Rural Health

Texas State University was selected to represent Texas State University System in a new statewide initiative — the Texas Rural Hospital Officers Academy — that will strengthen financial and operational leadership and stability of rural hospitals and protect access to…

While Pennsylvania’s healthcare challenges are widespread, they hit rural communities hardest, Terry Gilliland, MD, president and CEO of Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger, wrote in a March 19 commentary piece published in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Limited access to care, workforce shortages and…

Aspen Valley Health, a critical access hospital in Colorado, is taking on a role typically reserved for large health systems: serving as an Epic host for other rural providers through the vendor’s Community Connect program. The strategy aims to give…

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…