Rural Aging: United States
Archives 2003
Seniors, disabled enjoy fair in
full stride (
November 6, 2003)
The cars, buses, SUVs and vans lined up to get in before the gate
opens. Old and young pile out and are helped into the wheelchairs. The
Coastal Carolina Fair is a welcome destination for people with
disabilities, in no small part because it's built for kids. On
"Senior Citizens Day" the gates opened four hours early, and for
free, to host a throng not only of retirees but of younger people with
special needs. It's one of those community-minded gestures by the Exchange
Club that drew raves from its patrons.
As Population Grows Older, Towns
Face Crisis (
November 4, 2003)
Like much of rural
America
, upstate
New York
is aging rapidly, and that aging comes with its own economic and social
problems. But the consequences have been particularly tough for upstate
New York
, because of the state's extensive programs under Medicaid and its unusual
requirement that local governments pay a quarter of the cost of most of
them. Medicaid, a federal and state program, helps pay for health care for
poor, elderly, blind and disabled patients and for poor families with
children. The bill for caring for the poorest of the state's elderly is
strangling upstate communities, according to county officials statewide.
County governments, the primary conduit for social services, must meet
this expense despite an ever-shrinking tax base.
Old
fire in San Bernardino mirrors 1980 blaze (November 4, 2003)
Four people died in the fires in North San Bernadino,
California, an area heavily populated by retirees. One man, age 90, died
of heart failure when he stepped onto the street to watch his burning
home. This year's fire, called the Old Fire, bears striking resemblance to
the Panorama Fire of 1980 that killed four elderly people in San Bernadino.
Pact on PPOs Aimed at Rural
Elderly (
October 31, 2003)
Congressional negotiators struggling to reconcile House and Senate
bills to redesign Medicare have tentatively agreed to create a $12 billion
fund, not envisioned in either measure, that would allow the government to
pay private health plans extra money to enroll elderly patients in regions
where managed care is scarce.
Family
caregiving involves help from others (October 30, 2003)
Eighty-five percent of caregiving for the elderly is family care. Only
five percent of those over 65 need nursing home care. When is comes to
caregiving, families are the heroes.
The author of the article visited with Richard Miller, an associate in the
school of family life at
Brigham
Young
University
about the needs of caregivers. He shared some important information on how
families can cope with their challenges in providing home care for their
elderly family members.
Elderly
couple survives California fires by jumping in pool (October 29, 2003)
The tally of devastation in
California
is astounding. The fires have destroyed Over
2,000 homes and 600,000 acres of land. The damage is estimated at $2
billion so far. The stories of survival and heroism sometimes get lost in
all the numbers. Stories of these survivors however, give us hope and some
bright light through the hazy images of southern
California
. Bob Daly, a
California
resident and one of the survivors tells us his
story. Mr. Daly and his wife escaped death by jumping in their swimming
pool and waiting it out under water.
Hill Supports Medicare Boost To
Rural Areas (October 20, 2003)
Congress's drive to expand Medicare by helping older Americans pay for
prescription drugs also calls for the largest boost in rural health care
spending in the program's recent history: at least $25 billion more for
doctors, hospitals and other medical services. Despite long-standing
claims that Medicare has shortchanged rural areas, however, there is scant
evidence that elderly patients in remote areas and small towns have
trouble getting adequate care, according to health care analysts,
organizations and providers. These sources have found that Medicare often
pays comparatively low rates in rural states and that older patients are
more common there. But there are few signs that rural residents -- who
make up nearly one-fourth of the 40 million people on Medicare -- are
sicker, less satisfied with their care or less prone to get the treatment
they need.
Retiree
recruitment. Good investment for the Shoals? (October 15, 2003)
Retirees who relocate.are considered a boon to the economy because of
the new money they bring to the area. Study after study confirms retirees
can positively impact local economies. Even a recent study in
Florida
, where retirees flocked in recent decades,
showed that retirees contribute $2 billion more than they cost in the
state. Alabama, Georgia,
Mississippi
and the
Carolinas
have all tried to attract this retiree
relocation economic development.
Vermont:
Home health receives grant: $314,000 will fund rural telemedicine
improvements (October 14, 2003)
Central
Vermont Home Health and Hospice has received a $314,000 grant to improve
"rural telemedicine" from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Rural Development Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program. The grant
will allow the home health program to go hi-tech with the purchase of 25
telemedicine monitoring units. It will also provide automated laptop
technology for CVHHH's 55 professional clinicians who make home visits.
Telemedicine home monitoring units are used primarily by high-risk cardiac
and diabetes patients. Patients are prompted by the home monitoring unit
to take their own vital signs, and the results are sent to a CVHHH nurse
daily.
Ohio: Food pantries serving more seniors (
October 6, 2003)
In the last few years, a
growing number of older people need help from food pantries to make ends
meet. While many older persons live with a fixed income, the cost of
health care, prescription drugs and housing is rising and leaving many
people without enough money for food.
Money
woes has Meals on Wheels program reeling (October 5, 2003)
The 'Meals on Wheels' program in Napa County, California to
deliver meals to homebound seniors faces severe financial problems,
causing the program to consider closing down. A slow economy, state and
federal budget crises, and a decrease in private donations have put
pressure on many organizations that help the elderly.
Doctor
shortage takes toll in rural areas (October 3, 2003)
Buffeted
by rising costs and declining Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates,
rural physicians say that practicing medicine in the countryside is
increasingly a money-losing proposition. Many doctors are avoiding rural
areas and working in cities, where their hours typically are shorter and
their costs lower.
Congress
extends rural Medicare fix (October 1, 2003)
Rural hospitals will receive higher Medicare payments for six
months under legislation that extends a temporary fix approved earlier
this year. The measure includes a total of about $617,000 for almost all
Wyoming
hospitals, Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., announced Wednesday.
Rural Solutions keeps disabled farmers om the
farm (October 1, 2003)
The Iowa AgrAbility Program led the Rodemeyers to a network of
professionals who have since become friends. Tracy Keninger, senior
director of program services at Easter Seals of Iowa, was one of the
Rodemeyers' first contacts and chatted with Max at the August gathering.
Easter Seals offers a program called Rural Solutions, formerly known as
FaRM, to help
Iowa
farmers keep doing what they live to do-farm.
The
Iowa
program served as a pilot for the National
AgrAbility Project. The Farm Bureau Federation's state women's committee
has been a longtime financial supporter of the program.
Poor
counties see more elderly (September 19, 2003)
Some of the state's poorest counties have the fastest-growing
over-85 populations, a group more likely to need expensive care that's
getting harder to provide in cash-strapped rural counties. The
state's growth in the senior population comes from a variety of sources.
Some people are growing old in the state where they were born; others were
born here but moved away to work and have returned to retire; still others
are newcomers drawn by relatively inexpensive living costs and mild
winters. State funds are short and counties and local governments struggle
to meet match requirements for federal funds.
Web-based
program optimizes stroke care in rural areas (September 18, 2003)
Stroke patients in rural communities can be assessed and treated
essentially as well by a neurologist via a wireless Internet program as
they can in person, according to a new study. Treatment includes giving
the clot-dissolving drug, tPA, when appropriate to help rapidly dissolve
stroke-producing clots and minimize brain damage, said Dr. David Hess,
chair of the Medical College of Georgia Department of Neurology and a
co-author on the study published in the October rapid access issue of
Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Texas:
USDA Issues Grants (September 18, 2003)
Major home repairs can be expensive and now some rural areas are getting
help. The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development is
giving Panhandle Community Services more than $150,000 to help out low
income and elderly people in rural areas. PCS director of weatherization
Margaret Wolfe said, "Primarily what we use it for is to put roofs on
and sewer systems, and septic systems and do major repairs that
weatherization can't." Wolfe expects about 35 houses should be
repaired through this year's money.
Oklahoma:
Assisted living centers make aging easier for seniors (September 12, 2003)
When elderly people are no longer able to stay by themselves at
home, they are often forced into considering a new way of life. Since the
advent of assisted living centers, that decision has become a little
easier. This is National Assisted Living Week, a time to focus on those
places that provide the elderly a home and a helping hand. "Our main
goal is to provide our residents with quality of life," said Janice
Ramsey, residence director at Alterra Sterling House. "We strive to
make sure that they keep as much of their independence as they possibly
can. When they come to assisted living, that means they can't stay by
themselves any longer."
Olympia a haven for retirees, survey says (September 9, 2003)
With its gray weather, South Sound might defy the stock image of a Sun
Belt retirement hub, but Internet service provider MSN has ranked the area
as the No. 1 place in the country to, well, gray. Scenic beauty,
reasonably priced homes, a relaxed pace and easy driving distance to
Seattle and Portland make Olympia a retirement Mecca, MSN states. And
there's the climate, which some might deem a drawback. Still, the mild
weather -- meaning not too hot and sunny -- actually makes Olympia more
appealing because older people can engage in outdoor recreation year-round
-- unlike Florida and Arizona, where many retirees must take refuge in
air-conditioned hangouts much of the year.
Health-care
trends shifting; new provider model needed (September 08, 2003)
These are two of a series of articles, "Which way to the
future?" The stories are meant to give a look at the changing face of
Texas and the Panhandle and what may happen down the road. The demographic
changes clearly coming to the Panhandle - a growth in the proportion of
elderly and a younger Hispanic population - may provide new business and
investment opportunities if money can be found to pay for health-care
services.
Lafayette
County plans resource center for aging (September 5, 2003)
Now is the time to change the Lafayette County Commission on Aging into an
aging resource center, COA director Carol Benson told the commissioners
and county board chairman Thursday. Benson said the veterans service
officer and human services department's economic assistance department
will be across the hall in the new location and long-term assistance will
be next door. "We will be in the center of all the other
services," she said. The state Department of Health and Family
Services defines an aging resource center as a centralized location for
information, assistance and access to community resources for older
people, their families and caregivers.
Reviled
estate tax actually has some supporters (September 3, 2003)
The estate tax is either a big-government plot to destroy the family farm
or a law that encourages meritocracy over aristocracy. And it's a Senate
vote away from being completely repealed. That
wouldn't hurt David Langford's feelings at all. After his mother died and
he inherited her South Texas ranch, he struggled for nine years to pay the
$700,000 estate tax bill, finally giving up and selling the property to
pay for the loan, the accountants and all the lawyers. Besides the
financial beating he was taking by making the annual loan payment on the
tax bill, Langford said, he feared that if he and his wife were to die too
soon, his children would be stuck with that debt - plus their own estate
tax on the same property.
Why
fewer seniors are leaving inheritances (September 2, 2003)
Retirees are increasingly less inclined or able to leave bequests, as
living expenses increase.
Many older
Americans today have a different ethos about passing on money than their
ancestors had. Some believe it's better for their children to make it on
their own, and others want to use whatever little funds they have left to
enjoy their twilight years. The result is a potentially dramatic drop-off
in the transference of wealth in many families that may affect successive
generations' planning about everything from paying off longstanding debts
to how long they will stay in the workforce.
Rural
Areas Need Drug Benefit (September 1, 2003)
A
Medicare drug benefit is most needed in rural areas, where recipients are
twice as likely as those in the city to lack any such coverage, according
to a report prepared for a think-tank run by President Clinton's former
chief of staff. The report by the Center for American Progress was
released as Congress prepares to hammer out differences in House and
Senate bills on new Medicare legislation. Center president and founder
John Podesta said the report "tried to point out where improvements
are really needed in both bills to make the legislation fair and equitable
in rural America."
Phone
program helps elderly who live alone (September 1, 2003)
Plano resident Jim Spradley enjoys working on crossword puzzles and
spending time with his dog. The 79-year-old also logs plenty of time on
his computer talking to friends via e-mail. An
automated call arrives daily from the city of Plano, through its "Are
You OK?" program, to check on Spradley's welfare. If the call goes
unanswered twice, relatives and the police are notified.The city has
operated its "Are You OK?" call program for at least six years
in an effort to verify the well-being of the city's senior citizen and
disabled population who sign up to receive it.
Living
work, Seniors are not ready to stop contributing (August 31, 2003)
In 2001, about 557,000 North Carolinians 55 and older were in the paid
work force, according to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.They
either continue to work past Social Security retirement age, or return to
new jobs to supplement pensions and health care costs, or just to earn
extra money.
It
is a generation that considers work part of living.
Senior Centers Anticipating
Arrival Of Hip Boomers (August 26, 2003)
Senior centers turn 60 this year, but the occasion will be celebrated with
more than just rousing games of bingo or extra servings of Jell-O. To
attract aging baby boomers, the first of whom hit 60 in a few years, these
centers are replacing their stodgy image with a hipper attitude. Tai chi,
reiki and Pilates classes, massage, health and wellness workshops, fitness
centers with personal trainers, seminars on financial and retirement
planning, cultural activities and travel are just a few examples that, in
the words of Bob Dylan, the times they are a-changin'.
Baby boom meets property boom
(August 26, 2003)
Randy Hecht's favourite hunting ground for fresh investment ideas may
be Silicon Valley, but one of his biggest new themes has more to do with
bricks and mortar than gigabytes and pixels. Mr Hecht, chairman and chief
executive of RS Investments, a San Francisco money management firm, is
betting that, as more baby boomers approach retirement age, their
purchases of retirement homes will send property prices sharply higher in
communities from Florida and New Mexico to Baja California and New
Zealand.
Florida
Slips As Retirement Destination (August 12, 2003)
Frank Falsetti doesn't want to retire to Florida like his parents
did, so the former New York stock broker is trading his Long Island home
for a gated community in northern Virginia, 35 minutes from his kids. He's
not alone. Census Bureau figures show Florida is slipping as the
destination of choice for retirees, while states such as Georgia,
Virginia, Arizona and Nevada are growing more popular. "We do not
like Florida. It's just too hot," said Falsetti, 62. "I prefer
mountains." Florida still is the top destination for people 60 and
older. It attracted 19 percent, or about 394,000, of the nearly 2.1
million U.S. residents in that age group who made interstate moves between
1995 and 2000, according to an analysis of 2000 census data by Wake Forest
University sociology professor Charles Longino.
Seniors
seeing they can surf (August 10, 2003)
After Patricia Thielen's husband was diagnosed with cancer five years ago,
the 70-year-old turned to the Internet. The Web usually is marketed to
senior citizens as a tool to keep in touch with family - you can send
e-mail to the kids or see pictures of the grandchildren. But Thielen
needed to decipher what the doctor was telling her about how long her
husband would live. "When you go to the doctor and they talk about
this treatment and that treatment, you have no idea what they're talking
about," Thielen said. "Looking at the Internet at least gave us
an understanding of what it was, so we felt more confident."
Agency
on Aging celebrates 30 years (August 13, 2003)
To recognize 30 years of serving Central Nebraska, those at the
Midland Area Agency on Aging wanted to celebrate proudly and publicly. The
Agency on Aging is responsible for developing and executing programs for
senior citizens, not only in larger urban areas but in villages and rural
areas as well. Adams and Hall were the first counties to become a part of
the agency, with other counties following over 30 years. Currently the
group provides services such as home-delivered meals, help with household
chores, legal services, transportation, legal advice, phone reassurance
and respite/attendant care, among others.
Bush praises state's elderly (August 12, 2003)
Gov. Jeb Bush on
Monday credited the economic impact of Florida's elder population for
keeping the state fiscally afloat while other states are experiencing huge
budget deficits. Florida residents older than 60 spend $150 billion a year
and contribute $2.5 billion more in revenue than they consume in state
services, Bush told elder-care professionals at the 2003 Florida
Conference on Aging in south Orange County.
Oldest
retirees bucking a trend (August 6, 2003)
As many older Americans flock south, some elders move home or near
kids; 'A real phenomenon'; Census report suggests increasing frailty a
factor. It's a time-worn story: Mom and Pop finally reach retirement age,
sell the old family home and head south to a blissful retirement under
Florida palms. But new reports on domestic migration from the 2000 census
suggest that many of the oldest snowbirds are returning north near the end
of their lives, perhaps to go "home" again, or to be closer, as
they grow frailer, to their adult children.
Where have all the children gone? (August 3,
2003)
What's happening in Santa Cruz County is happening across the state.
The population is aging, and fewer babies are being born. "downsizing"
is the latest buzz word in local school districts as officials scramble to
deal with declining enrollment - and the resulting loss of per-pupil
funding from the state. To add to that, who will take care of growing
elderly population?
Senior
population going up (July 22, 2003)
The number of Northeast Georgians 65 and older will nearly double
between 2000 and 2010, according to projections by the state Office of
Planning and Budget - and then the numbers will start to climb even faster
as the first wave of baby boomers turns 65.
Part of the trend is because people are living longer and part is
the aging of the so-called baby boom generation, people born after World
War II when birth rates climbed sharply in the United States. The aging
trend has some planners wondering if government and private agencies,
already financially pinched, will be able to meet the growing need for
such services as home-delivered meals, transportation and nursing care.
Aging,
centralized population the future for Indiana (July 21, 2003)
Monroe County is projected to be one of the fastest-growing
counties in the state of Indiana over the next five years, and the
population for the state of Indiana also is expected to increase steadily.
There is a disturbing trend evident in the projections concerning the
future population of Indiana. Over the next 20 years, Indiana's population
-- in the age range of 25-54 years that is most active in the work force
-- is expected to decrease dramatically. With a possible shortage of
younger workers in the future, it might be necessary for the older
population -- age 50-64 -- to stay longer in the workplace.
University
Studies Rural Health Care (July 15, 2003)
Although
half of rural residents in the United States suffer from at least one
major chronic illness, they average fewer physician contacts per year than
urban residents. Researchers hope to find more efficient and
cost-effective ways of delivering disease management services in rural
areas by examining select rural health systems. Preliminary results
suggest even with fewer physician visits, the taxpayer burden of caring
for rural residents with chronic diseases can be reduced through nurses'
monitoring patients while providing the patients with better care.
Internet
access a key to rural towns' survival (July 10, 2003)
Dunning,
a small town in Nebraska, needs doctors "to improve the ability for
the elderly to get health care and the general well-being of the
people". However, they are only able to get two doctors at a clinic
45 miles away in Broken Bow who
agreed to see patients in Dunning on Mondays and Thursdays.
High-speed Internet access becomes the key to the rural town.
Health
Care Agency May Close Rural Clinic (July 7, 2003)
A
rural clinic in Trenton, Alabama may be closed soon. Many residents put up
signs and circulated petitions as this is the only clinic in the area and
very important to them, especially to the elderly.
However, Northeast Alabama Health Services that runs the clinic
says the clinic is not used enough.
Visiting
nurse care ends (June 30, 2003)
Northwest
Community Nursing and Health Service in Pascoag, New Jersey, a non-profit
rural health organization, has eliminated home care and visiting nurse
services effective June 30, 2003. Northwest Health Center is a non-profit
organization and federally certified rural health clinic, which provides
primary medical care to the elderly and needy. Changes in Medicare and
poor reimbursement from managed care prompted the decision to eliminate
its Northwest Home Care department after nearly a century in existence.
Aging
behind the wheel (June 30, 2003)
Driving means independence for the elderly,
especially in rural southern New Jersey where public transportation
options are few. To help senior drivers stay safe, the Cumberland County
Office on Aging is at the forefront of a national trend to offer training
for drivers 55 and older. Its course gives graduates an auto-insurance
discount and frequently shaves points off a less-than-perfect driving
record, instructor Matt Cyrelson said.
Arkansas
Senators Fail To Alter Medicare Bill (June 25, 2003)
Proposals
of amendments to a major Medicare overhaul bill by Arkansas senators
failed to pass the Senate on June 24. The Senate voted 51-45 against the
proposal by Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., that would allow rural
senior citizens to remain enrolled in a federally run prescription drug
plan for two years instead of one in areas where private insurers have not
stepped in to offer coverage. Another amendment by Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.
failed to pass as well. The proposal was designed to eliminate
prescription drug price disparities between the United States and Canada,
where medication costs less.
Congress
dips into rural housing (June 19, 2003)
The
House Financial Services Housing Subcommittee, held a hearing on June 19,
2003 to discuss the state of rural housing in the States. Lawmakers
assessed efficiency, cost-effectiveness of loan, grant programs for
low-income buyers, including older persons.
Retirees
reviving Crossville (June 17, 2003)
Retirees have brought
"gray gold" to Crossville, Tennessee. Ahead of their time,
Crossville leaders realized that retirees could be a ticket to reviving
their sagging town 25 years ago. Now this town registered a national
reputation for growth, anchored by retirees. Aging baby boomers want
slower-paced, inexpensive places to retire, where the rural South is a
friendly fit.
Elderly
housing plan fades with defeat (June
12, 2003)
The Planning and Zoning
Commission of Voluntown, Connecticut, denied a request for amendments to
the town's zoning regulations to allow a housing development for people 55
and older. The Commission believed that such a development did not fit
with the town's rural character and its development plan. But the
applicant disagreed, and said he would still fight for the project.
Lawmakers
urge more Medicare spending in rural U.S. (June 10, 2003)
A group of U.S. House
members from rural areas are urging House leaders to include $32 billion
in spending increases for rural hospitals, physicians, home health
agencies and ambulance services in the $400 billion Medicare measure
expected on the House floor later this month. They threatened to vote
against the Medicare-reform bill that would add a drug benefit unless it
also includes major increases for health care in rural America.
Hospitals
look to legislation to keep outpatient centers open (June 10, 2003)
A rural hospital in Ray
County, Mo., has to close its outpatient cancer treatment center due to
cuts in federal Medicare payments. The center treats about 250 cancer
patients, 80 to 100 of whom are too sick or can't afford to make the trip
to the nearest oncology center 45 miles away in Kansas City, Mo. The
closure is now on hold, as Senator Kit Bond, R-Mo., tries to get Congress
to restore some of the money.
Foster
Grandparent program diversifies throughout S. Florida (June 9, 2003)
Foster
Grandparents program, the nation's first volunteer program exclusively for
seniors, sent thousands of senior volunteers to Williams and Roberts are
Foster Grandparents, members of what's thought to have public schools,
Head Start programs, hospitals and juvenile offender centers to help kids
there. The program now is even expanding
to the rural areas in South Florida.
Reshaping
Medicare, Rural Roots in Mind (June 2, 2003)
Since Senator
Charles E. Grassley from Iowa is the chairman of the committee responsible
for the overhaul of Medicare, the interests of rural America will loom
large in the push to enact a Medicare law. Mr. Grassley wants to raise the
reimbursements for doctors and hospitals in rural areas and look after the
interests of elderly beneficiaries in places like Iowa. To achieve this,
he needs to get enough Democratic support for a bill to prevent a
filibuster, while holding onto the more conservative Republicans.
Convincing
urban states key in Medicare reimbursement fix (May 29, 2003)
As
a rural state based on population, Iowa has much more Medicare-elegible
patients than urban areas like New York City, and faces financial
struggles with Medicare reimbursement. U.S. Senator Charles Grassley
(R-Iowa) said that June will be important in the progress of improving
Iowa's Medicare reimbursement status. He hopes any bill involving adding
prescription drugs will also include revising the Medicare reimbursement.
Hospitals
wary of Dirigo plan (May
21, 2003)
Portions of Gov. John E. Baldacci's
proposed health care reform aimed at insuring the uninsured could spell
serious trouble for rural hospitals, the services they offer and the
employees who deliver them, according to administrators in Somerset,
Franklin and Kennebec counties. It is believed that smaller community
hospitals would suffer under the financial regulations in the bill
currently before the Legislature.
Fight ahead to keep rural Medicare provision (May 21, 2003)
Provisions to keep Medicare payments to rural hospitals on par with those
paid to urban hospitals have made it into the Senate tax cut provisions
but not the House version and it may take a fight to keep them in the
final bill. Wyoming Republican Sen. Craig Thomas has introduced a backstop
bill in the event the provision should be cut. He and a handful of other
senators will be keeping a careful eye on the Medicare guarantee, which
senators voted 86 to 12 to include in the bill.
Rural
Doctors May Get More Medicare Pay
(May 15, 2003)
The
Senate voted Thursday to increase Medicare payments to doctors and
hospitals in rural areas by $25 billion over the next decade. To pay for
the increase, the Senate would reduce fees paid for prosthetics and other
medical devices, chemotherapy drugs and make beneficiaries start paying
deductibles and co-payments for laboratory services.
Senators
approve higher Medicare rates for rural hospitals
(May 15, 2003)
Senators
approved a measure Thursday that would provide rural and urban hospitals
with similar payments from Medicare, the federal health care program for
seniors. The payments have been based on the belief that it is cheaper to
treat people in small towns. Many lawmakers and hospital administrators
say that premise is no longer true. Hospitals everywhere, they argue, vie
for the same doctors and nurses when hiring and pay the same for supplies
and equipment - even though rural hospitals have fewer patients and less
income.
Seniors
can STOP (May 12, 2003)
As many senior citizens
migrate from the city to the rural area where they can fish, go boating
and watch wildlife, leaving behind friends and their familiar environment
also can pose problems. Senior Time Outreach Program (STOP), a new
volunteer organization in Cookson County, Oklahoma, provides the elderly
an opportunity for socialization and fun. It is also designed to provide
support services for people dealing with Alzheimer's disease, or widows
and widowers.
Lincoln
: Rural doctors' stories examined (May 05, 2003)
Medicine bottles with yellowed labels, an aged birthing table and a
working iron lung sit within the white, onestory building where three
doctors worked and lived over the span of 40 years. Dr. Joe B. Hall, a
retired Fayetteville physician, is spending his retirement making sure
that the doctors who practiced in The Lincoln Clinic - and their
colleagues throughout the state - are not forgotten. The building now
houses the Arkansas Country Doctor Museum and, besides aging medical
implements, holds 72 video tapes of interviews with those who remember the
state's early rural physicians.
Rural
care providers struggle in face of financial difficulties (May 05, 2003)
Home health care providers are facing a financial crisis as they contend
with decreased Medicare reimbursements and their clients are turning to
more expensive hospitals or nursing homes for care or going without,
according to two studies. Though the studies focused on Pennsylvania, U.S.
Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., said the situation affects rural health care
nationwide.
Cheyenne
readies for rural health conference (April 30, 2003)
"One piece at a time," health
care workers from across the state will study various aspects of rural
health care this week at the 3rd Annual Wyoming Rural Health Conference at
the Little America Hotel and Resort in Cheyenne.
NFU
Board Seeks Improved Health Care for Rural Areas (April 30, 2003)
The National Farmers Union board of directors is suggesting a number of
legislative remedies for ailing health care systems in rural America.
"Long distances between health care facilities and a shortage of
medical professionals are unfortunate realities in many rural
communities," said NFU President Dave Frederickson. "Rural
America requires legislative attention focused specifically on providing
affordable and accessible health care."
Senators
work to aid rural hospitals (April 29, 2003)
Senator Sam Brownback introduced legislation Tuesday intended to
boost payments to hospitals from Medicare, the federal health insurance
program for the elderly and disabled. Congress paid for the 1997 Balanced
Budget Act by slashing billions of dollars from Medicare. "We're
beginning to now really feel the impact, the multiplier effect, of those
billions and billions of dollars taken out of the system," said
Maynard Oliverius, CEO of Stormont-Vail HealthCare in Topeka, Kanzas.
Council
exploring subsidies for elderly housing plan (April 16, 2003)
Broomfiled, CO. - The
city plans to work with developers of a proposed Highland Park elderly
living project to keep building costs down and rents affordable. "I
frequently get calls from people in Broomfield who would like to have
something like this for their parents instead of having to have them live
outside Broomfield," Mayor Karen Stuart said.
As young people leave suburbs, aging population taxes resources (January
15, 2003)
Youngstown has one of the highest percentages of elderly residents in the
country, and helping out older residents has become more difficult over
past decade.
Rural
churches face clergy shortages, aging members (January 11, 2003)
Because of population aging, attendance and membership is declining
at the rural churches in Kansas, and, because of the same reason, churches
face a clergy shortage.
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