Seeks to increase access to workers and technology

PEOSTA, IA – New healthcare IT jobs are part of the Jobs Initiatives for Rural America, which was announced by President Obama on Aug. 16 at the White House Rural Economic Forum. The plan includes making Department Health and Human Services (HHS) loans available to help more than 1,300 critical access hospitals recruit additional staff, and helping rural hospitals purchase software and hardware to implement health IT.

The forum, held at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, brings together farmers, small business owners, private sector leaders, rural organizations and government officials to discuss ideas and initiatives to promote economic growth, accelerate hiring and spur innovation in rural communities nationwide.

The initiatives were recommended by the White House Rural Council as a way to help grow the economy and creating jobs in rural America. The council’s recommendations focus on key areas of need in rural communities, including helping rural small businesses access capital, expanding rural job search and training services, and increasing rural access to healthcare workers and technology.

“These are tough times for a lot of Americans – including those who live in our rural communities,” said Obama. “That’s why my administration has put a special focus on helping rural families find jobs, grow their businesses, and regain a sense of economic security.”

 “Creating jobs and economic opportunity in rural America is a priority for the Obama Administration, and the White House Rural Council has used an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to leverage resources across the federal government to achieve that goal,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “By bringing new capital, job training, and additional investments to our rural communities, we are working to ensure the people who live in these towns have a better, brighter future.”

The Council’s recommendations, which leverage existing programs and funding, include committing $350 million in SBA funding to rural small businesses over the next five years, launching a series of conferences to connect private equity and venture capital investors with rural start ups, creating capital marketing teams to pitch federal funding opportunities to private investors interested in making rural investments, making job search information available at 2,800 local USDA offices nationwide, making HHS loans available to help more than 1,300 Critical Access Hospitals recruit additional staff and helping rural hospitals purchase software and hardware to implement health IT.

Among the new initiatives increasing rural access to healthcare workers and technology:

• Increasing Physician Recruitment at Critical Access Hospitals. HHS will issue guidance to expand eligibility for the National Health Service Corps loan repayment program so that Critical Access Hospitals (those with 25 beds or fewer) can use these loans to recruit new physicians. This program will help more than 1,300 CAHs across the country recruit needed staff.  The addition of one primary care physician in a rural community generates approximately $1.5 million in annual revenue and creates 23 jobs annually. The average CAH creates 107 jobs and generates $4.8 million in payroll annually.

• Expanding Health Information Technology in Rural America. USDA and HHS will sign an agreement linking rural hospitals and clinicians to existing capital loan programs that enable them to purchase software and hardware needed to implement health information technology. Under current conditions, rural health care providers face challenges in harnessing the benefits of HIT due to limited access to capital and workforce challenges. Rural hospitals tend to have lower financial operating margins and limited capital to make the investments needed to purchase hardware, software and other equipment.