Category: NRHA

Why are Rural Americans – Especially Women- Dying Younger?

April 25, 2024

Why are Rural Americans – Especially Women- Dying Younger?

Rural Americans aged 25 to 54 are dying of natural causes such as chronic diseases and cancer at wildly higher rates than their urban peers, according to a recent report.

The disparity was significantly worse for women, and for Native American women in particular.

The gap highlights how persistent difficulties accessing health care and a dispassionate response from national leaders can eat away at the fabric of rural communities.

The National Rural Health Association’s (NRHA’s) Government Affairs team has produced policy briefs on rural women’s health and American Indian and Alaska Native health.

Read Rural Women’s Health policy brief

Read American Indian and Alaska Native Health policy brief

 

Could Rural Fire Departments Bridge the Telehealth Gap?

April 2, 2024

Could Rural Fire Departments Bridge the Telehealth Gap?

As part of Washington State University’s Rural Health Initiative, pharmacy student Amanda Whitehead is exploring the feasibility of setting up telehealth stations in rural fire stations to help bring many health care services closer to rural residents.

Additionally, using telehealth to provide palliative care support to rural family caregivers is a low-cost, feasible strategy for transitioning patients from hospital to home-based care, new research reveals.

Read Full Article

Calling RHC, CAH experts: Present at NRHA’s hometown event

April 2, 2024

Calling RHC, CAH experts: Present at NRHA’s hometown event

The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) is now accepting presentation proposals for the Rural Health Clinic and Critical Access Hospital Conferences.

The goal of NRHA’s RHC and CAH Conferences is to share effective practices, policies, and information and provide insights and best practices addressing many of the access, quality, and patient safety issues confronted by CAHs and RHCs.

Five interest tracks are available for CAH Conference submissions:

  • Innovation
  • Financial
  • Leadership
  • Quality
  • Best practices

Deadline submission: May 28

Conference Dates: September 24 – 27

Learn More

Submit Proposal Here

Elevate Your Leadership in 2024 – Apply Today Before Enrollment Closes

March 12, 2024

Elevate Your Leadership in 2024 – Apply Today Before Enrollment Closes

The Crisis: Rural Hospital Closures & CEO turnover

A Proven, Successful Answer You Can Do Now: NRHA’s Rural Hospital CEO Certification Program

Be the next CEO from your state to join the ranks of 150+ CEOs from across the country that are working to keep their rural hospitals open and thriving.

Why You Will Benefit:

  • Comprehensive curriculum made by rural hospital CEOs for rural hospital CEOs
  • Practical strategies and effective tools to grow knowledge base and leadership confidence
  • Exclusive networking opportunities with rural healthcare industry experts and rural hospital leaders like you
  • Rural-specific curriculum:
    • This program was developed by experienced and accomplished rural executives who are dedicated to empowering current and aspiring rural hospital CEOs
  • Practical insights:
    • Learn from experienced professionals who understand the nuances of rural healthcare leadership
  • Invitation-only networking:
    • Connect with a select group of like-minded leaders, subject matter experts and rural industry leaders

Kick off Date: May 21 at 4 p.m. EST

Do you need answers, before applying? Please contact Sydney Grant at sgrant@nrhasc.com.

Apply Today

 

Rural Residents Have Less Access to Special Needs Care

March 11, 2024

Rural Residents Have Less Access to Special Needs Care

According to the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), the patient-to-primary-care-physician ratio is about 39 physicians for every 100,000 people.

In many rural areas, this can create crucial gaps in care for children with special needs, whose families often struggle with transportation and accessibility of services.

Additionally, Rural Health Research Gateway offers a new recap on post-acute care in rural areas.

Read Crucial Gaps in Care Article

Read Recap on Post-acute care

Webinar: Achieving Birth-Friendly Status in Rural Hospitals, Tuesday, March 12

March 11, 2024

Webinar: Achieving Birth-Friendly Status in Rural Hospitals, Tuesday, March 12

Registration is now open for a four-part webinar series presented by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) in collaboration with the Rural Health Information Hub to support access to safe, high-quality maternity care in rural communities.

The first presentation, at 1 p.m. CDT March 12, will discuss achieving birth-friendly status in rural hospitals, including why it’s important to meet it.

“Birthing Friendly” is a designation to describe high-quality maternity care and was launched by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the fall of 2023. To earn the designation, hospitals attest to meeting a 2-component measure established by CMS.

Speakers will introduce the Birthing Friendly measure and discuss the why and how of meeting it.

The next two webinars in the Rural Maternal Health Series will take a deeper dive into how hospitals can engage with their state Perinatal Quality Collaborative (PQCs) and standardize clinical care through implementing AIM patient safety bundles, developed by the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health.

Cost:

The webinar is FREE

When: Tuesday, March 12, 1:00 p.m. CT

Register Now

New JRH Articles on Rural Breast Cancer Disparities, More

March 5, 2024

New JRH Articles on Rural Breast Cancer Disparities, More

The National Rural Health Association’s (NRHA’s) Journal of Rural Health (JRH) recently published new articles on the following topics:

NRHA Now Accepting RHC, CAH Event Presentation Proposals

March 5, 2024

NRHA Now Accepting RHC, CAH Event Presentation Proposals

The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) is now accepting presentation proposals for the Rural Health Clinic and Critical Access Hospital Conference.

Conference Goals:

  • Share effective practices, policies and information
  • Provide insights and best practices addressing:
  • Access
  • Quality
  • Patient safety issues

Five interest tracks are available for CAH Conference submissions:

  • Innovation
  • Financial
  • Leadership
  • Quality
  • Best practices

This year’s events will be held Sept 24 – 27 in Kansas City, MO, NRHA’s hometown.

The deadline for submissions is May 31.

Learn More about NRHA RHC and CAH Conference

Submit Presentation Proposal

Elevate Your Leadership in 2024

February 5, 2024

Elevate Your Leadership in 2024

The National Rural Health Association’s (NRHA’s) CEO Certification Program is launching the ninth CEO Cohort in March 2024.

Program Highlights

  • Comprehensive curriculum made by rural hospital CEOs for rural hospital CEOs
  • Practical strategies and effective tools to grow knowledge base and leadership confidence
  • Exclusive networking opportunities with rural healthcare industry experts and rural hospital leaders like you

Kick Off Date: March 12, 2024, 4:00 p.m. EST

Learn More

Apply Today

24-Year-Old CEO on Why CAHs Struggle to Hire, Retain Leaders

February 1, 2024

24-Year-Old CEO on Why CAHs Struggle to Hire, Retain Leaders

Aidan Hettler, the 24-year-old CEO of Sedgwick County (Colorado) Health Center, initially did not believe he should be hired for the job.

Hettler acknowledges the fact that he was interviewed at all is a sign of a challenge many rural Colorado hospitals have face: difficulty hiring and retaining CEOs. “If it was not difficult to recruit, no, I probably would not have gotten an interview,” he says.

HealthLeaders offers tips for incoming hospital CEOs.