Rural issues

By understanding the attitudes and beliefs that drive patient behavior, health care organizations “can design messaging that promotes positive health outcomes, including messages deployed during a public health emergency,” writes Erin Fogarty, health education and marketing director for the…

The shortage of behavioral health care professionals is a serious public health issue, particularly in rural areas. In rural Iowa, some care providers have found successful new pathways to recruit, train and retain behavioral health specialists. 

The shortage of behavioral health care professionals is a serious public health issue, particularly in rural areas.

During a roundtable live-streamed this week from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, CEOs from Dartmouth Health, Maine Health and The University of Vermont Health Network discussed the crisis facing the nation’s rural hospitals and health systems, from workforce shortages to inflation and payer and…

When a community health needs assessment was conducted in Hardeman County, Tennessee, it confirmed that not only was obesity a serious health threat for adults and children, but accessing food at all was a problem for many county residents.

Hear how the results of a community health needs assessment in Hardeman County, Tennessee, spurred local hospitals to tackle food insecurity with innovative new approaches.

Congress should support flexible payment options and update reimbursement rates to help rural hospitals overcome the challenges that threaten access to care in rural communities, the AHA told the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care in a statement submitted for a hearing May 17 on the issue.

AHA statement for the record as the Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Health Care examines obstacles and opportunities to improve health care access in rural communities.

Several House and Senate committees will hold hearings this week on a variety of issues that affect hospitals and health systems.

AHA urged leaders of the House (LINK) and Senate (LINK) Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education to give favorable funding consideration in fiscal year 2024 to health care programs shown to improve access to quality health care for patients and communities.