A federal program and a funding policy are at odds with each other as nurses, nurse practitioners, and CNOs fight to preserve the workforce pipeline and boost access to care. Rural health systems face a myriad of challenges that have widespread implications for rural communities, including underfunding and clinician shortages. According to Dr. Valerie Fuller, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), access to care and transportation are also barriers that stand in the way of patient care. “I grew up in rural Maine, I certainly understand the challenges that rural patients face in accessing healthcare,” Fuller said. “Even getting to areas to receive care can be a challenge for people that live in more rural and underserved areas.” CNOs in both rural and urban health systems need to strategize ways to get quality care to rural patient populations, and advocate for more investment in rural healthcare when opportunities such as the Rural Healthcare Transformation (RHT) Program arise. What is the RHT Program? The RHT Program is a $50 billion funding measure authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) with the goal of improving access to care, quality, and patient outcomes in rural communities. States who apply for the program must use the funds for the approved uses. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(“dfp-ad-hl_native1”); }); Fuller explained that the most encouraging thing for the AANP was that part of the program application included recognizing nurse practitioners (NP) and the importance that they bring to rural healthcare. “We have 27…
