The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) makes it a priority to invest in rural America. Tomorrow, the organization celebrates progresses made on the rural healthcare front.
The National Organization of State Offices and Rural Health (NOSORH) tomorrow (Thursday) plans to recognize National Rural Health Day. The day brings light to the unique healthcare needs in rural communities.
Anne Hazlett, Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development, says the observance also gives communities and organizations an chance to reflect on the work done to ensure rural America has access to modern healthcare.
?We?ve had an opportunity through several of our programs to partner with many communities to build infrastructure, whether it?s a hospital or healthcare clinic. We?ve talked a bit about telemedicine being a new way to deliver access to those services,? Hazlett said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) recently dedicated over $90,000 to the Mercy Health Network, in Iowa. Hazlett shares how this technology will change the rural health landscape.
?Today we were able to visit about a partnership we have with them, to deliver cardiology and psychiatry services in rural communities through rural conferencing. Without access to that specialty care, you might have someone living in a small community that would need to drive two or three or four hours to get to a bigger city like Des Moines to have access to the same quality care that some of us living in the city would have. Through telemedicine, we?re able to help bridge that gap, and the person who needs to see a cardiologist can do that remotely, in their own community,” Hazlett said.
National Rural Health Day also helps communities and organizations focus on the work that remains.
?When we think about the need in rural communities, much goes back to that need for high-speed internet through rural broadband,? Hazlett said. ?When a community is connected, not only can they access those healthcare services, but there is a greater quality of life and economic opportunity as a result. That often results in healthier and more prosperous families.?
More information about rural health care funding can be found here.
