Rural Dispatch: July 2024
Maternity Care in Rural Areas Is in Crisis. Can More Doulas Help?
Jess Mador, WABE
Rural communities are losing access to maternity care, raising the risk of pregnancy complications, especially for Black women, who face higher rates of maternal mortality. Now, a Georgia medical school is trying to help by training doulas, practitioners who offer patients extra support before, during, and after childbirth.
The CDC’s Test for Bird Flu Works, but It Has Issues
Arthur Allen and Amy Maxmen
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention promises better tests are being developed, but the episode points to vulnerabilities in the country’s defense against emerging outbreaks.
World-Famous Wall Drug Isn’t Immune From Challenges Facing Rural Pharmacies
Arielle Zionts
Even as part of a popular South Dakota tourist attraction, an independent pharmacy serving locals, remote ranchers, and sightseers struggles with staffing and insurer payments.
Rescue From Above: How Drones May Narrow Emergency Response Times
Michelle Andrews
Public safety and health care organizations are using drones to speed up lifesaving treatment during medical emergencies in which every second counts.
Montana’s Plan To Curb Opioid Overdoses Includes Vending Machines
Mara Silvers, Montana Free Press
Details about where the machines would go — and how they would help those most at risk — are sparse. The state has proposed using them to distribute naloxone and fentanyl testing strips.
Colorado Poultry Workers Battle Bird Flu in Heat Wave as US Struggles to Contain Outbreak
Amy Maxmen
So far, all 10 cases reported nationally this year at dairy and poultry farms have been mild, consisting of respiratory symptoms and eye irritation. Scientists have warned that the virus could mutate to spread from person to person, like the seasonal flu, and spark a pandemic.
Rural Hospitals Built During Baby Boom Now Face Baby Bust
Tony Leys
Fewer than half of rural U.S. hospitals offer labor and delivery services. In some areas, births have dropped by three-quarters since the baby boom’s peak.
Colorado Dropped Medicaid Enrollees as Red States Have, Alarming Advocates for the Poor
Rae Ellen Bichell
Colorado defended its high disenrollment rates following the covid crisis by saying that what goes up must come down. Advocates and researchers disagree.
Idaho’s OB-GYN Exodus Throws Women in Rural Towns Into a Care Void
Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
Idaho’s law criminalizing abortion drove a high-profile exodus of OB-GYNs from the state more than a year ago. Now, two years after the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back abortion protections enshrined by Roe v. Wade, patients in rural Idaho are forced to leave their community for gynecological care.
Supreme Court OKs Local Crackdowns on Homelessness, as Advocates Warn of Chaos
Angela Hart
In a momentous 6-3 decision that could affect communities across the nation, the U.S. Supreme Court gave local officials and law enforcement more authority to fine and penalize homeless people living outside. Advocates for homeless people predict the ruling will lead to more sickness and death.
Battleground Wisconsin: Voters Feel Nickel-and-Dimed by Health Care Costs
Angela Hart
In the swing state of Wisconsin, the cost and availability of health care have emerged as key issues. Voters there say prescriptions, procedures, and health insurance policies are too expensive, and must be addressed by the next president, whether Republican or Democrat.
Closing of Rural Hospitals Leaves Towns With Unhealthy Real Estate
Taylor Sisk
Dozens of small cities and towns across the United States struggle not just with health care access and the loss of jobs, but also with the burden of what to do with big, empty buildings.