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Just 18 facilities were converted into Rural Emergency Hospitals so far. Advocates and lawmakers say tweaks to the law are needed to widen the reach and keep health care in rural communities.
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More than 43 million Americans drink, bathe, and cook with water from private wells, which can be tainted by farm or industrial runoff, leaky septic systems, or naturally occurring minerals.
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Faced with a slow rollout of the updated vaccines and without state mandates for workers to get vaccinated, most skilled facilities are relying on persuasion to boost vaccination rates among staff and residents.
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Advocates for improving rural health pushed for the CDC to extend its rural health focus. They hope the Office of Rural Health will commit to research and provide analyses that lead to good policies.
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Coastal and politically progressive states have passed stronger paid sick and family leave policies than many states with larger rural populations.
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When the pandemic began, senior service agencies hustled to rework health classes to include virtual options for older adults. Now that isolation has ended, virtual classes remain and access has increased.
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Some people say it’s reasonable for densely populated areas to receive more settlement funds, since they serve more of those affected. But others worry this overlooks rural communities disproportionately harmed by opioid addiction.
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Only a sliver of the funding allocated through the American Rescue Plan has been steered to mental health nationwide, but advocates and clinicians hope the money will help address gaps in care for children.
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Public transit is already insufficient in rural areas, leaving residents with few options as they travel greater distances to access health care. But older residents who depend on volunteers to get to appointments face another challenge.
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To keep emergency services afloat in rural areas, communities will have to go beyond volunteer-based programs to get people to distant hospitals, experts say. Meanwhile, some 911 calls go unanswered.