As Eating Disorders Spike During Pandemic, Rural Treatment Options Lag
Erin Reynolds had battled bulimia since childhood, but the weeks before she entered treatment were among her worst. At 22, she was preparing to leave […]
Rural Medicine
Biden Administration Announces Boost for Rural Health Care in Midterm Election Push
As the midterm election season ramps up, the Biden administration wants rural Americans to know it’ll be spending a lot of money to improve health […]
The Pandemic Exacerbates the ‘Paramedic Paradox’ in Rural America
Even after she’s clocked out, Sarah Lewin keeps a Ford Explorer outfitted with medical gear parked outside her house. As one of just four paramedics […]
Montana Mice May Hold the Secret to Virus Spillover
For the past 20 years, Amy Kuenzi has spent three days of every month traveling to a ranch near Gregson, Montana, and setting out traps […]
Rural Communities Left Hurting Without a Hospital, Ambulance or Doctors Nearby
STATENVILLE, Ga. — Georgia’s Echols County, which borders Florida, could be called a health care desert. It has no hospital, no local ambulances. A medical […]
Local Pharmacists Fill Rx Void as Big Brands Pull Out of Rural Areas
Bill Mather, a pharmacist in the small Iowa city of Greenfield, wanted to make sure his neighbors could fill their prescriptions without driving long distances […]
Seeking Refills: Aging Pharmacists Leave Drugstores Vacant in Rural America
Ted Billinger Jr. liked to joke that he would work until he died. That turned out to be prophetic. When Billinger died of a heart […]
Covid Shots for Kids Are Scarce — And Demand Is Mixed — In Rural Montana
When children ages 5 to 11 were approved for Pfizer’s lower-dose pediatric covid-19 vaccine in November, Annie Edwards was eager to get her daughter Hannah, […]
A Rural Georgia Community Reels After Its Hospital Closes
CUTHBERT, Ga. — Lacandie Gipson struggled to breathe. The 33-year-old woman with multiple health conditions was in respiratory distress and awaiting an ambulance. About 20 […]
Journalists Explore Health Care Disparities and Policy Pitfalls
KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony discussed how Black entrepreneurs in the medical-technology industry are looking to fill health care gaps on Newsy on Wednesday. Click […]
The ER Charged Him $6,500 for Six Stitches. No Wonder His Critically Ill Wife Avoided the ER.
Jason and DeeAnn Dean recently relocated to her hometown of Dellrose, Tennessee, where she grew up on a farm. Both in their late 40s, they’re […]
As Big Pharma and Hospitals Battle Over Drug Discounts, Patients Miss Out on Millions in Benefits
In early July, as the covid-19 pandemic slammed rural America, the president of a small Kansas hospital sat down on a Friday afternoon and wrote […]
How Rural Communities Are Losing Their Pharmacies
Batson’s Drug Store seems like a throwback to a simpler time. The independently owned pharmacy in Howard, Kansas, still runs an old-fashioned soda counter and […]
How Low Can They Go? Rural Hospitals Weigh Keeping Obstetric Units When Births Decline
As rural hospitals struggle to stay financially stable, their leaders watch other small facilities close obstetrics units to cut costs. They face a no-win dilemma: […]
In Maine, Vaccine Mandate for EMTs Stresses Small-Town Ambulance Crews
On a recent morning, Jerrad Dinsmore and Kevin LeCaptain of Waldoboro EMS in rural Maine drove their ambulance to a secluded house near the ocean, […]
‘No Mercy’ Bonus Episodes: More From Fort Scott, Kansas
Searching for the Nuns Who Ghosted Fort Scott Host Sarah Jane Tribble sets out on a mission to learn more about the Sisters of Mercy, […]
What Will It Take to Boost Vaccinations? The Scene From Kentucky’s Back Roads
SMILAX, Ky. — In the end it was the delta variant that drove Rose Mitchell, 89, down the winding mountain road to the Full Gospel […]
Journalists Tell How Covid Complicates Organ Transplants and the Health of Rural America
KHN senior correspondent JoNel Aleccia discussed organ transplants and the covid-19 vaccine on NBC’s “NBC Now” on Oct. 8. Click here to watch Aleccia on […]
Journalists Examine Vaccination Rates Among Student Nurses and in Covid Hot Spots
Contributing writer and former KHN correspondent Michelle Andrews discussed difficulties in providing clinical training to student nurses who refuse to get vaccinated on CBS News […]
Covid Is Killing Rural Americans at Twice the Rate of Urbanites
Rural Americans are dying of covid at more than twice the rate of their urban counterparts — a divide that health experts say is likely […]
Delta Cutting ‘Like a Buzzsaw’ Through Oregon-California Border Counties
If you live in one of the rural communities tucked into the forested hillsides along the Oregon-California border and need serious medical care, you’ll probably […]
To Stoke Rural Vaccination Rates, Trusted Farmers Are Asked to Spread Word
When he became eligible for the coronavirus vaccine in Illinois, Tom Arnold, 68, said he didn’t need any convincing. He raises cattle, hogs and chickens […]
In Rural America, Twisting Arms to Take a Covid Vaccine First Takes Trust
CAIRO, Ill. — Lee Wright was hard at work, constructing a nail salon near the city’s abandoned hospital, when Jody Johnson stopped by to introduce […]
Journalists’ Topics Range From Rural Pharmacy Deserts to Opioid Overdoses
KHN senior Colorado correspondent Markian Hawryluk discussed how a rural Colorado town is crowdsourcing ways to get prescription medicines delivered on KUNC’s “Colorado Edition” on […]
California’s Highest Covid Infection Rates Shift to Rural Counties
Most of us are familiar with the good news: In recent weeks, rates of covid-19 infection and death have plummeted in California, falling to levels […]
Rural Ambulance Services Are in Jeopardy as Volunteers Age and Expenses Mount
DUTTON, Mont. — Vern Greyn was standing in the raised bucket of a tractor, trimming dead branches off a tree, when he lost his balance. […]
With Roots in Civil Rights, Community Health Centers Push for Equity in the Pandemic
In the 1960s, health care across the Mississippi Delta was sparse and much of it was segregated. Some hospitals were dedicated to Black patients, but […]
Riding Herd on Mental Health in Colorado Ranching Country
[Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is in a crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the […]
What the Slowing Vaccine Rates Mean for One Rural Montana County
KALISPELL, Mont. — The covid vaccination operation at the Flathead County fairgrounds can dole out 1,000 doses in seven hours. But demand has plummeted recently, […]
En los Apalaches y el delta del Mississippi, millones deben viajar lejos para recibir atención por accidentes cerebrovasculares
Una mañana de verano en 2019, Debbie Cook estaba todavía en pijamas cuando recibió una llamada de su hijo: “Algo malo le pasa a la […]
In Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta, Millions Face Long Drives to Stroke Care
Debbie Cook was in her pajamas on a summer morning in 2019 when she got a call from her son: “Something bad is wrong with […]
‘It Didn’t Really Stick With Me’: Understanding the Rural Shrug Over Covid and Vaccines
At 70, Linda Findley has long been active in her small town of Fort Scott, Kansas, which sits more than an hour away from any […]
Rural Americans in Pharmacy Deserts Hurting for Covid Vaccines
This story also ran on CNN. It can be republished for free. As the Biden administration accelerates a plan to use pharmacies to distribute covid-19 […]
To Vaccinate Veterans, Health Care Workers Must Cross Mountains, Plains and Tundra
This story also ran on Time. It can be republished for free. A Learjet 31 took off before daybreak from Helena Regional Airport in Montana, […]
Rural Hospital Remains Entrenched in Covid ‘War’ Even Amid Vaccine Rollout
Editor’s note: KHN wrote about St. James Parish Hospital in April, when it was experiencing its first surge of covid-19 patients. Ten months later, we […]
Journalists Explore Inefficiency and Inequities of Vaccine Rollout
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber spoke about the covid-19 vaccine rollout for WAMU’s “1A” on Jan. 29. Click here to hear Weber on WAMU KHN […]
California’s Rural Counties Endure a Deadly Covid Winter
Covid-19’s fierce winter resurgence in California is notable not only for the explosion in overall cases and deaths in the state’s sprawling urban centers. This […]
4 Vital Health Issues — Not Tied to Covid — That Congress Addressed in Massive Spending Bill
This story also ran on NPR. It can be republished for free. Late last month, before President Joe Biden took office and proposed his pandemic […]
In Los Angeles and Beyond, Oxygen Is the Latest Covid Bottleneck
As Los Angeles hospitals give record numbers of covid patients oxygen, the systems and equipment needed to deliver the life-sustaining gas are faltering. It’s gotten […]
Health Officials Fear Pandemic-Related Suicide Spike Among Native Youth
WOLF POINT, Mont. — Fallen pine cones covered 16-year-old Leslie Keiser’s fresh grave at the edge of Wolf Point, a small community on the Fort […]
Inside the First Chaotic Days of the Effort to Vaccinate America
One tray of COVID-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer contains 975 doses — way too many for a rural hospital in Arkansas. But with the […]
What Happened When the Only ER Doctor in a Rural Town Got COVID
Kurt Papenfus, a doctor in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado, started to feel sick around Halloween. He developed a scary cough, intestinal symptoms and a headache. In […]
Rural Areas Send Their Sickest Patients to Cities, Straining Hospitals
Registered nurse Pascaline Muhindura has spent the past eight months treating COVID patients at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. But when she returns home […]
Need a COVID-19 Nurse? That’ll Be $8,000 a Week
DENVER — In March, Claire Tripeny was watching her dream job fall apart. She’d been working as an intensive care nurse at St. Anthony Hospital […]
KHN on the Air This Week
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal discussed how to manage unexpected health care costs with CBSN on Wednesday. Click here to watch Rosenthal on CBSN KHN chief […]
Listen: COVID Stresses Rural Hospitals Already ‘Teetering on the Brink’
When KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal heard a sample of the voices that correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble brought back from her reporting trip to rural Kansas, […]
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 7: After a Rural Town Loses Hospital, Is a Health Clinic Enough?
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen. Family physician Maxwell Self is doing his same old job for a new employer. For two decades […]
‘Is This Worth My Life?’: Traveling Health Workers Decry COVID Care Conditions
This story also ran on The Guardian. It can be republished for free. David Joel Perea called from Maine, Vermont, Minnesota and, ultimately, Nevada, always […]
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 6: Trickle-Down Heartache Reaches the Next Generation in a Rural Town With No Hospital
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen. Josh is 17. He said he smokes marijuana. He struggles with anger. He’s also juggling some extraordinary […]
KHN on the Air This Week
KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the current surge in COVID-19 cases, health policy in the election and the Affordable Care Act case before […]
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 5: In Rural America, Cancer Care Is Often Far From Home
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen. Sixty-five-year-old Karen Endicott-Coyan is living with a blood cancer. Her chemotherapy takes less than 30 minutes. Before […]
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 4: So, 2 Nuns Step Off a Train in Kansas … A Hospital’s Origin Story
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen. Ever since Mercy Hospital went “corporate,” things just haven’t been the same — that’s what lots of […]
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 2: Unimaginable, After a Century, That Their Hospital Would Close
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen. Closing a hospital hurts. In Fort Scott, Kansas, no one was a bigger symbol for that loss […]
Prognosis for Rural Hospitals Worsens With Pandemic
Jerome Antone said he is one of the lucky ones. After becoming ill with COVID-19, Antone was hospitalized only 65 miles away from his small […]
GOP Senate Ad Misrepresents Mont. Governor’s Stance on Rural Hospitals, Public Option
An attack ad, which was released in mid-July, states that Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democratic candidate for the Senate, supports a government-run health care […]
Trabajadores agrícolas en alto riesgo de contraer coronavirus y sin protección federal
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee.- Es una época de mucho trabajo para las granjas productoras de tomate en esta parte del estado. Estas plantaciones cuentan con cientos de […]
As Crisis Grows, Farms Try to Balance Health of Field Workers and Food Supply
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It’s a busy time for the tomato-producing farms in this part of the state. Farms have staffed up with hundreds of workers, […]
In Rural Missouri, Latinos Learn to Contain and Cope With the Coronavirus
Francisco Bonilla is a pastor in Carthage, Missouri, tending to the spiritual needs of the town’s growing Latino community. He’s also a media personality, broadcasting […]
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Still Waiting for That Trump Health Plan
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. President Donald Trump keeps promising to unveil a comprehensive plan to replace the Affordable Care […]
