Rural Health Information Hub Latest News

Pennsylvania’s Fight Against COVID-19: Manufacturing Call to Action Portal

Over the past several weeks, the Pennsylvania departments of Community & Economic Development, Health, General Services, and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency have heard from countless manufacturers and other businesses from across the commonwealth about how they can help through their existing means and through new innovative techniques.

Many of you have also reached out to share your challenges, supply chain disruptions and workforce issues, which are impeding your ability to produce more of what is most needed to battle COVID-19.

Earlier today, we announced the creation of the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Call to Action Portal, which will help streamline those requests and facilitate the connections you need to overcome your challenges and provide critical supplies to Pennsylvania.

It is our goal to connect you directly with a dedicated team of case managers who will thoroughly evaluate your company’s needs, seamlessly connecting you with the appropriate resource or partner organization(s) who will provide additional support.

Understanding the True State of Connectivity in America

This resource provides an overview of the TestIT mobile app, developed to study cellular and broadband internet services, and the data collected from app users. It examines download speeds by county compared to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) standards. It also discusses challenges rural and underserved communities with a limited broadband infrastructure face, including economic development, education and workforce development, and access to health and human services. Find more information here.

Issue Brief: Creating a High-value Telehealth Strategy

This issue brief explores how hospitals can use telehealth services to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. It discusses approaches to deliver telehealth services and provides guidelines to consider when developing a telehealth strategy. It also provides examples of how rural hospitals are using telehealth services to meet community needs. Read more here.

Bureau of Health Workforce Clinician Dashboards

This resource offers data tools and information on retention and distribution of participants who have completed their training or service in Bureau of Health Workforce programs from 2012-2018. Shows retention rates for National Health Service Corps and Nurse Corps alumni and includes filters for various clinician, program, location, and site characteristics. It features statistics with breakdowns by percentages of clinicians currently working in Health Professional Shortage Areas or working in rural communities. Find more information here.

The Behavioral Health Workforce in Rural America: Developing a National Recruitment Strategy

This project describes successful strategies to recruit and retain behavioral health workers in rural areas, based on phone interviews with state-level experts in rural health and behavioral health. It explores financial incentives, education and training programs, telehealth, licensure or scope of practice changes, innovative state approaches, and policy considerations. Read more here.