2012 Georgia Rural Health Association 

Annual Conference

September 17 -19, 2012

Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, GA

Disparities between urban and rural healthcare need to be overcome

By Matt Caseman, GRHA Executive Director

 

There are many reasons contributing to the huge disparity. Younger populations are more centrally located in urban cities, whereas rural areas tend to be older and therefore have a greater need for critical healthcare services.

Furthermore, because of a lack of corporate jobs, many rural Georgians are self-employed, which means they pay more for health insurance resulting in fewer trips to the physician's office.

Large numbers of rural Georgians are on Medicaid, the state/federal program for the poor. But low Medicaid reimbursement rates are causing doctors to rethink seeing those patients because in many cases it does not even cover overhead cost causing physicians to leave rural areas or practice in another state.

Read full article in SAPORTAREPORT 

 Dr. Timothy McKnight said he "spoke straight from my heart" about rural health and wellness programs at a White House meeting Tuesday.

McKnight, director of the Fit for Life program at Trinity Hospital Twin City in Dennison, was invited to the White House Rural Council Rural Health Stakeholders Meeting in Washington, D.C.

McKnight, a board-certified family practitioner, is a primary-care physician who earned his medical degree and a master's degree in nutrition from Ohio State University.

McKnight told how he received a scholarship from the National Health Services Corps and participated in a loan repayment program. Participants commit to one year of service in a rural area for each year of the scholarship. The same ratio applies to the loan repayment program.

"I was like most physicians in these programs, figuring that I would meet my obligation and then move to a city," McKnight said. "Instead, I fell in love with the community and the people, and I've stayed. I appreciated the scholarship and loan repayment programs. As a result, I committed to educating my patients and the community about healthy lifestyles."

Full Story

USDA Rural Utilities Service Community Connect Grant Program - Notice of Solicitation of Applications

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announces its Community Connect Grant Program application window for Fiscal Year 2012.  The Community Connect program provides grants to establish broadband transmission service in rural communities which are currently underserved. Funds may be used to build broadband infrastructure and establish a community center which offers free access to broadband services for community residents for two years.  

Access to affordable and reliable broadband connectivity in rural communities improves the ability of rural health care providers to effectively utilize health information technology, achieve the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR) and receive EHR Incentive payments. Broadband is particularly critical in rural areas, where advanced communications and utilization of health IT can shrink the distances that isolate remote communities.

Eligible entities for the Community Connect Grant program include state and local governments, incorporated organizations, tribal organizations or cooperative, private corporations or limited liability companies organized on a for-profit or not-for-profit basis.  Eligible areas include a single community with a population less than 20,000 which does not have Broadband Transmission Service.

The application deadline is June 18, 2012. Please visit the Community Connect Grant Program website at

see the attached Notice of Solicitation of Applications for the USDA RUS Community Connect Grant Program for additional information.

2012 NAIS and NIVS Summit