In regional news, Virginia state legislators are seriously promoting economic development through a series of investment strategies in order to attract high-tech companies to the area, such as Amazon. Rural development and health care go hand in hand, and small infrastructure investments will lead to big rural health gains.
Click HERE to read about InvestSWVA.
The U.S. Health & Human Services secretary along with several public health advocates weigh in on the Trump administration’s decision to exempt tobacco and menthol from the e-cigarette flavors ban. A FDA regulation, set to take effect in February, is meant to curb future users and the usage among the existing 27.5% of addicted high schoolers. Opinions on the matter ranged from criticism to labeling this move as a “smart, targeted policy that is an evidence-based, science-based health approach.”
Click HERE to read.
As the year is coming to an end, the Journal of the American College of Surgeons has published a New England study on resident health.
Read the AAFP Overview and a Resident Member Q & A.
Governor Ralph Northam has proposed a $228 million package to fund Virginia’s mental and behavioral health services. This 11% uptick will be put towards the state’s nine hospitals and private institutions over the next two years. If approved, Community Service Boards and other key support services will be funded in order to ease the discharge process. Improving upon the state’s current crisis services, outpatient services, veterans’ programs, peer support services, supportive housing and assertive community treatment teams will be a priority for prevention.
Click HERE to read the budget breakdown.
This Roanoke Times Editorial explores the polarizing comments made by Jackson Kernion and Brad Blakeman, both academics discussing the following popular, unspoken opinion – “Why bother [with economic revitalization in rural communities]? Maybe investing in rural America— especially the coalfields of Appalachia — is simply a waste of resources. Maybe the federal government should simply buy out people who live there and let the region revert to nature as a giant national forest.”
Click HERE to read.
Mason Adams captures Southwest Virginia’s healthcare climate and the dire consequences brought on by rural hospital closures. Downgraded trauma centers, a lack of providers and reliable, cost-efficient transportation are a few things affecting a community where the median income has remained around $32,590. The article also includes testimony on how the community continues to rally in an effort to secure the care that they deserve.
Click HERE to read.
This past month the ACGME granted ETSU’s Family Medicine Addiction Medicine Fellowship their initial accreditation, making it possible for two fellows to begin their education and training by July 2020. In partnership with Ballad Health, the creation of this fellowship has been an effort to introduce evidence-based care to the families and individuals of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.
Click HERE to read more about the fellowship’s plans.
