ruralmedics.com

US FCC votes to cap fund for rural phone subsidies
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to impose a cap on fast-growing subsidies the government allots to providers of telephone service in rural America.

HUD Makes $1 Billion in Grants Available Through 35 Programs
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today published its Fiscal Year 2008 "SuperNOFA," an annual funding notice that makes available more than $1 billion in grants through 35 programs.

Ups and Downs of Rural Health Care
For rural residents, a medical clinic is a luxury not available to residents of other small towns. Patients in towns lucky enough to have a clinic tell similar stories: they enjoy the convenience of having a clinic in town and the comfort of knowing the people who work there, people who are friends and neighbors who take a personal interest in how their visitors are feeling.

Cultural Smorgasbord in a Rural School
In Wausau, Nebraska, a unique situation where the school system was in danger of being phased out due to a lack of students. Superintendent Bob Marks came up with a plan to recruit foreign exchange students to fill the population needs of the school.

Department of Veterans Affairs' new Travel Nurse Corps Hits the Road
To deal with a nationwide shortage of nurses and to improve the quality of care for veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has created the Travel Nurse Corps to enable VA nurses to travel and work throughout the department's medical system.

Workshop Calls Attention to Rural Health-Care Crisis
The talk about problems in our nation's health-care system keeps getting louder, but there are gaps in the conversation. One such rift exists for rural Americans, who like city dwellers struggle with rising costs and shrinking insurance coverage, but who also inhabit places where getting the health care they need is tougher. Jobs that provide health-care coverage are scarce in many small communities. Growing numbers of over-65 rural residents are covered by Medicare, but they're unlikely to live near a doctor or hospital. To make matters worse, alcohol abuse and smokeless tobacco use plant the seeds of future health problems in some rural locales. To get more people thinking about these issues, the Association of Health Care Journalists put on its first Rural Health Journalism Workshop at the University of Missouri-Columbia last weekend. More than 70 journalists from around the country attended.

E.R.s Are Busy, but Fewer Patients Are Uninsured
The number of uninsured people nationwide rose to 15.7 percent in 2004 from 15.4 percent in 1995, yet in the period, the proportion of uninsured people using emergency rooms declined.The 26 percent increase in the number of visits in the period was largely caused by an increase in the number of people with private doctors who sought emergency room care.

Nations Front Line Caregivers Say New CMS Rule Undermines Care Needs of Americas Oldest, Sickest Seniors
San Francisco Examiner, (CA) article reports that the Coalition to Protect Senior Care (CPSC) today expressed its strong opposition to a newly-issued rule promulgated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which, by regulatory means, will cut Medicare-financed nursing home funding by $5 billion over five years.

Federal Government Walking Away from Rural America
The Center for Rural Affairs' Rural Brief April 2008 Issue takes a close look at Rural Development funding for FY09, pointing out that as with previous budgets, the FY09 budget recommends termination of numerous federal rural development and rural asset-building programs.

USDA, Ginnie Mae Announce Milestone in Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program
USDA Rural Development and Ginnie Mae announcedtoday that they have reached a significant milestone by securing more than $100 million in loansto build or rehabilitate affordable rental housing in rural communities.

CMS Announces Rate Year 2009 Payment and Policy Changes for Long-Term Care Hospitals
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week published the final regulation establishing rate year (RY) 2009 Federal payment rates and policies for long-term care hospitals (LTCHs).

Rising Gas Prices Squeeze Rural Fire Departments Budgets
Northwest Arkansas Times article tells how the high price of fuel is causing budget problems and most small town and rural fire chiefs don't see an end to the high costs in sight.

Wanted: Ph.D. Who'll Kiss a Cow
Daily Yonder article reports that presidents of rural community colleges typically must contend with geographic isolation, a static local economy, and meager funding, but a researcher says it's time to "ruralize" the job description and attract those people most likely to succeed.

Hunters Aim for Military Service
Daily Yonder article discusses how a disproportionate number of rural people join the U.S. military and that may be because a disproportionate number of rural kids grow up hunting.

Food Banks, Churches Feel Economy's Slump
Tennessean.com article relates that charities such as food banks and churches are struggling to make ends meet and provide needed assistance due to changes in the economy.

Aid a Concern for Emergency Services
Press and Sun Bulletin article reports that the challenges facing volunteer fire and EMS are creating havoc throughout the Southern Tier of New York and newly announced state budget cuts are expected to cause additional hardships for departments seeking to recruit, train and retain new members.

OHSU President Bemoans Lack of Rural Doctors
Baker City Herald article tells of comments made by Joseph Robertson, president of Oregon Health Science University regarding the challenges of producing rural doctors during a tour of rural Oregon communities.

CMS Proposes New Payment Rates for Medicare Skilled Nursing Facilities; Recalibration of Case-Mix Adjustment
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today announced its proposal for new, fiscal year (FY) 2009 payment rates for Medicare skilled nursing facilities that CMS says are more accurate and more closely reflect differences in patient care needs. Public comments on the proposal will be accepted until June 30, 2008.

US FCC Votes to Cap Fund for Rural Phone Subsidies
Reuters article reports that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to impose a cap on universal service subsidies to providers of telephone service in rural America.

Report Finds Food Safety System in Crisis
Trust for Americas Health (TFAH) released a new reporttoday that identifies major gaps in the nations food safety system, including obsolete laws,misallocation of resources, and inconsistencies among major food safety agencies.

Cell Phone Finds Use as Diagnostic Tool in Areas Without Ultrasound, X-Ray Machines
AHN, (CA) article reports that a professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and his colleagues have developed a portable medical scanner that can be plugged into a cellular phone, which transmits raw ultrasound or X-ray scanning data to a remote computer processor.

Finding Certified Health Care Organizations Near You
Patients looking for information about where to go for their health care needs can now find Joint Commission organizations certified in specialty areas of care on The Joint Commissions Quality Check website (www.qualitycheck.org).

Bernardi Highlights Bush Administration's Solutions to Save Homeowners from Foreclosure
The Bush Administration has put in place responsible solutions to help American families stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Roy A. Bernardi said today.

Speak Your Piece: Throwaway Lives?
Daily Yonder opinion article discusses how in Central Appalachia, and of the Virginia coalfields in particular, the overwhelming majority of the chronic health problems are self-inflicted, the consequence of tobacco, drug abuse, fatty and sugar-laden foods, lack of exercise and a fatalistic outlook on life that relieves individuals of responsibility for their own health.

Study Projects Shortage of Generalist Physicians for Adults
AHA News reports that the U.S. faces an impending shortage of up to 44,000 generalist physicians to care for adults, according to a study published online today by Health Affairs.

Pew Commission Says Industrial Scale Farm Animal Production Poses Unacceptable Risks to Public Health, Environment
The current industrial farm animal production system often poses unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and the welfare of the animals themselves, according to an extensive 2-year examination conducted by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (PCIFAP).

Medicare Program; Proposed Changes to the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems and Fiscal Year 2009 Rates; Proposed Changes to Disclosure of Physician Ownership in Hospitals and Physician; Self-Referral Rules; Comment Request
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are requesting comments on Proposed Changes to the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems and Fiscal Year 2009 Rates; Proposed Changes to Disclosure of Physician Ownership in Hospitals and Physician Self-Referral Rules; Proposed Collection of Information Regarding Financial Relationships Between Hospitals and Physicians.

Rural Health Open Door Forum Recheduled for May 21, 2008
The next Rural Health Open Door Forum has been rescheduled for Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 2:00 pm Eastern time.

Report Faults Many States on Child Abuse Policies
Associated Press via AOL News reports that many states often fail to release adequate information about fatal and near-fatal child abuse cases, placing confidentiality above disclosure to a degree that thwarts needed reforms, two child advocacy groups say in a new report.

Cost of Insurance Far Outpaces Income
Americans who get health insurance for their families through their jobs have seen their premiums increase 10 times faster than their income in recent years, according to a new analysis of government data by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.