy in our nation: suicide.... Overhaul's Effect on Health Spending Minimal, Government Study Says - The health overhaul and other recent legislative and regulatory changes will only modestly increase the nation's health tab through 2019, according to a government study published today, Kaiser Health News reports.... Researchers Say Access to Primary Care Doesnt Always Guarantee Better Health - Kaiser Health News article tells of a study released Thursday challenges two widely-held assumptions about medical care: that people who see a primary care physician will end up healthier than those who don’t, and that having more primary care doctors in an area guarantees better access for patients.... Sebelius Calls on Health Insurers to Stop Misinformation and Unjustified Rate Increases - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote Americas Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the national association of health insurers, calling on their members to stop using scare tactics and misinformation to falsely blame premium increases for 2011 on the patient protections in the Affordable Care Act.... AHA Urges FCC to Simplify Access to Broadband Funding for Rural Health Care - The AHA today urged the Federal Communications Commission to streamline its application and eligibility requirements for funding to help rural health care providers develop and use broadband services.... Telemedicine at the eICU - Journal-Standard, (IL) article tells of a new form of telemedicine that allows medical information to be electronically passed safely and securely from one site to another, providing a connection between rural physicians and hospitals to specialists at larger hospitals in metropolitan areas.... Program Cuts Red Tape for Volunteer Health Professionals - To make volunteering in an emergency easier for health professionals, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response launched a national website for the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP).... HHS Launches First of its Kind Consumer Focused Website in Spanish, Partner Site of HealthCare.gov - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today unveiled CuidadodeSalud.gov, http://www.cuidadodesalud.gov/enes/, the first website in Spanish of its kind to help consumers take control of their health care by connecting them to new information and resources that will help them access quality, affordable health care coverage.... Meaningful Use: Six Strategic Questions Rural Hospitals Should be Asking - Rural Health IT article gives six key questions all providers that are intent on participating in the meaningful use health information technology incentive program should be asking.... Highways: Rural Areas Underserved - Clarionledger.com, (MS) article discusses how the nation's rural highway system needs significant improvement and Mississippi is an excellent example of why that's true.... Decline in US Adult Smoking Rate Stalled - Despite the known dangers of tobacco use, 1 in 5 American adults continues to smoke cigarettes, and 4 in 10 nonsmokers were exposed to cigarette smoke during 2007-2008, according to reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.... AHRQ Releases New Spanish Language Guides for Patients - The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality today released a series of free evidence-based guides designed to help Spanish speakers understand and compare the risks, benefits and side effects of treatments for eight health conditions.... Growing Number of Patients Find a Hospital Stay Does Not Mean They're Admitted - Kaiser Health News article tells that hospitals are increasingly using observation care to cope with rising constraints from Medicare, which is under pressure to control costs. But the decision can mean more out-of-pocket expenses for patients.... A Few Rural Clinics are Resolved to Stay Open - The Sacramento Bee (CA) article tells what some clinics in rural California are doing to stay open in the face of severe state budget cuts.... Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan Announce National Coalition to Enroll Uninsured Kids in Health Care - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan highlight the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to enroll five million children in Medicaid and CHIP within five years. Also included is a newly released report from The Urban Institute on states success enrolling target populations in Medicaid and CHIP.... UnitedHealth to Loan $10M, Give $1M to Help Californias Critical Access Hospitals - San Francisco Business Times reports that UnitedHealth Group said Wednesday it will loan $10 million to help small rural hospitals in California improve their IT systems and adopt electronic health records, and will also provide $1 million in grants to get the process started.... USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Tonsager Announces Recipients of Rural Business Enterprise Grants - USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager has announced that 45 states, the Western Pacific region and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico will benefit from funding made available under the Rural Business Enterprise Grant program (RBEG).... Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Recovery Act Support for Public Safety, Community Centers, Public Schools and Health Care Facilities - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday announced investments in 28 states that will create jobs and improve needed infrastructure in rural communities across the nation.... Pawlenty Moves to Block Federal Health Reform Cash from Minnesota - Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal (MN) article reports that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has issued an executive order directing state agencies to decline all discretionary participation in the federal health care legislation.... White House Drug Policy Director Awards $85.6 Million to Local Communities to Prevent Youth Drug Use - Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), announced $22 million in new Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grants to 169 communities and 16 new DFC Mentoring grants across the country. These awards are in addition to the $63 million in Continuation grants simultaneously released to 549 currently funded DFC coalitions and seven DFC Mentoring Continuation coalitions. The grants provide community coalitions needed su... AHA Urges Changes to OPPS/ASC Proposed Rule - AHA News reports on concerns with certain provisions in the proposed CY 2011 prospective payment system rule for hospital outpatient services and ambulatory surgical centers. Among them was a request that CMS adhere closely to the ACA language on whole hospital and rural provider exceptions to the physician self-referral prohibition.... VA Publishes Final Regulation to Aid Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange - Veterans exposed to herbicides while serving in Vietnam and other areas will have an easier path to access quality health care and qualify for disability compensation under a final regulation that expands the list of health problems VA will presume to be related to Agent Orange and other herbicide exposures to add two new conditions and expand one existing category of conditions.... Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Support for Rural Electric Infrastructure Improvements - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday announced that 37 rural utilities and cooperatives in 20 states have been selected to receive guaranteed loans that will benefit more than 60,000 rural electric cooperative consumers by financing the construction and repair of almost 7,000 miles of distribution and transmissions lines.... ORHP Announces Funding Opportunity for the Rural Health Network Development Grant Program - The Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) is pleased to announce the release of the Rural Health Network Development Grant Program (RHND), a program to assist health oriented networks in developing and maintaining sustainable networks with self-generating revenue streams.... Initial EHR Certification Bodies Named - The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), Chicago, Ill. and the Drummond Group Inc. (DGI), Austin, Texas, were named today by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) as the first technology review bodies that have been authorized to test and certify electronic health record (EHR) systems for compliance with the standards and certification criteria that were issued by the U.S. De... Sebelius Announces 1 Million Medicare Beneficiaries Have Received Prescription Drug Cost Relief Under the Affordable Care Act - As part of the health insurance reform laws step-by-step efforts to close the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage gap, eligible beneficiaries who fall in this donut hole this year are mailed a one-time, tax-free $250 rebate check.... Agriculture Deputy Secretary Merrigan Joins USDA Employees in Donating Over 800 Pounds of Food to Rural Food Bank - Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today joined employees from six USDA agencies at an event in Nevada highlighting the Feds, Farmers and Friends Feed Families Food Drive, the national federal employee food drive initiative.... Secretary Sebelius Announces an Expansion of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Under the Affordable Care Act - HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services seeks up to 20 additional hospitals to participate in Medicare's Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program, which pays eligible small rural hospitals for covered inpatient hospital services under a cost-based methodology.... Medicaid EMR Guidelines Spell Out State Help for Doctors - American Medical News article reports that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published details for state Medicaid directors on what they should expect from the federal government as they administer the Medicaid portion of the electronic medical records (EMR) incentive program starting in 2011.... Medicare Program; Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program: Solicitation of Additional Participants - This notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announces a solicitation for up to 20 additional eligible hospitals to participate in the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration program for a 5-year period.... Copyright © 2010, Blurbosphere.com. All Rights Reserved. |