The Rural Blog

A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism, based at the University of Kentucky. Links may expire, require subscription or go behind pay walls. Please send news and knowledge you think would be useful to benjy.hamm@uky.edu.

The Rural Blog

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Waves of American doctors and nurses leave their practices and head to Canada to avoid U.S. political climate

Rural hospitals tap into high schools to meet ongoing staffing challenges

Oregon is using visiting nurses to help curb infant and new mother mortality rates; visits may have other benefits

Today is Rural Health Day -- a focus on the many people and organizations addressing unique healthcare needs

Wednesday quick hits: Oreo scandal; dead solar panels; photos of the year; the nurse shortage; food inflation dips

Nursing schools are turning away thousands of qualified applicants despite nursing shortage

Proposal for more nursing-home staff seen as unattainable by many owners; resident advocates say it's not enough

Rural areas are finding new ways to overcome shortages of doctors and nurses; stories from Maine and Montana

Stories from three states show higher risk of pregnancy and childbirth in rural areas, as abortion laws pose complications

Rural hospitals face danger as pandemic funding runs out; 1 in 5 are at significant risk of closure or service reduction

Rural hospitals are still short of revenue to hire nurses as pandemic relief aid begins to run out

Health-care workforce shortages starting to affect patient safety

Rural hospitals have accelerated maternity ward closures during pandemic, citing lack of personnel and money

Clamor to cap travel-nurse pay could keep rural nurses at local hospitals

Pandemic roundup: why Covid can cause stillbirths; peer-to-peer mental health services for farmers; nearly 1 in 5 health-care workers have quit since the beginning of the pandemic

Pandemic roundup: Interactive database lets you track local cases; dark days ahead for nurses and hospitals

Pandemic roundup: Nursing shortage means hospitals could be easily overwhelmed; vaccine mandate penalties delayed

Rural hospitals face widespread nursing shortages and lagging employee coronavirus-vaccination rates

Portrait of Washington hospital illustrates rural health-care workers' deeply held resistance to coronavirus vaccination

Community colleges can boost ranks of rural nurses, but programs are highly competitive; more teachers needed