ITH Celebrates National Rural Health Day

InTouch Health Celebrates National Rural Health Day

InTouch Health® proudly joins the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) and other state/national rural stakeholders in celebrating the first-ever National Rural Health Day today.

NOSORH created National Rural Health Day as a way to showcase rural America, increase awareness of rural health-related issues, and promote the efforts of NOSORH and others in addressing these issues. Plans call for National Rural Health Day to become an annual celebration on the third Thursday of each November.

Approximately 62 million Americans - nearly one in five - live in rural communities throughout the United States. "These small towns, farming communities and frontier areas are wonderful places to live and work; they are places where neighbors know each other and work together," noted NOSORH Director Teryl Eisinger. "The hospitals and providers serving these rural communities not only provide quality patient care, but they also help keep good jobs in rural America."

These communities also face unique healthcare needs. "Today more than ever, rural communities must tackle accessibility issues, a lack of healthcare providers, the needs of an aging population suffering from a greater number of chronic conditions, and larger percentages of un- and underinsured citizens," Eisinger said. "Meanwhile, rural hospitals are threatened with declining reimbursement rates and disproportionate funding levels that makes it challenging to serve their residents."

Telemedicine solutions from InTouch Health enable physicians to provide care into rural hospitals around the country. Some of the services provided by remote physicians to rural hospitals over Remote Presence from InTouch Health include neurology, trauma, critical care, behavioral health, pediatrics, oncology and dermatology. Physician services provided using telemedicine allow acutely ill patients to remain in their community while getting the highest quality care and enable convenient and cost effective ongoing, scheduled care.

"InTouch Health is proud to recognize the dedicated physicians, nurses, administrators and caregivers in rural areas across the nation who work tirelessly to provide excellent healthcare to their communities," remarked Dr. Yulun Wang, Chairman and CEO of InTouch Health. "We look forward to expanding our collaborations with rural healthcare providers as they overcome today's challenges, to address tomorrow's needs."

Additional information about National Rural Health Day can be found on the Web at http://celebratepowerofrural.org/. To learn more about NOSORH, visit http://www.nosorh.org/.