As Rural Hospitals Continue To Close, Patients Are Turning To Telehealth For Desperately Needed Care
A recent NPR poll of rural Americans found that nearly a quarter have used some kind of telehealth service within the past few years. Meanwhile, homelessness is often considered an urban phenomenon but it's a growing problem in rural areas as well.
NPR:
More Rural Patients Using Telehealth — If They Can Afford It
Telehealth turned Jill Hill's life around. The 63-year-old lives on the edge of rural Grass Valley, an old mining town in the Sierra Nevada foothills of northern California. She was devastated after her husband Dennis passed away in the fall of 2014 after a long series of medical and financial setbacks. "I was grief-stricken and my self-esteem was down," Hill remembers. "I didn't care about myself. I didn't brush my hair. I was isolated. I just kind of locked myself in the bedroom." (Neighmond, 7/7)
NPR:
The Homeless In Rural America Are Often Undercounted, Underserved
Charles Bowers takes long, quick strides down a worn, dirt path and stops in front of a tall thicket of bushes. He lifts a hand to signal that he's spied something. He's leading me on a tour of camps made by homeless people in wooded corners of Fayette County, Kentucky, and there, slightly up the hill, is a patch of blue. A tent. He keeps his voice low to avoid startling those inside. (Meehan, 7/4)
In case you missed it, KHN looked at how difficult it can be for rural cancer patients when a hospital closes: Have Cancer, Must Travel: Patients Left In Lurch After Hospital Closes
