Our job is unique in many ways. This site is dedicated to those who work under rural conditions and the challenges that presents. We offer resources and information in many areas for the rural responder.

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    Regional Rural Development Centers to Spearhead New National Agricultural and Rural Development Policy Center

    Thu, 17 May 2012 12:05:15 CST

    Southern Rural Development Center article reports that the nations four Regional Rural Development Centers were recently chosen by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture/United States Department of Agriculture to establish the National Agricultural and Rural Development Policy Center (or NARDeP).

    Joint VA/Labor Department Program Launches to Retrain 99,000 Unemployed Veterans

    Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Unemployed veterans between the ages of 35 and 60 can now apply for new benefits to cover education costs for up to one year through a joint U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Labor program that focuses on retraining 99,000 veterans for high-demand jobs.

    More States Work to Implement Health Care Law

    Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced yesterday that Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington will receive more than $181 million in grants to help implement the new health care law by establishing Affordable Insurance Exchanges.

    Want Rural Docs? Just Ask

    Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Daily Yonder article by Wayne Myers, former director of the federal Office of Rural Health Policy, discusses how we know what forecasts whether a medical student will go into family practice or set up shop in a rural community, but what we need now are medical school admissions officers who will care to ask the right questions.

    Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Reform of Hospital and Critical Access Hospital Conditions of Participation; Final Rule

    Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    This final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services revises the requirements that hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

    Medicare and Medicaid Program; Regulatory Provisions to Promote Program Efficiency, Transparency, and Burden Reduction; Final Rule

    Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    This final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) identifies reforms in Medicare and Medicaid regulations that CMS has identified as unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome on health care providers and beneficiaries. This rule increases the ability of health care professionals to devote resources to improving patient care, by eliminating or reducing requirements that impede quality patient care or that divert providing high quality patient care.

    Webinar on "Screening for Developmental and Psychosocial Risks in Rural Family Medicine Practice: Implementation of Best Practices"

    Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    The University of Washington Maternal and Child Public Health Leadership Training Program invites you to join a Webinar on "Screening for Developmental and Psychosocial Risks in Rural Family Medicine Practice: Implementation of Best Practices" on Tuesday, May 29th, 2012.

    HUD Makes Available $85 Million to Fund Housing for Extremely Low-Income Persons with Disabilities

    Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has made $85 million available to state housing agencies to provide affordable supportive housing for extremely low-income persons with disabilities.

    Obama Administration Presents National Plan to Fight Alzheimers Disease

    Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday released an ambitious national plan to fight Alzheimers disease that outlines research funding, tools for health care providers, an awareness campaign and a new website.

    HHS Launches New Web-Based Tool to Track Performance of Nations Health Care System

    Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday announced the launch of a new web-based tool that will make it easier for all Americans to monitor and measure how the nations health care system is performing.

    Country is Separating by Education

    Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Daily Yonder article discusses how when it comes to education, the rich are getting richer, as people with college degrees flock to a small number of U.S. counties, a demographic divide with serious economic consequences.

    Nationwide 2K Event Will Support Homeless Veterans and Promote Employee Wellness

    Tue, 15 May 2012 10:02:02 CST

    The Department of Veterans Affairs is once again hosting a nationwide 2K Walk and Roll event at more than 130 VA facilities on May 16 to coincide with National Employee Health and Fitness Day.

    4 in 10 Healthcare Organizations Seek Locum Tenens

    Tue, 15 May 2012 09:38:41 CST

    HealthLeaders Media article reports that three in four healthcare organizations had to find temporary physicians at some point in the last 12 months because they couldn't find permanent physicians, survey data shows.

    Peoples Department: USDA at 150

    Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Times and Democrat, (SC) article gives U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack remarks on the history and accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on its 150th birthday.

    Nationwide Health Information Network: Conditions for Trusted Exchange; Comment Request

    Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    The Department of Health and Human Services will accept comments through June 14, 2012, on draft proposals for a governance mechanism for the nationwide health information network.

    Endangered Rural Post Offices Get a Reprieve

    Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    MSNBC article reports that the financially struggling U.S. Postal Service sought Wednesday to tamp down concern over wide-scale cuts, revealing it will seek to keep thousands of rural post offices open with shorter hours.

    Vets Attracted to Rural Counties, Smaller Cities

    Mon, 14 May 2012 10:08:00 CST

    Daily Yonder article reports that military veterans disproportionately live in rural and exurban communities, and vets who live in cities are much more likely to live in smaller urban areas, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census.

    White House Rural Council: Rural Stakeholders Meeting

    Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    The White House Rural Council reports that on Tuesday, May 1st, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, they hosted a group of 24 rural health care providers and experts to discuss issues around access to care and improving health outcomes in rural communities.

    National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services; Notice of Meeting

    Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    The Health Resources and Services Administration announces that the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health will convene its seventy - first meeting on June 18-20, 2012, in Kansas City, Missouri. The meeting will be open to the public.

    Nurse Practitioners Provide Solution to Shortage of Primary Health Care Providers

    Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    PRNewswire article reports that the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners today announced a national campaign to increase public awareness of the critical role nurse practitioners play in the American health care system.

    Frontier Extended Stay Clinic Pilot Program Receives Positive Reviews

    Fri, 11 May 2012 10:14:41 CST

    NRHA Rural Health Voices blog reports that the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) released a study today outlining the positive accomplishments of the Frontier Extended Stay Clinic (FESC) Pilot Program.

    HRSA Webinar Announcement: Using Health IT for Care Coordination

    Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will be holding a webinar on May 18, 2012, that focuses on using health information technology (IT) to help coordinate care among outpatient and inpatient safety net providers.

    House Approves $310B in Cuts; Medicaid And Children's Health Care Targeted

    Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Kaiser Health News brings together a variety of articles discussing how the House approved sweeping legislation on Thursday to cut $310 billion from the deficit over the next decade much of it from programs for the poor and shift some of that savings to the Pentagon to stave off automatic military spending cuts scheduled for next year.

    CMS Releases Final CoP, Regulatory Burden Reduction Rules

    Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    AHA News Now article reports that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday released a final regulation to revise the existing Conditions of Participation for hospitals and critical access hospitals, as well as a final rule that addresses more than two dozen regulatory requirements for a broader range of providers, including hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, end-stage renal disease facilities and durable medical equipment suppliers.

    Registration is Now Open for the NHSC Scholar Orientation and Placement Conference

    Thu, 10 May 2012 09:38:07 CST

    Registration is now open for sites interested in attending the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) 2012 Scholar Orientation and Placement Conference, July 19-21 in Grapevine, TX.

    HHS Finalizes New Rules to Cut Regulations for Hospitals and Health Care Providers, Saving More Than $5 Billion

    Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Yesterday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced significant steps to reduce unnecessary, obsolete, or burdensome regulations on American hospitals and health care providers, steps that will help achieve the key goal of President Obamas regulatory reform initiative to reduce unnecessary burdens on business and save nearly $1.1 billion across the health care system in the first year and more than $5 billion over five years.

    Health Care Law Increases Payments to Doctors for Primary Care

    Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Primary care physicians serving Medicaid patients would see their Medicaid payments rise under a proposed rule announced yesterday by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

    HHS Announces Available Funding for Construction, Renovation of School-Based Health Centers

    Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced the availability of funding for the construction and renovation of school-based health centers.

    Dubious Medicare Billings Paid to 2,600 Pharmacies in 2009, Inspector General Finds

    Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    CBS News article reports that Medicare paid $5.6 billion to 2,600 pharmacies with questionable billings, including a Kansas drugstore that submitted more than 1,000 prescriptions each for two patients in just one year, government investigators have found.

    USDA Seeks Grant Applications to Improve Rural Housing

    Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 CST

    Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced yesterday that applications for grants are being accepted to provide assistance to low- and very-low-income rural residents to install or improve plumbing, provide access to individuals with disabilities, and weatherize and repair their homes.