- Who Needs Dry January More: Rural or Urban Drinkers?
- Rural Families Have 'Critical' Need for More Hospice, Respite Care
- States Help Child Care Centers Expand in Bid To Create More Slots, Lower Prices
- Rural Telehealth Sees More Policy Wins, but Only Short-Term
- Healing a Dark Past: The Long Road To Reopening Hospitals in the Rural South
- Study: Obstetrics Units in Rural Communities Declining
- Q&A: Angela Gonzales (Hopi), on New Indigenous Health Research Dashboard
- Not All Expectant Moms Can Reach a Doctor's Office. This Kentucky Clinic Travels to Them.
- Hawaiʻi's Physician Shortage Hits Maui Hardest
- Choctaw Nation Found a Better Way to Deliver Harm Reduction. It's Working.
- In Rural America, Heart Disease Is Increasingly Claiming Younger Lives
- HHS Launches Healthy Border 2030 Framework Highlighting Health Priorities and Actions to Support Border Communities and Populations
- Gaps in Mental Health Training, Rural Access to Care Compound Az's Maternal Mortality Crisis
- Enticing Rural Residents to Practice Where They Train
- New Round of Federal Funding Open for Rural Health Initiatives
FISA Foundation Announces Funding for Access to Care
The FISA Foundation has announced a new request for proposals (RFP) to improve access to health care for people with disabilities in southwestern Pennsylvania. They will be funding grants up to $20,000 as part of a new initiative. The deadline to submit proposals is March 3rd. There is an informational session regarding the RFP on January 29th at 1pm via Zoom.
Click here for more information.
Click here to register for the informational session.
Leapfrog Honors Pennsylvania Leader as ‘Outstanding Healthcare CEO’
From Becker’s Hospital Review
Richard Anderson, longtime president and CEO of St. Luke’s University Health Network, is this year’s recipient of the Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding Healthcare CEO from Costs of Care and The Leapfrog Group.
The award was established to celebrate “a hospital and/or health system CEO who has demonstrated courageous and ethical leadership addressing the twin issues of affordability and quality.”
Mr. Anderson has been at the helm of Bethlehem, Pa.-based St. Luke’s for nearly 40 years, steering its transformation from a community hospital to a 15-campus system, according to a Dec. 17 news release from the health system. He has also led efforts to expand the network’s education programs, including the establishment of Temple St. Luke’s School of Medicine, the only medical school campus in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley region. St. Luke’s is a nonprofit, integrated system with more than 350 outpatient sites and a workforce comprising more than 20,000 employees.
The health system consistently earns top accolades in major quality and safety programs, including Leapfrog Safety Grades and CMS Hospital Star Ratings. All of St. Luke’s 11 hospitals eligible to participate in the Leapfrog safety survey received “A” grades this year, and 10 of its hospitals earned the highest rating of five stars in CMS’ quality program.
The annual award is named after Steven Schroeder, MD, who spent much of his career mentoring healthcare leaders on advocating for greater affordability and quality in care delivery. He is a professor of health at UC San Francisco and former president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
This marks the seventh annual edition of the award from The Leapfrog Group and Costs of Care, a nonprofit organization focused on advancing healthcare affordability.
Read more about the award and past recipients here.
New Study Released on Pediatric Traumatic Dental Injuries in Rural Pennsylvania
Authors from the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine recently published a study, “Pediatric Traumatic Dental Injuries in Rural Pennsylvania: a 9-Year Retrospective Review.” The study included reviewing health records of 268 pediatric dental patients ages 6 months to 17 years who presented at the emergency department at Geisinger Medical center between July 2010 and July 2019 with traumatic dental injuries (TDIs). The results showed that TDIs were more common in male patients and were most likely to present during summer months. The most common injuries occurred outdoors and were caused by sporting activities.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Releases Annual Report
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released the “14th Annual Report to Congress on High-Priority Evidence Gaps for Clinical Preventive Services.” This annual report reflects on preventive recommendations and calls attention to high-priority research gaps related to promoting health across the lifespan. The report also highlights research gaps in underserved populations and high-risk groups.
Appalachian Commission Awards Funds to Collaborative Oral Health Workforce Project in Pennsylvania, Other States
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) awarded $192,050 was awarded to HealthPath Foundation of Ohio to build the oral health workforce and improve access to oral healthcare in North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Impacting 170 counties across four Appalachian states, this project will engage state partners, educational institutions, and state oral health coalitions (including the PA Coalition for Oral Health) in identifying and detailing state-specific needs to address 144 areas that lack an adequate number of dental health professionals—affecting more than 7.8 million Appalachians.
NOW OPEN: 2025 CMS Health Equity Conference Call for Proposals
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host the 2025 CMS Health Equity Conference: Building a Healthier America on April 23-24, 2025. The free, hybrid conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bethesda, Maryland, and available virtually. This year’s conference theme is Building a Healthier America, and attendees will have the opportunity to hear from CMS on recent updates to CMS programs, explore the latest research, and collaborate on community engagement strategies.
The call for proposals is now open!
Are you interested in submitting your work for consideration? Community organizations, academics, researchers, and others are encouraged to submit proposals by 5 p.m. ET on Friday, January 17, 2025.
Proposals must focus on this year’s theme, Building a Healthier America. Additionally, proposals must demonstrate a connection to CMS programs (Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, Marketplace, models, or other CMS programs) and must tie directly into one of the following conference tracks:
- Data access/collection
- Health workforce
- Language access and health literacy
- Accessibility
- Affordability
- Quality and safety
- Health in rural and geographically isolated communities
- Tribal health
- Maternal health
- Behavioral health
- Care for people with disabilities
- Economically disadvantaged communities
- Healthy lifestyle
Information and guidelines for submitting proposals can be found on the conference website. We will also be reviewing these guidelines during our Call for Proposals webinar on January 9 at 1 p.m. ET. Register for the webinar here.
New Data American Community Survey Data Released
The 2019-2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates have been released, providing updated demographic and socio-economic data for Pennsylvania’s counties and municipalities. The report highlights a 4.7% increase in owner-occupied housing units, rising home values, and changes in housing costs for both renters and homeowners.
For a look at these trends and their impact on counties across Pennsylvania, explore the full report.
Save the Date! 2025 CMS Health Equity Conference: Building a Healthier America
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is excited to announce the 2025 CMS Health Equity Conference: Building a Healthier America on April 23-24, 2025. The free, hybrid conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Bethesda, Maryland, and available virtually.
CMS looks forward to convening leaders from federal and local agencies, health provider organizations, academia, community-based organizations, and others to discuss strategies and best practices for building healthier communities and a healthier nation – together. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to hear from CMS leadership on recent developments and updates to CMS programs; explore the latest research; and collaborate on community engagement strategies.
The Call for Proposals will open later this week, and conference registration will open in early 2025. Please note our conference website has changed—for more information, please visit https://cmshealthequitycon.com/.
CMS looks forward to hosting the 2025 CMS Health Equity Conference, and we welcome your attendance and participation as we work together to build a healthier America.
Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation Names New President
The Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Amy Kempinski, MSN, RN, CEN, TCRN as its next President. She will assume this role on January 1, 2025, upon the retirement of current President, Juliet Altenburg.
“We are delighted to welcome Amy Kempinski as our new President,” said Dr Henry Boateng, Chair of the PTSF Board of Directors. “After a rigorous nationwide search, including input from trauma care experts, organizational partners, and PTSF Board members, Amy’s comprehensive understanding of trauma systems and professional leadership made her the clear choice to lead PTSF into the next chapter of innovative trauma system development.”
Kempinski, who previously served as the Foundation’s Vice President, brings extensive experience in trauma systems and clinical expertise to this role. Her distinguished career spans the trauma spectrum, and her national influence is exemplified through her role as a member of the American College of Surgeons System Consultation Team, and her work as a consultant and site surveyor for trauma centers across the United States.
A Past President of the Society of Trauma Nurses (STN), Kempinski demonstrated her commitment to advancing trauma care through numerous leadership positions and educational initiatives. She is an active member in multiple professional organizations and has notable contributions to the field, including publications focused on trauma accreditation, performance improvement, crew resource management, leadership, and injury prevention.
In her new role, Kempinski will oversee PTSF’s mission of improving outcomes for trauma patients through accreditation, education, and research across Pennsylvania’s trauma centers. She will lead strategic initiatives to enhance the state’s trauma care system and strengthen collaboration among healthcare providers.
PTSF extends their gratitude to Juliet Altenburg MSN, RN, for her dedicated service to PTSF since 2000. Her time with PTSF caps a 40-year career in trauma nursing, trauma system development, and advocacy.
Cooperative Partnership Increases Equitable Access to Healthy Foods in Western Pennsylvania
Former high school athlete Tyrone (Ty) Patillo of Aliquippa, PA, has community service in his blood. His father was the first minority firefighter in the community. Ty continues the family tradition of giving back. His dedication to helping his hometown led him to look for solutions to make healthy food options more accessible in the area.
Autumn Vogel of the Keystone Development Center (KDC) shares a similar passion for public service and community work. As the co-op developer with KDC, she loves to help communities use the power of co-ops to solve local problems.
Now, with the help of USDA Rural Development (RD), Autumn and Ty will be partnering together to help realize his vision of more equitable food access for the community, with the formation of the Aliquippa Food Co-op. Ty has already been working with the KDC to learn about co-ops, draft plans, and form a steering committee. With a $150,000 Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) grant in hand, KDC will help Ty and the steering committee move into the organizing and pre-construction phase.
In 1991, Ty and teammates such as NFL Hall-of-Famer Ty Law, led the Aliquippa High School football team to their first state championship. Ty used football as a path to success. His performance led him to play at Division 1 – The University of Akron in Ohio and then generated a successful career in real estate development.
Ty describes his community of more than 9,000 residents as being close knit – where everybody knows everybody. In communities like Aliquippa, cooperation can make or break a community. With family still living in Aliquippa, Ty became aware of the low-access food areas that exist in several parts of Beaver County – including his hometown.
After several ideas to address this issue fell through, Ty decided to combine the need for healthy foods and a close-knit community into a regional solution. He began the plan to develop a food co-op.
“This gives me an opportunity with this food co-op to get involved and really create something that the community can own,” Ty said.
None of this would be possible without local, state, and federal partnerships, and of course local champions like Ty Patillo. On Nov. 1, 2024, USDA RD announced the HFFI investment to aid the Aliquippa Food Co-op.
“Many low-income communities in Pennsylvania lack adequate, affordable access to healthy food,” Pennsylvania State Director Bob Morgan for USDA RD said. “USDA is proud to partner with KDC to ensure that these funds and resources reach the communities where they are needed most, so people can find nutritious food options anywhere they live.”
This announcement was part of USDA’s comprehensive set of efforts, bolstered by funding made available through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), to create more and better markets that benefit both producers and American consumers.
Without partnerships such as those with KDC, it would be difficult to reach the communities that need these investments the most.
Autumn has been a co-op developer with KDC for about five years. Autumn posits that her passion for public service and community work began during her childhood and college education at Allegheny College.
“Many of us look at the world around us and wish that it could be a little different,” she said. “I have a belief in people’s ability to work together for the place that they are in for a shared wealth, prosperity, and well-being.”
“Co-ops have been a really good way for me to see people coming together, to make decisions together, to work for things they can share and have,” she said. “They can address needs together that they could not address on their own. It is a really powerful model.”
Since 2021, USDA has invested more than $1.56 million in its partnership with KDC through programs such as the Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG), Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant (SDGG), Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG), and HFFI programs.
“Our [KDC’s] history is bound up in USDA funding,” Autumn said. “We wouldn’t really exist without that partnership. It is the bulk of funding that our center gets, and I know that is true for other centers as well.”
The Aliquippa Food Co-op is an inspiring group and KDC is in a supporting role, she said.
“They are so committed to that place, and they really do have a vision for the co-op and what it could mean for the area,” Autumn said.
Ty learned how to run, organize, and launch a successful cooperative in one of KDC’s co-op academies and graduated from the program in 2023. He left the program with the message that you can’t run a co-op by yourself, so he established a steering team and plan with the help of KDC. KDC was then able to provide further technical assistance to Ty and the steering committee thanks to funding support from NCBA-CLUSA’s Strengthening Co-op Capacity for Historically Underserved Farmers program.
The Healthy Food Financing Initiative was a little more flexible of a program for KDC because it allows co-development centers like KDC to support urban organizations. Because Aliquippa is located close to Pittsburgh, it is considered an urban community through federal regulations.
Ty and his food co-op steering committee have selected a site for the future co-op. They also conducted a feasibility study into the site’s potential performance and the local market. The co-op sees supporting local food entrepreneurs and farmers as core to its mission.
Now that the outreach and community engagement has begun, they plan to open the food co-op in the next three years and anticipate the co-op will serve about 30,000 people in a four-mile radius.
“Getting local food into this market is critical,” Autumn said. With partnerships such as these in Aliquippa, access to affordable healthy food will be possible.