Rural Health

As rural hospital leaders guide their organizations through  2026, they are juggling the financial pressure of federal Medicaid changes while looking to state legislatures for tools to stabilize their organizations.  From Nebraska’s Medicaid work requirements to New Mexico’s updated physician…

CMS’ $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program expedited South Dakota’s plan to join the PA licensure compact, according to the American Academy of Physician Associates.  The federal rural health program examined each state’s scope of practice laws to determine its…

Little Rock, Ark.-based Baptist Health has reached a definitive agreement to acquire South Arkansas Regional Hospital in El Dorado and add the facility to its system June 14, pending regulatory approvals. The 151-bed hospital will be renamed Baptist Health Medical…

The rise in telemedicine over the past several years hasn’t translated to more behavioral healthcare access in rural areas, according to a March 5 study in JAMA Network Open. Researchers from Boston-based Harvard Medical School and Providence, R.I.-based Brown University…

Grand Forks, N.D.-based Altru has acquired CHI St. Alexius Health Devils Lake (N.D.) — a 25-bed critical access hospital — from Chicago-based CommonSpirit. The hospital is now known as Altru Hospital Devils Lake, according to a March 2 Altru news…

Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington (Ind.) has received a gift from Bloomington philanthropists Connie and Steve Ferguson to expand its nursing programs, part of a broader effort with Indianapolis-based IU Health to strengthen Indiana’s nursing workforce. The gift, combined with…

The digitization of rural healthcare is at a critical juncture, and efforts are underway to address the longstanding challenges, physician shortages, a rising wave of hospital closures, geographic isolation, transportation barriers, and limited access to broadband internet. These issues persist…

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden signed HB 1043 into law Feb. 25, a bill aimed at supporting rural healthcare recruitment. The measure appropriates funds to reimburse healthcare professionals who have complied with the requirements for rural recruitment assistance programs, according…

As funds begin flowing to states through the five-year, $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, hospital leaders are confronting a central question: Will the initiative meaningfully stabilize struggling providers — or will it fall short of offsetting an estimated $137…

A new national coalition of health systems and strategic partners has launched to address worsening shortages in access to medical specialists in rural areas and underserved urban communities across the United States. The National Specialty Care Access Coalition — a…