Tracking State Rural Health Transformation Plans
51ÊÓƵ Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Rural Health
51ÊÓƵ Health News covers the health issues facing people who live in America’s rural reaches.
461-480 of 823 results
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Older Americans Say They Feel Trapped in Medicare Advantage Plans
As enrollment in private Medicare Advantage plans grows, so do concerns about how well the insurance works, including from those who say they have become trapped in the private plans as their health declines.
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Listen to ‘Tradeoffs’: How the Loss of a Rural Hospital Compounds the Collapse of Care
Six years ago, the hospital in Fort Scott, Kansas, shuttered, leaving residents in the small community without a cornerstone health care institution. In the years since, despite new programs meant to save small hospitals, dozens of other communities have watched theirs close.
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Can Family Doctors Deliver Rural America From Its Maternal Health Crisis?
Family medicine doctors already deliver most of rural America's babies, and efforts to train more in obstetrics care are seen as a way to cope with labor and delivery unit closures.
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Child Care Gaps in Rural America Threaten to Undercut Small Communities
Deep gaps in rural America’s child care system threaten communities’ stability by shrinking the workforce and inhibiting economic potential. Now that pandemic-era federal aid for child care programs and low-income families has ended, it’s up to state and local leaders to find solutions.
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The Year in Opioid Settlements: 5 Things You Need to Know
In the past year, opioid settlement money has gone from an emerging funding stream for which people had lofty but uncertain aspirations to a coveted pot of billions being invested in remediation efforts. Here are some important and evolving factors to watch going forward.
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Inside the Pentagon’s Painfully Slow Effort to Clean Up Decades of PFAS Contamination
Cost estimates balloon and complications mount as the Defense Department grapples with PFAS pollution at hundreds of its bases and surrounding communities.
By Hannah Norman and Patricia Kime -
Mysterious Morel Mushrooms at Center of Food Poisoning Outbreak
Federal officials issued their first guidelines on preparing morel mushrooms after a deadly food poisoning outbreak in Montana, noting the toxins in the delicacy aren’t fully understood.
By Keely Larson -
Millions in Opioid Settlement Funds Sit Untouched as Overdose Deaths Rise
Some states haven't begun using opioid settlement funds intended to help curb the opioid epidemic. Meanwhile, more than 100,000 Americans died of an overdose last year.
By Katheryn Houghton and Aneri Pattani -
People With Disabilities Hope Autonomous Vehicles Deliver Independence
A pilot project in northern Minnesota aims to pave the way for fully autonomous vehicles to offer independence for people who can’t drive.
By Tony Leys -
Watch: She Had a Home and a Good-Paying Job. Then Illness and Debt Upended It All.
A chronic health diagnosis and medical debt reordered Sharon Woodward's life.
By Noam N. Levey and Hannah Norman -
Journalists Delve Into Gun Violence, Medicaid’s ‘Unwinding,’ Opioid Lawsuits, and More
51ÊÓƵ Health News and California Healthline staffers made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
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Being Black and Pregnant in the Deep South Can Be a Dangerous Combination
Being Black has always been dangerous for pregnant women and infants in the South. And researchers say things are continuing to move in the wrong direction.
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Food Sovereignty Movement Sprouts as Bison Return to Indigenous Communities
Native American leaders see bison herds and ancestral gardens as ways to bring healthy eating to their people.
By Jim Robbins -
Doctors on (Video) Call: Rural Medics Get Long-Distance Help in Treating Man Gored by Bison
A rural South Dakota medic said using an ambulance video system to communicate with a doctor gave him peace of mind as he treated a patient who was seriously injured when gored by a bison.
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‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in Freshwater Fish, Yet Most States Don’t Warn Residents
At least 17 states have issued PFAS-related fish consumption advisories, 51ÊÓƵ Health News found. But with no federal guidance, what is considered safe to eat varies significantly among states, most of which provide no regulation.
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‘Forever Chemicals’ in Thousands of Private Wells Near Military Sites, Study Finds
New research finds that private wells near more than 82% of select military sites were contaminated with PFAS chemicals.
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Evolving Overdose Crisis Shakes Previously Effective Treatments
The prevalence of synthetic drugs is undercutting a previously effective and widely embraced opioid use disorder treatment tactic. Now, the model pioneered in Vermont a decade ago and adopted at sites nationwide, especially in hard-to-reach rural areas, is being forced to evolve.
By Taylor Sisk -
Extra Fees Drive Assisted Living Profits
The add-ons pile up: $93 for medications, $50 for cable TV. Prices soar as the industry leaves no service unbilled, out of reach for many families.
By Jordan Rau -
Most States Ban Shackling Pregnant Women in Custody, Yet Many Report Being Restrained
Advocates for pregnant people in police custody say repeated incidents show prohibitions on handcuffs and other restraints are little more than lip service.
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Facing Financial Ruin as Costs Soar for Elder Care
The United States has no coherent system of long-term care, leading many to struggle to stay independent or rely on a patchwork of solutions.