Rural Health

How does rural healthcare different from urban centers?

 Watch “Life Support: Rural Healthcare in America” (1) - (14min)

From Appalachia to Upstate New York the challenges of finding healthcare in rural America are spurring creative solutions... from HDNet's World Report 3/27/12

Is there a physician shortage in rural communities?

 Listen to NPR podcast “Doctor Shortage in Rural Arizona Sparks Another Crisis in ‘Forgotten America’” (2) - (5min)

What is a hospital desert?

 Watch CNN video “Hospital deserts in rural American” (3) - (2min)

CNN's Simon Ostrovsky visits the town of Tonopah, Nevada which is 100 miles from the closest hospital, and more than 200 miles from trauma care. All EMT's in the town are volunteers.

How are hospital closures affecting rural communities?

 Watch PBS News Hours video “Small Towns Watch Aging Hospitals Shutter” (4) - (8min)

In rural communities across the country, health care is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity. More than 50 rural hospitals have closed nationwide since 2010, and hundreds more teeter on the brink of bankruptcy. It's a trend driven by falling revenues and decreased federal funding, and it could have dire implications for small-town America's future.

How does rural mental healthcare differ from urban care?

 Listen to NPR broadcast “Texas Strives to Lure Mental Health Providers to Rural Counties” (5) - (4min)

 

Can telemedicine improve rural healthcare?

 Watch TedTalk “Telemedicine – The Answer to Rural Medicine Challenges” (7) - (14min)

While health care is subject to constant political debate, practitioners dutifully do their jobs to the best of their ability. In her talk, Meyers discusses innovative ways South Dakotan health care providers are reaching rural patients. Lindsey Meyers is the vice president of public relations at Avera Health.
 

How is this relevant to your primary care site?

 If you are located at Bassett Medical Center, the mean household income for Otsego County is $47,884, more than $10,000 less than the mean income for New York State overall (8). More than 16% of residents live below the poverty line, which is higher than the United States, New York State, and the neighboring Delaware county (8).  

If you are located at a Native American reservation, 25.7% of American Indians or Alaskan Natives are uninsured (9). Further, 26% of American Indians and Alaska Natives live below the poverty line compared with 11% of Non-Hispanic whites (10). 

If you are at one of the New York City or Stamford sites, this may be less obviously relevant to your current practice. But many of your patients may have moved from rural areas (in the US or globally), and some of you may decide to practice in rural locations in the future.

 

If I am interested in this topic, where can I learn more?

Check out Doctors Care video “Episode 3 – Rural Medicine” (11) - (30min)

This documentary episode interviews multiple rural doctors about their experiences and challenges in providing rural healthcare.

Uploaded by DoctorsManitoba on 2013-10-31.

Check out PBS documentary “Remaking Rural Health: A KET Special Report” (12) - (58min)

This documentary explores the disparities and innovative approaches to healthcare delivery in rural areas of Kentucky.

Check out The Atlantic video “The Adversity of a Child’s Life in Rural Kentucky” (13) - (20min)

This documentary looks at a community in rural Kentucky, where most residents live below the poverty line. It focuses on the problem of rural childhood poverty, including hunger, health, and education.

Check out HBO documentary “Heroin” (14) - (88min)

This documentary describes how the opioid epidemic has affected the Cape Cod community.

Subscribe to the HBO Docs YouTube: Heroin: Cape Cod, USA premieres Monday, 28 at 9pm, only on HBO. HBO Docs on . At the Cape Cod premier of the HBO Documentary the cast and crew hold a discussion and audience Q and A after the screening of the film.
 

Sources

1.       Life Support: Rural Healthcare in America. (2017, February 25). Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/38529008

2.       Siegler, K. (2017, July 14). Doctor Shortage In Rural Arizona Sparks Another Crisis In 'Forgotten America'. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/07/14/535792864/doctor-shortage-in-rural-arizona-sparks-another-crisis-in-forgotten-america

3.       CNN Business (2017, November 27). Hospital deserts form in rural America. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwEXSouvPQU

4.       NewsHour, P. (2016, March 04). Small towns watch aging hospitals shutter. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bm5gAjLeJM

5.       Silverman, L. (2015, September 01). Texas Strives To Lure Mental Health Providers To Rural Counties. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/09/01/436386850/texas-strives-to-lure-mental-health-providers-to-rural-counties

6.       Bringing Prenatal Care to Rural Maternity 'Deserts'. (2017, August 11). Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/video/bringing-prenatal-care-to-rural-maternity-deserts/BF1D0C55-94E6-49CB-BAEE-29ED73B3CB6C.html

7.       Talks, T. (2017, March 29). Telemedicine-The Answer to Rural Medicine Challenges | Linsey Meyers | TEDxUSD. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O2tQTRjzJ0

8.       2016 Community Service Plan & Community Health Improvement Plan. Retrieved from https://www.bassett.org/

9.       National Center for Health Statistics. (2017, May 03). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/american-indian-health.htm

10.    Office of Minority Health. Retrieved from https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=62

11.    DoctorsManitoba. (2013, October 31). Episode 3 - Rural Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deFf9x7HR9E

12.    Remaking Rural Health: A KET Special Report. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/video/health-documentaries-remaking-rural-health-ket-special-report/

13.    Ajaka, N. The Adversity of a Child's Life in Rural Kentucky. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/500768/life-in-rural-kentucky/

14. Lind, S. (2017, December 02). HEROIN. Cape Cod, (USA) (Documentary) - The Best Documentary Ever. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0uZ5QzjPaQ