Case Study: The Illinois Rural Health Association

Transportation is one of critical social determinants of health and the availability of convenient transportation impacts individuals’ ability to access quality healthcare (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 2011). One of the major challenges that rural Canadians face is the lack or limited of public transportation which results in delaying access to health-care services (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 2011). Canadians who reside in rural communities or small towns generally have to travel long distance to get the health care they need. Transportation is a significant issue for access to health care services, particularly in rural areas where travel distances are required and access to substitute means such as public transit or taxi services is limited or lack (Rural Assistance Center, 2015). Transportation services play an essential role in assisting residents in rural communities, particularly those who are vulnerable and most in need of this assistance to maintain their health and well-being.

Transportation is one of the largest barriers to health care access in rural communities. Fortunately, many interventions

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 49 million Americans without healthcare insurance and more than 10 million are non-U.S. citizens (http://www.census.gov). Because many people are uninsured and those that do have insurance pay high deductibles, Americans often dismiss the need for doctor’s visits for minor problems or annual physicals. As a result, health problems that can be detected at an early stage or prevented altogether become major illnesses. Individuals with disabilities hold one of the biggest weaknesses in the healthcare system because they cannot often obtain affordable health coverage.

The Rural Accountable Care Organizations Improvement Act of 2015, introduced to the United States Senate in May and now being reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee, will amend part of the Social Security Act to try and improve the way the Medicare shared savings program assigns beneficiaries by basing the assignments on services of primary care offered by providers, including Nurse Practitioners (Govtrack.us, 2015). For Nurse Practitioners specifically, this new legislation will allow nurse practitioner patients to be assigned to Medicare shared savings Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) (AANP, 2015).

The lack of accessibility is crippling for physically disabled people. This often leads to isolation and depression. Many disabled people have to move to big city to have the accommodations they need (special doctors, accommodating transportation, disabled friendly activities, etc.). The cost of living in these cities is so high that on top of therapy

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Physical accessibility is a multifaceted problem facing individuals that reside in rural communities as well as urban areas. Closely related to deficiencies in supply and demand, physical accessibility is dependent on a sufficient number of providers to provide sufficient geographic distribution in addition to the ability of individuals to travel to a provider. If a patient is required to travel long distances to seek care then it is less likely that these individuals will readily seek care.

Thank you for reaching out to Dallas County Health and Human Services(DCHHS). In response to your inquiry, DCHHS is unaware of an increased incidence of Tuberculosis among Square Cottage residents. In the event as such, DCHHS would not disclose a specific location due to medical confidentiality and personal privacy reasons. Overall, DCHHS has shown that the number of annual TB cases have decreased by 37% from 1993 to 2015 in Dallas County. In regards to homelessness specifically, I can confirm the proportion of TB cases occurring in persons experiencing homelessness has increased since 2014. Please note, homeless individuals are disproportionately affected by Tuberculosis in Dallas County as well as the United States. In an effort

The Basic Health program could be structure in several ways. It could expand programs such as Medicaid and CHIP and contract with managed care plans on behalf of its Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries outside the private insurance market. These changes would allow both programs to continue as a "separate program with a separate financing mechanism and risk pool from that of Medicaid and CHIP, but would leverage the state's existing infrastructure for information technology, contracting, rate setting, and other function" (Angeles, 2012). Alternatively, a state could expand the Medicaid managed care by increasing the number and types of service through different network of providers, other than those that serve Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries (Angeles,

WestCare Illinois’ Impact Program is a not- for-profit organization that provides an integrated substance use and mental health disorder treatment program in order to serve 145 men in the Cook County Department of Corrections (CCDOC) on a daily basis (WestCare Illinois Programs, n.d.). The Impact Program integrates cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), trauma intervention, case management, and reentry services (WestCare Illinois Programs, n.d.). WestCare is on three decks within CCDOC and serves around 44 clients on each deck. The clients are court mandated to the Impact program because of a drug involved criminal charged (WestCare Illinois Programs, n.d.). During intake, 32% of the clients’ reported that their primary substance of misuse

Choctaw Nation Health Services proudly welcomed Mary Smith, Principal Deputy Director of Indian Health Service; P. Benjamin Smith, Director, Office of Tribal Self- Governance, Indian Health Service; and RADM Kevin Meeks, Director of the Oklahoma City Area Indian Health Service to the Choctaw Nation McAlester Health Clinic and Choctaw Nation Health Care Center. Chief Batton along with Tribal dignitaries, and associates of health services, toured both facilities on October 20.

Rural Urgent Center facility will be design to meet the needs of both clinicians and consumers. Consumers invariably associate the quality of healthcare services with the aesthetics of the site of care (Laureate Education, 2015). Therefore, the facility will be designed to blend with the local architecture of both the eastern and western communities. The total office space will be approximately 3,260 sq. ft of useable space and 4,175 gross sq. ft. There will also be an entry point for ambulances services, eight cars parking area and also a wide driveway entrance for patient convenience, where access a ride can also drop of and pick up patients where patients will be picked up in the front of the facility. The RUC will have the following basic

Cumberland HealthNET currently serves Cumberland County residents between 18 to 64 years of age diagnosed with hypertension , heart failure or diabetes who do not have access to group coverage or qualify for any government programs such as Medicaid or Medicare . In addition , individuals must have income that is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level . My volunteer experience related to the class concept I found that the organization was very helpful to the unfortunate ones , they go above and beyond to help individuals get the service that's needed .

Rural Americans face an exclusive combination of issues that create disparities in health care that are not found in urban areas. Many complications met by healthcare providers and patients in rural arears are massively different than those located in urban areas. Financial factors, cultural and social variances, educational deficiencies, lack of acknowledgement by delegates and the absolute isolation of living in remote rural areas all combined to hinder rural Americans in their struggle to lead a normal, healthy life. Rural hospitals located in rural areas faces many disadvantages, such as; minimum resources, shortcoming or unprepared professionals, and financial disparities. Although many of these challenges could be solved

She suggest that funding needs to be increase to accommodate the elderly and disabled (Linda, 2014). The second Article called the “Transportation Barriers” Author Cronk informs about the struggles and frustration the elderly and people with disabilities face due to the lack of transportation services available to them. Furthermore, the author tells the story of an elderly man who was taken to the hospital by ambulance. But, on the day of his release from the hospital he had no family nearby and had no way to get home nor had money to pay for a taxi. The hospital was unable to assist him financially to pay for a cab, frustrated the elderly patient told his nurse he would walk eight miles to his home. Cronk informs that in populated communities although many people live near doctors and hospitals they continue to face the issue of poor transportation due to financial struggles. The author states that for those who are disabled riding public transportation becomes a great challenge. In addition to missing important preventive care appointments because they have no reliable access to transportation. Cronk states that the problems were worst among minorities, stating that a high percentage of disabled and elderly patients have missed appointments due to not having accessible transportation. Cronk continues to inform that many times they just wait for medical emergencies to visit a doctor. To