Rural Communities: Conquering Challenges, Optimizing Opportunities: Part I

10/04/19 • 47 min

In this kickoff to Rural Matters’ first in-depth, four-part series, Rural Communities: Conquering Challenges, Optimizing Opportunities, Michelle and three guests take a deep dive on what it’s like — and what it could be like in the future — to live in Rural America, exploring the recent findings of a survey conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard University School of Public Health. The three guests are Dr. Robert J. Blendon, Richard L. Menschel Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Policy Translation and Leadership Development at the Harvard School of Public Health who serves as co-director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health project on understanding Americans' Health Agenda; Ed Sivak, Chief Policy and Communications Officer for Hope Enterprise Corporation/ Hope Credit Union (HOPE); and Luke Shaefer, University of Michigan Professor of Social Work in the School of Social Work and Professor of Public Policy in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy; and Director of Poverty Solutions. The majority of those living in rural America are optimistic about the future, but many others are concerned about their economic future and, in particular, the opioid crisis, according to Blendon. The survey results show that about half in rural America say they could not pay a “surprise” bill of $1,000. In addition, Blendon notes, rural residents say they need outside help to deal with many of their problems, including that their health insurance coverage doesn’t enable them to seek certain local providers. In addition, he notes, one in five rural residents has difficulty getting Internet coverage, which creates all sorts of barriers, including in terms of health care. Sivak notes that in 9 out of 10 persistent poverty countries, many of them in the rural areas, the unemployment rate exceeds the national average. Access to a financial institution, such as Hope, really matters, he concludes. Shaefer points out that rural communities are disproportionately represented among the 100 most vulnerable communities in the United States. The bottom line, according to the guests, is that life in rural America today is indeed challenging for many residents and that outside help is needed, but because of volunteer efforts, local “superheroes,” and innovative solutions that hopefully can be sustaining, there are realistic opportunities to address the problems. This episode — and the entire four-part series — is sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, RWJF.org, @rwjf. This episode also was sponsored by Thomas USAF, who is sponsoring the 20th Annual National Rural Lenders Roundtable in Washington, DC on December 4, www.nrlrt.com.

Previous Episode

Rural Loans with Thomas Kimsey

Michelle chats with Thomas Kimsey, president & CEO of Thomas USAF Group, LLC. Kimsey manages and oversees more than $100 million in loan origination and underwriting annually. Big bank lenders often do not play in the rural space, Kimsey notes, so this is where the USDA Rural Development Loan Program, and its Community Facility Program, come in, through its direct and guaranteed loans. Last year, this program loaned almost $3 billion to provide and rebuild rural infrastructure. Thomas USAF has participated in many Community Facility projects, such as medical offices at a rural hospital in Nevada and a 10-bed geri-psych facility in rural Georgia. Were it not for the Community Facility Program, this funding might not have been readily available, according to Kimsey. The Community Facility Program also can assist in efforts surrounding public safety and municipal buildings. These projects often originate through state rural development offices, he notes, with a pre-application to USDA, which would include what nonprofit is participating in the project. Finally, Kimsey notes, USDA also can assist in debt refinancing. This episode was sponsored by Thomas USAF, which on December 4 is sponsoring the 20th Annual National Rural Lenders Roundtable in Washington, D.C, www.nrlrt.com; by Rural Assembly, ruralassembly.org; and by FTW Robotics, www.ftw-robotics.com.

Next Episode

Housing & Health Care in Rural America with Nancy Dickey and David Lipsetz

In this second in our four-part series, Rural Communities: Conquering Challenges, Optimizing Opportunities, in partnership with and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Michelle chats with Nancy Dickey and David Lipsetz. Dickey spent almost a dozen years as president of the Texas A&M Health Science Center and vice chancellor for health affairs for The Texas A&M University System and currently serves in several academic and administrative roles at the College of Medicine and as executive director of the Rural and Community Health Institute. She also is part of the leadership team at the Center for Optimizing Rural Health, which was created last year with funding provided through the Vulnerable Rural Hospitals Assistance Program. Lipsetz is Chief Executive Officer at the Housing Assistance Council, a national nonprofit that has been helping rural America address poverty and hardship since 1971. Less than 7 percent of the philanthropic work conducted in the United States is done in rural America, notes Lipsetz, and less than 6 percent of mortgage deductions were filed by residents in rural communities. Lipsetz invites listeners to get in touch with his organization to talk about how to link the potential capacity of high-quality housing in rural and small towns offered by his organization with recruitment of providers that needs to be done by hospitals. Dickey notes that, in certain communities, hospitals have become “landlords” for intermediate housing because they’re forced to, in order to attract providers. In addition, Dickey says, sometimes hospitals arrange for apartment sharing among providers and also to provide tertiary care through telehealth services. Lipsetz notes that poverty clearly is a social determinant for quality of care since it limits access for rural patients, leading to unacceptable infant mortality and increased morbidity rates. This episode was sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, www.rwjf.org and Thomas USAF, which on December 4 is sponsoring the 20th Annual National Rural Lenders Roundtable in Washington, D.C, www.nrlrt.com.