Rural Health Information Hub Latest News

What’s the bare-minimum income a Pennsylvania household of four needs to survive? Try nearly $60,000 a year.

To survive in Pennsylvania, a family of four needs to make $59,340 a year — a hard-to-fathom, sticker-shock number that shows how expensive life has become.

That’s the finding of a recently released report by Harrisburg-based United Way of Pennsylvania.

Continue reading “What’s the bare-minimum income a Pennsylvania household of four needs to survive? Try nearly $60,000 a year.”

Comments Requested: PTAC Proposal on Remote Specialist Care

Comments Requested:  PTAC Proposal on Remote Specialist Care – October 1.  ThePhysician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) requests public comment on a proposal for a new payment model that would create either Regional Referral Centers (RRCs) or a single National Referral Center (NRC) to provide remote specialists and experts for most health issues. The specialists would support field providers such as visiting nurses, community providers, PCPs, or hospital doctors and would serve any geographic location. Comments can be emailed to PTAC@hhs.gov with the subject line “Public Comment – [name of document].”

Read the document here:

https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/261881/ProposalSobel.pdf

 

Good Oral Health a Positive Part of the Ageing Process

The world’s population is ageing, and experts predict that by 2050, 25% of the world’s population – 2 billion people – will be over 60 years old. A fifth of these – 400 million – will be over 80 years old. Epidemiological studies show that older persons are particularly affected by poor oral health, with negative consequences on their general health. Oral conditions such as dental caries, periodontal disease, tooth loss, dry mouth or oral cancer affect their chewing function and nutritional intake, as well as their ability to interact socially.

Continue reading “Good Oral Health a Positive Part of the Ageing Process”

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Awards $9 Million to Develop New Models to Improve Obstetrics Care in Rural Communities

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded nearly $9 million to launch the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program. Recipients from three states, Missouri, New Mexico and Texas, will receive up to $600,000 in a planning year and up to $800,000 in three implementation years to pilot, test, and develop models that improve access to and continuity of maternal obstetrics care in rural communities. Continue reading “U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Awards $9 Million to Develop New Models to Improve Obstetrics Care in Rural Communities”

Broadband Research Base

The National Data Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) has created a searchable collection of reports, studies and journal articles that address the impact of broadband and digital inclusion on community and individual well-being.  Click here to access the resource.

New Report Details Community Impact and Benefit Activities of Critical Access, Small Rural, and Urban Hospitals

The Flex Monitoring Team has released a new report on the community impact and benefit activities of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), rural non-CAHs, and urban hospitals. The report enables State Flex Programs and CAH administrators to compare the community impact and benefit profiles of CAHs nationally to the performance of CAHs in their state.

The report may be found in the link below. Pages 1–5 provide national data with key findings and pages 6–95 provide state-specific tables. Shortcut links to each state’s tables are on the bottom of page 5.  The report can be accessed here.