Rural Dispatch: Nov. 29, 2022

Rural Colorado Tries to Fill Health Worker Gaps With Apprenticeships
By Kate Ruder
A Grand Junction program is training and retaining nurse and personal care aides in areas where the aging population is creating a need for them. But challenges remain for these workers.

Patient Mistrust and Poor Access Hamper Federal Efforts to Overhaul Family Planning
By Renuka Rayasam
For decades, many women of color, particularly those with low incomes, had little control over their family planning care. Now, a White House effort aims to give patients more choices as abortion care evaporates, but patients remain wary of providers.

When Monkeypox Reaches Rural Communities, It Collides With Strained Public Health Systems
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
In Nevada, local health officials are assessing the threat of monkeypox, but their response may be hampered by historically limited public health infrastructure worn thin by the covid-19 pandemic.

For Republican Candidates, Talk About Moms and Babies Is a Thorny Issue
By Emmarie Huetteman
The abortion issue looms large over the midterm elections, and some in the Republican Party, long associated with efforts to restrict access, are looking to reassure voters they have women’s health in mind.

Defense Department Health Plan Cuts Its Pharmacy Network by Nearly 15,000 Outlets
By Patricia Kime
Many of the pharmacies were small, independent operations that had decided not to participate next year because of the lowered reimbursement being offered. But they were surprised by an early dismissal, and some patients with specialized drug needs could face difficulties in the transition.

Fentanyl in High School: A Texas Community Grapples With the Reach of the Deadly Opioid
By Colleen DeGuzman
The first fentanyl-related deaths of students in an area south of Austin, Texas, were reported over the summer. The school district, parents, and students are trying to deal with the aftermath.

South Dakota Voters Approved Medicaid Expansion, but Implementation May Not Be Easy
By Arielle Zionts
South Dakotans voted to expand the state’s Medicaid program to cover thousands of additional low-income residents. But as other conservative states have shown, voter approval doesn’t always mean politicians and administrators will rush to implement the change.

Homelessness Among Older People Is on the Rise, Driven by Inflation and the Housing Crunch
By Aaron Bolton, MTPR
In Montana and across the nation, homeless shelters are reporting that people older than 60 are a growing proportion of their populations.

Blackfeet Nation Challenges Montana Ban on Vaccine Mandates as Infringement on Sovereignty
By Katheryn Houghton
The Montana tribe has entered a legal fight over whether the state has the right to enforce a prohibition of vaccine mandates on its reservation.

Mistrust and Polarization Steer Rural Governments to Reject Federal Public Health Funding
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
As the covid-19 pandemic grinds on, Elko County, Nevada, still lacks a public health department. Yet its elected leaders rejected federal funds that could have helped it create one. Decisions like the one in Elko, and ones made by officials with other state and local governments, leave health experts concerned about whether the country's public health infrastructure will be prepared to handle future health challenges.

Schools, Sheriffs, and Syringes: State Plans Vary for Spending $26B in Opioid Settlement Funds
By Aneri Pattani
The cash represents an unprecedented opportunity to derail the opioid epidemic, but with countless groups advocating for their share of the pie, the impact could depend heavily on geography and politics.

Trickle of Covid Relief Funds Helps Fill Gaps in Rural Kids’ Mental Health Services
By Christina Saint Louis
Only a sliver of the funding given to state, local, and tribal governments through the American Rescue Plan Act has been steered to mental health nationwide, but mental health advocates and clinicians hope the money it provides will help address gaps in care for children. In Appalachian Ohio, the funding is helping expand services.

Journalists Talk Medicare and Public Health Infrastructure
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Fentanilo en la escuela secundaria: una comunidad de Texas se enfrenta al mortal opioide
By Colleen DeGuzman
Desde julio, cuatro estudiantes del Distrito Escolar Independiente Consolidado de Hays, al sur de Austin, han muerto por sobredosis de fentanilo.