Those in rural areas face some distinctive health issues, including shortages of health professionals and services. Rural Kansans often must travel long distances for care and they tend to be older, poorer and less healthy than people in cities and suburbs. KHI researchers and journalists track the challenges facing rural residents, highlight solutions, and provide that information to policymakers and the public.
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The last thing Margie McKenna, 58, wanted to do last week was drive two hours to Wichita to have a pain specialist look at her shoulder. Turns out she didn't have to. Instead, she drove three blocks to the Sedan City Hospital for a telemedicine conference with her doctor. She was in and out in about 40 minutes. Today, about one-third of Kansas hospitals offer telemedicine and the push is on for more.
0 | May. 07, 2009 |
The health care difficulties that rural areas face are unique from their urban counterparts. On top of limited staff sizes and finances, rural areas face the additional burden of long distances between health care providers and their constituents. This document describes how rural areas fared in the 2009 Kansas County Health Rankings.
0 | Aug. 27, 2008 |
More than 15 percent of the patients served by a free dental clinic early this year reported they have never been to a dentist.
0 | Mar. 02, 2006 |
March, 2006 - Roughly one-half of all local public health departments in the United States are both small and rural. Sixty percent of local health departments that responded to a survey in 2000 said they were located in a non-metropolitan area, the designation for “rural” developed by the Office of Management and Budget and used for policy purposes by agencies such as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Forty-eight percent of local public health departments were categorized as “rural” in 2002 using a more refined definition, Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes. One-half of local health departments responding to the 2000 survey served populations of fewer than 25,000 people, and 69 percent served populations of fewer than 50,000 people.
0 | Jun. 01, 2004 |
Kansas Mission of Mercy (KMOM), a free dental clinic sponsored by the Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation, served more than 2,000 patients on the campus of Pittsburg State University from April 30 through May 2, 2004. This report analyzes data from an exit survey given to participants of the clinic.
0 | Jan. 22, 2004 |
The population of frontier and rural counties of Kansas has declined every decade since 1930. If this trend continues, health services in these areas may become economically unsustainable.
0 | Jun. 25, 2010 |
More than 50 percent of Dr. Brian Wolfe's practice in Iola is made up of elderly patients on Medicare. That is not uncommon in small, rural communities in Kansas or across the nation. “We are totally at the mercy of what Medicare decides to do,” Wolfe said Friday, the morning after the U.S. House followed the U.S. Senate in approving legislation postponing until November a scheduled 21 percent cut in Medicare doctor reimbursements.
0 | Jun. 08, 2010 |
A recent Kansas Department of Health and Environment compilation of U.S. Census Bureau projections shows that five Kansas counties have lost at least 19 percent of their populations in the last 10 years. Only 20 counties have gained population. The pace of rural decline in the state seems to have accelerated in the past decade.
0 | Feb. 08, 2010 |
Groups working to better chart state's medical workforce needs.
0 | Dec. 03, 2009 |
Chris Tilden, director of the state’s Bureau of Local and Rural Health, has announced he will leave in June for a new job in Idaho.
0 | Oct. 19, 2009 |
According to one informed estimate, Kansas currently is short about 500 to 750 doctors -including about 400 primary care or family practice physicians.
0 | Jul. 07, 2010 |
Several safety-net clinics have agreed to take part in a federal grant aimed at providing parents access to free dental care.
0 | Jul. 12, 2010 |
The Kansas Medical Society and the Kansas Hospital Association will join to create a statewide health information exchange, early phases of which are expected to be operational by year's end. The initiative also incorporates the work already done by regional exchanges in Wichita and Kansas City.
0 | Jul. 27, 2010 |
With Congress poised to take August recess, the union that represents state workers in Kansas is urging members to contact U.S. senators to push for a vote on extended federal Medicaid assistance for states.
1 | Jun. 30, 2010 |
The governor issued an executive order today creating a non-profit corporation to oversee efforts to expand the use of health information technology. The corporation will be governed by a 17-member board, most of whom will be chosen by the governor and named at a later date.
1 | May. 19, 2010 |
In a few weeks, state officials will ask the federal government for permission to raise HealthWave premiums by $40 a month.
1 | Jun. 22, 2010 |
The head of the Kansas Health Policy Authority said the agency's budget situation is "untenable," and that some services being provided now must be cut or eliminated in the months ahead. The chairman of the agency's board predicted a coming "trainwreck."
1 | Jun. 22, 2010 |
Several businesses have joined a lawsuit against the state, asserting that the statewide public smoking ban that becomes effective July 1 is unconstitutional.
1 | Jun. 15, 2010 |
Cities and businesses are preparing for the July 1 start of a statewide smoking ban.
2 | May. 03, 2010 |
Efforts to get the statewide smoking ban through the Legislature show new advocacy approach of some of the state's health foundations.