Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Rural health advisers warn Nebraska loan-repayment cuts would worsen provider shortages
Summary
Members and appointees to the Nebraska Rural Health Advisory Commission told the Health and Human Services Committee that program funding and workforce shortages threaten rural hospitals and clinics and urged investment in telehealth, hub-and-spoke models and loan repayment to recruit clinicians.
Speakers before the Health and Human Services Committee urged lawmakers to protect and expand rural recruitment tools, saying state loan-repayment programs and regional care models are central to keeping services available in small communities.
Jeffrey Harrison, chair of the UNMC department of family medicine and a long-time rural health advocate, said Nebraska must adopt new delivery models to keep care local: "Patients still want the relationship, with somebody they know," he told the committee while urging a hub-and-spoke approach that pairs centralized specialty resources with local access points staffed and supported by local teams.
Rebecca Schroeder, a clinical psychologist from Curtis…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
