Today, we celebrate National Rural Health Day – a time to reflect on the incredible contributions America’s healthcare workforce makes to patients in rural communities every day.
Providing high quality care to rural Americans continues to be a major priority for our nation’s healthcare system and the Healthcare Workforce Coalition thanks all doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and support staff who work hard to increase patient access in less populated and underserved parts of the United States.
As part of this effort, it is important to grow the country’s healthcare workforce. Millions of Americans live in a Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) where there are not enough medical professionals to help keep up with growing demand for care. Rural communities are disproportionately affected by doctor and nurse shortages. In fact, two-thirds of Primary Care HPSAs are in rural parts of the U.S. Moreover, on a per-capita basis, there are significantly fewer registered nurses and physicians in rural areas compared to urban communities. And, nationwide, 85% of healthcare facilities are facing shortages of allied healthcare professionals.
There are many factors contributing to rural healthcare shortages, but severe burnout, increasing violence against healthcare workers, and growing visa backlogs are three of the most serious trends exacerbating the crisis—especially in rural areas. Strengthening America’s healthcare workforce, therefore, means providing tools to improve mental health and sustain wellbeing, strengthening protections against physical and verbal abuse in healthcare settings, and creating legal immigration pathways for qualified foreign healthcare professionals.
To address these challenges and strengthen the rural healthcare workforce, we strongly support reauthorization of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act, and the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (HWRA). We urge Congress to quickly pass these important pieces of bipartisan legislation.
As we recognize the nation’s rural healthcare community today, learn more about the issues and our advocacy priorities HERE.