- Q&A: Angela Gonzales (Hopi), on New Indigenous Health Research Dashboard
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- 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
- UAA Training for Health Care Providers Keeps Victims of Violent Crimes from Falling Through the Cracks
- Helene Exacerbated Rise in Homelessness Across Western North Carolina
- 'It's a Crisis': How the Shortage of Mental Health Counselors Is Affecting the Rural Northwest
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- Struggling to Adapt
As Rural Groceries Fade Away, Lawmakers Wonder Whether to Act
Nancy McCloud did not have any food industry bona fides. She had never worked in a grocery store; not even a restaurant. And yet three years ago, when her local grocery in central New Mexico closed, she wanted to offer the community (population: 863) the fresh foods they otherwise would have to travel 47 miles to get.
Mountainair, New Mexico, is a popular tourist stop because of its proximity to 17th century ruins that harken to the earliest contact between Pueblo Indians and Spanish colonials. It’s known as the “gateway to ancient cities.” But without a grocery store, McCloud feared Mountainair might become another relic of the past.
“When you have a small rural town and the grocery store dies, the town dries up and it just blows away,” said McCloud, who revived B Street Market in 2017 and became its owner. “There are six towns east of here — they just lost the grocery store, then they lost the gas station, and then they lost the bank and now they’re nothing.”
Some states are trying to tackle their rural grocery gaps. Supporters of such efforts point to tax incentives and subsidies at various levels of government that have enabled superstores to service larger areas and squeeze out local independent grocers. Now, dollar stores are opening in rural regions and offering items at lower prices, posing direct competition to local groceries.
Critics see that development as a threat to public health, since dollar stores typically lack quality meat and fresh produce.
But every town and every store is different, making statewide solutions elusive. Some legislators say they are reluctant to intervene too heavily because the market should close the gaps.
In North Dakota, a legislative panel is studying rural food distribution and transportation amid a steep decline in the number of groceries serving rural areas. The committee is considering whether there are public policies that could work, said state Rep. Thomas Beadle, a Republican committee member. But Beadle hopes consumers will organize and solve problems on their own.
“North Dakota is a red-leaning state,” Beadle said. “We’re much more free market than having government intervention. It really would take a drastic instance for the state to step in.”
State Sen. Jim Dotzenrod, a Democratic committee member, said legislators are trying to understand the scope of the problem and whether they can do anything about it.
“One of the things we’re trying to decide is, are there state resources that are currently in place that could be of some value, whether it’s storage or transportation or things like that,” Dotzenrod said. “It may be when we’re done with this, we’ll have to say we don’t have a solution at hand. But I’m hoping that we can come up with some ideas that will help.”
Read the entire article here.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Asking for Public Comment
The United States Preventive Services Task Force has announced an opportunity for public comment on “Draft Research Plan for Prevention of Dental Caries in Children Younger Than Age 5 Years: Screening and Interventions.” All comments must be submitted electronically and are due by October 16, 2019. Click here to view the full report and submit comments.
World Cavity-Free Day 2019
World Cavity-Free Day is October 14, 2019. This initiative was launched by the Alliance for a Cavity-Free Future in 2016. Use the 2019 resource pack to find family resources, professional resources, posters, images, infographics, a toolkit, and background information to promote World Cavity-Free Day in your area. Click here to view the resource pack.
Continuing Education Credits Offered for Continuing Awareness
Staying up to date on alerts sent by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now a way for clinicians to earn Continuing Education credits. The most recent alerts for which the credits are offered provide up-to-date information and guidance from the CDC on transmission of HIV, care for homeless persons who are at risk of contracting Hepatitis A, and Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections – all conditions that have been related to needle-sharing behavior. The credits are offered through a CDC partnership with Medscape, a website providing news and resources for health professionals. The CE credits can be accessed here.
CMS Issues Final Rule on Discharge Planning Requirements for Hospitals, CAHs, and HHAs
On September 26, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule updating regulations for hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and home health agencies (HHAs) on the transition from acute care into post-acute care (PAC), a process called “discharge planning.” For CAHs, the final rule adds a new, separate condition of participation (CoP) specific to discharge planning. The new regulatory language outlines the standards for the discharge planning process, beginning with identifying those patients (at an early stage of hospitalization) likely to suffer adverse health consequences upon discharge in the absence of adequate discharge planning. Detail on the specific requirements is provided in the Federal Register. These regulations will go into effect on November 29, 2019.
CMS Issues Omnibus Burden Reduction Final Rule
On September 26, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule to remove or update Medicare regulations the agency has identified as unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome on hospitals and other healthcare providers. This includes regulatory updates for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), rural health clinics (RHCs) federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), and hospital and CAH swing-bed providers. Among other updates for CAHs, the final rule replaces the current requirement on systems for infection control with a new infection prevention and control and antibiotic stewardship Condition of Participation (CoP). CMS is also requiring that CAHs develop, implement, and maintain Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement Programs (QAPI) programs, that will replace the existing annual evaluation and quality assurance review requirement. In implementing the QAPI requirements, CMS encourages CAHs to utilize the technical assistance and services available through the State Flex Programs, including the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP). For RHCs and FQHCs, the final rule reduces the frequency of review of the patient care policies and facility evaluation from annually to every two years. The final rule also makes changes to other requirements such as those pertaining to emergency preparedness. To see all the facility types and regulations affected, you may access the final rule in the Federal Register. These regulations will go into effect on November 29, 2019, except for the CAH QAPI and antibiotic stewardship requirements (March 30, 2021 and March 30, 2020, respectively).
RHIhub Toolkit for Rural Suicide Prevention
The Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) recently announced a new toolkit that compiles resources and model programs to aid organizations in implementing suicide prevention programs in rural communities. According to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide rates are higher in rural areas of the country. Earlier this year, the CDC released a map of suicide mortality, showing a concentration in states that are mostly rural.
New Brief: CAH Participation in Flex Financial and Operational Improvement Activities
The national Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex) Monitoring Team has released a new policy brief on Critical Access Hospital (CAH) participation in Flex financial and operational improvement activities. The brief aims to identify the patterns of CAH participation in Flex-funded activities from 2015 to 2018 and to investigate whether CAHs at greater risk of financial distress were more likely to participate in financial and operational improvement activities. The brief may accessed via the link below or on the Flex Monitoring Team website.
Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s Administration Announces Expansion of Long-Term Care Program Helping Seniors Live in their Homes and Communities
October 1, 2019
Harrisburg, PA – The Wolf Administration today announced a 14-county expansion of the Living Independence for the Elderly (LIFE) program, a long-term care program that helps seniors live in their home and coordinates their health and personal needs. Through this expansion, LIFE programs, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Human Services (DHS), will be established in Bradford, Cameron, Carbon, Centre, Clearfield, Elk, Fulton, Jefferson, Monroe, Potter, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wayne Counties.
“All Pennsylvanians deserve to age in place in their community with family and peers as they are able. LIFE programs around Pennsylvania help make this possible,” said DHS Secretary Teresa Miller. “We are pleased to be able to bring the LIFE program to more Pennsylvanians around the commonwealth.”
Many older Pennsylvanians wish to continue living in their homes and their communities for as long as economically and medically feasible; and Pennsylvania’s LIFE program enables participants to stay out of nursing homes and remain in their own homes and communities and live happier, more productive, and more fulfilling lives.
“This LIFE expansion will give seniors and their loved ones what we know they want — the opportunity to get the care they need without being separated from the community and family they’ve grown comfortable with,” said Department of Aging Secretary Robert Torres. “Social isolation remains an enormous concern for the aging population, so having this long-term care option made more accessible in 14 counties will benefit many Pennsylvania families.”
The program was first implemented in Pennsylvania in 1998 and is known nationally as the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). People who are 55 or older who meet the level of care for a skilled nursing facility or special rehabilitation facility, are able to be safely served in the community, and live in an area served by a LIFE provider are eligible for LIFE. LIFE participants must also meet financial eligibility requirements or privately pay for services.
The Wolf Administration is committed to serving people in the community, and LIFE is an option that allows older Pennsylvanians to live independently while receiving services and supports that meet their health and personal needs. The LIFE program is one of Pennsylvania’s home and community-based services options, currently serving more than 7,000 people across the state.
The expansion of the program will allow more people in more parts of the state to be served by LIFE. The service areas of Carbon, Monroe, Susquehanna, Wayne and Centre counties have been assigned to LIFE Geisinger. LIFE Geisinger is currently active in nine other counties. The Clearfield, Jefferson, Elk and Cameron service areas have been assigned to LIFE Northwestern Pennsylvania, who is currently active seven other counties. In addition, the Bradford, Potter, Sullivan, Tioga, and Fulton service areas have been assigned to Community LIFE, who is currently active in two other counties.
For more information on the LIFE program, visit http://dhs.pa.gov/citizens/life/.
The ‘Best Places to Work’
During the week of September 23, 2019, Modern Healthcare released its 2019 ranked list of the “Best Places to Work in Health Care,” featuring hospitals, suppliers, and other organizations in the industry. For this year’s edition, Modern Healthcare ranked 75 providers and insurers on one list and 75 suppliers on another. (Source: Modern Healthcare, 9/26)