Rural Dispatch: June 2024

Therapists Learn How To Help Farmers Cope With Stress Before It’s Too Late
By Tony Leys Many farmers have traditionally handled their own problems, whether it’s a busted tractor or debilitating anxiety. “With the older generation, it’s still, ‘Suck it up and get over it,’” says an Iowa mental health advocate and farmer.

Montana Creates Emergency ‘Drive-Thru’ Blood Pickup Service for Rural Ambulances
By Arielle Zionts The network is aimed at helping rural patients, who face higher rates of traumatic injuries and death but may not live near a hospital with a stockpile of blood.

Indiana Weighs Hospital Monopoly as Officials Elsewhere Scrutinize Similar Deals
By Samantha Liss If Indiana officials approve a proposed hospital merger in western Indiana in the coming months, the state will have its first hospital monopoly created by a “Certificate of Public Advantage.” Other such deals have resulted in government reports documenting diminished care in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Funding Instability Plagues Program That Brings Docs to Underserved Areas
By Michelle Andrews A medical residency program designed to train future primary care physicians in outpatient rather than hospital settings has proved an effective means to bring doctors to rural and underserved areas. But it hinges on unpredictable congressional funding.

End of Internet Subsidy Leaves Millions Facing Telehealth Disconnect
By Sarah Jane Tribble When the clock struck midnight on May 31, more than 23 million low-income households were dropped from a federal internet subsidy program that for years had helped them get connected. The Affordable Connectivity Program was created in 2021, in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, to help people plug into jobs, schools and health care by reducing their internet […]

Bird Flu Tests Are Hard To Get. So How Will We Know When To Sound the Pandemic Alarm?
By Amy Maxmen and Arthur Allen If widely used, flu tests could be helpful now. In the meantime, the government needs to clear a path for H5N1 tests, researchers warn, to avoid the early missteps of the covid pandemic.

Heat Rules for California Workers Would Also Help Keep Schoolchildren Cool
By Samantha Young Proposed state standards to protect indoor workers from extreme heat would extend to schools. The rules come as climate change is bringing more frequent and intense heat waves, causing schools nationwide to cancel instruction.

Nursing Homes Are Left in the Dark as More Utilities Cut Power To Prevent Wildfires
By Kate Ruder A nursing home in Colorado had 75 minutes to prepare for a power outage that lasted 28 hours. Such public safety power shut-offs are being used more often as a fire prevention tool, but not all health facilities are prepared.

End of Pandemic Internet Subsidies Threatens a Health Care Lifeline for Rural America
By Sarah Jane Tribble As the Affordable Connectivity Program runs out of money, millions of people face a jump in internet costs or lost connections if federal lawmakers don't pass a funding extension.

The Chicken and Egg Problem of Fighting Another Flu Pandemic
By Arthur Allen The spread of an avian flu virus in cattle has again brought public health attention to the potential for a global pandemic. Fighting it would depend, for now, on 1940s technology that makes vaccines from hens’ eggs.

Safety-Net Health Clinics Cut Services and Staff Amid Medicaid ‘Unwinding’
By Katheryn Houghton One of Montana’s largest safety-net health centers announced it will lay off nearly 10% of its workforce because of revenue losses it attributes to vast Medicaid disenrollments. Such cuts are happening elsewhere too.

An Obscure Drug Discount Program Stifles Use of Federal Lifeline by Rural Hospitals
By Sarah Jane Tribble A disconnect between two federal programs meant to help keep hospitals afloat discourages struggling rural facilities from accepting the aid.

Farmworkers Face High-Risk Exposures to Bird Flu, but Testing Isn’t Reaching Them
By Tony Leys and Amy Maxmen Federal officials are offering $75 to dairy workers who agree to be tested for bird flu. Advocates say the payments aren’t enough to protect workers from lost wages and health care costs if they test positive.