- Request for Information (RFI): Evolving the Network of the National Library of Medicine
- Dental Therapists, Who Can Fill Cavities and Check Teeth, Get the OK in More States
- Colorectal Cancer Is Rising among Younger Adults. Some States Want to Boost Awareness.
- Rural Hospitals Built During Baby Boom Now Face Baby Bust
- Food Stamps Go Further in Rural Areas — Until You Add Transportation Costs
- CMS Announces Resources and Flexibilities to Assist with the Public Health Emergency in the State of Texas
- CMS Proposes New Payments for Digital Health Under CY2025 PFS Draft Rule
- Improving Public Health by Strengthening Community Infrastructure
- Biden Harris Administration Proposes Policies to Reduce Maternal Mortality, Advance Health Equity, and Support Underserved Communities
- Nearly Half of U.S. Counties Don't Have a Single Cardiologist
- Randolph County, Ill. Turns Unused Part of Nursing Home Into State-Of-The-Art Behavioral Health Center
- Safe and Stable Housing Is a Foundation of Successful Recovery
- Rural RPM Program Is a Lifeline for Pregnant Women
- Expert: Rural Hospitals Are Particularly Vulnerable to Increasing Cyberattacks Targeting Healthcare Facilities
- Biden-Harris Administration Invests Over $200 Million to Help Primary Care Doctors, Nurses, and Other Health Care Providers Improve Care for Older Adults
Rural Broadband in the Time of COVID-19
This April 16, 2020 webinar recording highlights the state of rural broadband and its capacity to handle the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic. It discusses remote work, distance learning, telehealth, the CARES Act, and the pandemic in Indian Country. The webinar is presented in two parts. Find Part 1 here. Find Part 2 here.
Public Health Response to the Initiation and Spread of Pandemic COVID-19 in the United States, February 24–April 21, 2020
This report identifies factors that contributed to the spread of COVID-19 in early 2020. It discusses transmission due to travel, large gatherings (including a funeral in rural Georgia), high-risk workplaces such as rural meatpacking facilities, densely populated areas, and unrecognized transmission related to limited testing and asymptomatic and presymptomatic spread. Read more here.
OCR Update on HIPAA and COVID-19
This video provides a recording of an April 24, 2020, webinar on HIPAA privacy and health information technology security issues related to COVID-19. It discusses several U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights actions during the pandemic, including notifications of enforcement discretion and guidance for telehealth remote communications, first responders and public health authorities, and other stakeholders. Find the video here.
How will the COVID-19 Recession Impact People with Disabilities in Rural America?
This fact sheet discusses ways in which rural people with disabilities are especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 recession. It analyzes data from the 2015 and 2016 Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making and the American Time Use Survey 2017-18 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module. It features statistics on numbers of people with disabilities who have emergency funds, paid sick leave, and jobs that can be done from home, with breakdowns by rural or metropolitan location. Read more here.
COVID-19: Protecting Your Vulnerable Patients with Proactive Outreach
This article discusses ways to protect at-risk patients with proactive outreach during the pandemic. It emphasizes the importance of active outreach and ways to engage patients in new care options, and it examines special circumstances concerning telehealth and annual wellness visits. Read more here.
COVID-19 in Rural America – Is There Cause for Concern?
This issue brief compares the incidence of COVID-19 cases and deaths in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties in the United States. It features statistics including numbers of cases and deaths in the top 5 metro and nonmetro counties as of April 27, 2020, and average COVID-19 cases and deaths per 100,000 people and rates of increase in deaths, with breakdowns by metro and nonmetro counties. Read more here.
COVID-19 Among Workers in Meat and Poultry Processing Facilities ― 19 States, April 2020
This report examines COVID-19 cases among workers in 115 meat and poultry processing facilities reported by 19 states. It discusses factors potentially affecting risk for infection, including difficulties with workplace physical distancing and hygiene and crowded living and transportation conditions. It also includes recommended changes to address these issues. Read more here.
Childhood Obesity Resources Related to COVID-19
This resource provides a collection of resources to help prevent childhood weight gain during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes links to fact sheets and programs for parents and teachers, nutrition guidance for practitioners, and modules and webinars for graduate students and faculty engaging in virtual learning and teaching. Read more here.
Rural Transit Agencies Are Keeping People Alive
Rural transit agencies are a lifeline to the communities they serve and have stayed open during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure residents are able to access essentials. This article discusses how they have adapted, the impact COVID-19 has had on rural transit agencies financially, and how they get their funding. Read more here.
Meatpacking and Prisons Drive the Rural COVID-19 Infection Rate
From The Daily Yonder:
This article summarizes an analysis that identified economic patterns in the distribution of COVID-19 cases. Findings show more than a third of new cases emerging in rural counties originated where manufacturing is the predominant economic driver. It also identifies prisons as a driver of coronavirus infections, as well as recreation economies. Read more here.