Rural Spotlight

Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (ORHPC) is now accepting Student Loan and Loan Repayment Applications, Apply by November 1

October 8, 2024

Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (ORHPC) is now accepting Student Loan and Loan Repayment Applications, Apply by November 1

The Office of Rural Health and Primary Care is now accepting applications for the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP). SLRP awards funding for educational loan repayment to Missouri licensed, practicing psychiatric, medical, and dental professionals. Recipients must use funds towards their educational debt.

Loan Award Amount:

  • Up to $50,000 loan award for:
    • Primary care physicians
    • Psychiatrists
    • Dentists
  • An additional $10,000 may be awarded for these qualifying services:
    • SUD Treatment
    • OUD Treatment
    • Behavioral and Mental Health Services
    • Telehealth Services

Qualifications

  • Missouri license (MD, DO, DDS, DMD)
  • Primary care specialties include:
    • General or Family Practice
    • Internal Medicine
    • Pediatrics
    • Obstetrics & Gynecology
    • Psychiatry
    • General Dentistry
    • Pediatric Dentistry
  • Missouri resident
  • U.S. citizen
  • No conflicting service obligation
  • Must engage in qualifying employment.

Forgiveness

Applications accepted September 1 to November 1

Program Contact information:

Click Here to Learn More and Apply

 

RHIhub This Week Now Available

October 4, 2024

RHIhub This Week Now Available

RHIhub This Week keeps you informed of the latest rural news, funding opportunities, publications, and events.

Click Here to Access RHIhub This Week

Health Care Artificial Intelligence Toolkit

October 7, 2024

Health Care Artificial Intelligence Toolkit

This guide is designed to help community health clinics and rural hospitals navigate information regarding artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare.  It discusses:

  • Foundational considerations
  • Governance for AI applications
  • Steps to assess and mitigate discriminatory impacts of AI systems in healthcare

The toolkit also includes an AI tool vendor evaluation checklist for community health clinics and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs)

Click Here to Access Health Care Artificial Intelligence Toolkit

Building a Sustainable Rural Health Workforce for the 21st Century: A Report of the 2024 Rural Health Workforce Summit

October 7, 2024

Building a Sustainable Rural Health Workforce for the 21st Century: A Report of the 2024 Rural Health Workforce Summit

The U.S. is in the midst of a workforce crisis, with a critical shortage of qualified health care and related professionals. In the American College of Healthcare Executives’ 2023 survey, hospital leaders cited workforce challenges as the number one issue confronting hospitals.

These issues are especially pronounced in rural areas, where workforce shortages compound existing barriers to accessing high quality and equitable health care.

This report

  • Summarizes a May 2024 summit of national rural health workforce experts to discuss strategies for increasing the supply of rural health workforce.
  • Presents 3 principles related to rural, to inform 4 core strategies for building and maintaining the workforce.
    • Community culture
    • Innovation, and
    • Payment structure
      • Strategies cover workforce roles partnerships and networking, technology to improve access to care and educational pathways.

Click Here to Access the Report

Upcoming Webinar – Hospital Price Transparency: What Hospitals Need to Know: Part 2, October 15

October 7, 2024

Upcoming Webinar – Hospital Price Transparency: What Hospitals Need to Know: Part 2, October 15

Beginning January 1, 2021, hospitals operating in the United States are required to provide clear, accessible pricing information online about the items and services they provide.

This webinar will discuss the latest hospital price transparency policies effective January 1, 2024. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) subject matter experts will review the latest policy requirements and enforcement actions for hospital price transparency effective July 1, 2024, through January 30, 2025.

High-speed internet is required to participate. A recording will be available after the live event. Connection details will be emailed to you immediately upon registration.

If you have questions or problems with the registration process, please contact RHIhub Webinars at webinars@ruralhealthinfo.org.

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, October 15, 11:00 a.m.

Click Here to Register

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October 4, 2024

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, advocates, health care workers, survivors, and community partners across the country work together to end domestic violence.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) safety-net settings of care can support domestic violence awareness by sharing content and resources.

Download HRSA’s Implementation Framework that has activities and resources for HRSA-supported settings of care to prevent and respond to intimate partner violence in the communities they serve.

Click Here to Download Implementation Framework

HRSA Seeking Health Official and Clinician Support for National Health Service Corps

October 4, 2024

HRSA Seeking Health Official and Clinician Support for National Health Service Corps

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is currently looking for new members to join the National Advisory Council on the National Service Corps.

Your expertise and unique experiences can help address health care delivery needs in underserved areas. If you are a clinician or health official with a background in primary care, oral health, or mental/behavioral health, you are invited to apply. Self-nominations are accepted.

Please consider submitting a nomination, including self-nominations, by Friday, December 6, and help make a positive impact.

Click Here to Learn More

Click Here to Nominate

Rural Health Research – Health Care Affordability and Medical Debt: Differences by Rurality, Region, and Socio Demographic Characteristics

October 4, 2024

Rural Health Research – Health Care Affordability and Medical Debt: Differences by Rurality, Region, and Socio Demographic Characteristics

The high cost of health care affects health at both the individual and population level, and rural residents experience inequities in health, access to care, and financial well-being. However, little research has examined how health care affordability differs by rural/urban residence, and how health care affordability varies along geographic and socio-demographic dimensions within rural areas.

This policy brief examines rural/urban differences in rates of health care (un)affordability, as well as among rural residents by key socio-demographic characteristics.

Among key findings in this policy brief from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center:

  • Health care affordability and medical debt issues differed significantly among rural residents by race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, income, and type of health insurance.
  • Rural residents in the Western U.S. were more likely to be able to pay their medical bills than rural residents in the Northeast, North Central/Midwest, or Southern U.S.

Click Here to Read this Brief

Rural Emergency Hospital Educational Webinar and Fireside Chat, October 10

October 4, 2024

Rural Emergency Hospital Educational Webinar and Fireside Chat, October 10

During this session, the Rural Health Redesign Center (RHRC) will provide attendees with an overview of the no-cost technical assistance for hospitals considering a conversion, available through the Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center.

This session will include a Fireside Chat where attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from hospital CEOs that have or are working with the Technical Assistance Center.

The REH provider type is designed to address concerns that some rural hospitals would not be able to sustain operations and could be at risk of closure.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, October 10, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Students to Service Loan Repayment Program (S2S LRP) – apply by November 7

October 4, 2024

Students to Service Loan Repayment Program (S2S LRP) – apply by November 7

Eligible students in the last year of medical, nursing, or dental school can receive loan repayment assistance from the National Health Service Corp (NHSC) Students to Service Loan Repayment Program (NHSC S2S LRP).

In return, they provide at least three years of full-time service at an NHSC-approved site in a designated Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).

Click Here for S2S LRP Application Checklist