July 15, 2025

Access and Quality of Mental Health Services in Rural and Urban America

Among the key findings in this brief from the University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center:

• Digital Divide Exacerbating Access: Both rural and urban Zip Code Tabulation Areas located more than 30 minutes away from the nearest mental health facility have a higher proportion of households without access to essential telecommunication devices.
• Quality of Rural Mental Health Facilities: Rural facilities generally demonstrate better performance compared to urban facilities in terms of continuity of care measures and lower rates of physical restraint and seclusion usage.

Click Here to Read More

July 8, 2025

MRHA Webinar: Health Care Workforce Project, July 10

Join the Missouri Rural Health Association (MRHA) for an insightful session on the Missouri Health Care Workforce Project (MHCWP), an initiative designed to provide critical workforce analysis to support policymakers, healthcare professionals, and educators in addressing Missouri’s healthcare workforce needs.

Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how workforce data informs policy decisions, impacts healthcare access, and supports strategic planning across Missouri. The session will also cover federal and state trends in workforce analysis and integration, equipping participants with actionable insights to navigate and influence healthcare workforce development.

Who Should Attend:

• Policymakers,
• Practitioners, healthcare, and public health professionals
• Researchers,
• State government,
• Local public health agencies,
• Educators,
• Students,
• Educational institutions,
• Health systems,
• Workforce development professionals,
• Academia,
• Public and private communities,
• Interest groups,
• Community partners,
• State and local agents,
• Elected officials

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, July 10, 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

July 7, 2025

Webinar: Feeling Stuck on AI See How Top Healthcare Marketers are Moving Forward, On-Demand

Half of marketers say they feel overwhelmed by AI. And for healthcare marketing teams, the pressure is higher – compliance, brand safety and accuracy concerns can bring momentum to a halt. But while others hesitate, forward-looking health systems are already using AI to accelerate strategy and execution.

In this on-demand webinar, a healthcare digital marketing leader shares practical frameworks and real-world use cases for using AI across your marketing workflow – from campaign planning to reporting and content creation.

What You’ll Learn:

• Where AI can add value today: Use cases across creative, analytics and planning,
• Prompt examples you can use right away, and
• How to stay compliant without slowing innovation.

Cost: free

When: On-Demand, watch at your convenience

July 2, 2025

Faculty Loan Repayment Program – Deadline Extended to July 22

There is still time to apply to the Faculty Loan Repayment Program. HRSA extended the application deadline to July 22. Eligible faculty members can apply to this program.

HRSA will repay a portion of a recipient’s health professional student loan debt ($40,000 max over two years). In return, a recipient will serve at an eligible health professions school.

Apply by July 22

Click Here to Learn More and Apply

July 2, 2025

HRSA Announces New Board of Directors for the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

On June 5, HRSA announced the new 34-member Board of Directors for the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). This launch of the OPTN Board of Directors advances HRSA’s ongoing efforts to strengthen OPTN governance, mitigate conflicts of interest, and modernize the organ donation, procurement and transplantation system within the United States.

This effort has been strongly supported by HHS Secretary Kennedy, whose leadership has been key to advancing these modernization goals. His support underscores a commitment to strengthening the U.S. organ donation, procurement and transplantation system, and to making impactful decisions that benefit Americans awaiting organ transplants.

Click Here to Read More

June 23, 2025

Save the Date: Minority Mental Health Webinar Series

Join the Minority Mental Health Webinar Series to learn more from professionals at the University of Missouri’s Department of Psychiatry about ways to dispel myths and provide tips to address mental health disparities.

Series Schedule:

• Dispelling Mental Health Myths, Thursday, July 24, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Providing Mental Health Tips, Thursday, August 28, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Cost: Free

Click Here to Register

June 2, 2025

Webinar – Preparing for What’s Next in Language Access: Navigating Regulatory Shifts + Sustaining Equitable Care, June 12

Recent federal actions have reignited questions about language access requirements – but despite the headlines, the core compliance framework remains steady. What’s changing is how leading health systems are adapting and communicating across increasingly diverse patient populations.

In this session, legal counsel and leaders from Intermountain Health, Main Line Health and Catholic Health share how they’re approaching regulatory uncertainty, refining internal processes and protecting patient trust – all without starting from scratch.

What You’ll Learn:

• Legal clarity: Recent federal changes and what they mean for compliance and risk exposure,
• Inside the playbook: How Main Line Health and Catholic Health are adapting communication practices, and
• Systemwide impact: Ways language access can drive better outcomes and long-term financial stability.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, June 12, 11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

April 29, 2025

VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center: Recruiting Veterans for Telehealth Study

The VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center is recruiting 126 Veterans nationwide by October 2026 for a telehealth physical therapy program.

This program provides high-intensity rehabilitation, coaching and social support to Veterans. It provides physical rehabilitation, coaching and social support to Veterans. It provides physical rehabilitation through telehealth, which is effective in improving and sustaining physical function for older Veterans.

This program will compare physical functioning results of the telerehabilitation group to the education control group.

To be eligible to participate in the study, Veterans must be a least 60 years old and have some need for physical therapy. Final eligibility for participation will be made by the program staff at the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System and the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Click Here to Learn More

March 17, 2025

Americans’ Self-reported Mental, Physical Health at 24-year low: Gallup

Americans’ self-reported physical and mental health ratings have reached their lowest levels in more than two decades, according to a March 13 Gallup report.

The survey, conducted in partnership with West Health, is based on responses from 1,001 U.S. adults collected from November 6 – 20, 2024.

Three Takeaways:

• Americans’ assessments of their health have trended downward since about 2013, with a sharp decline seen during the pandemic.
• In the latest survey, 75% of adults described their mental health as “good” or excellent,” a decline from 89% in 2012. Meanwhile, 76% rated their physical health positively, down from a peak of 82% in 2003.
• Gallup noted that fewer Americans are ranking their health as “excellent,” which represents the main driver of these decreases. Just 24% of Americans rated their physical health as “excellent,” alongside 31% for their mental health. In 2001, 29% of Americans reported “excellent” physician health and 43$ reported “excellent” mental health.

The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have been a turning point in Americans’ perceptions of their mental and physical health, compounding declines already underway,” Gallup said.

Click Here to view full report