This story was originally published by KFF Health News. Imagine starting the new year with the promise of at least a $147 million payout from the federal government. But there are strings attached. In late December, President Donald Trump’s administration…
When LeyAnn Gehlen-Wampler of Medicine Lodge, Kansas, gave birth to her son last year, she faced a common dilemma in rural communities: She needed to work to pay her living expenses, but the cost of childcare—if she could find it—would…
Blaine Halverson joked that his only exposure to data centers was from the Mission Impossible movies in the 1990s. That was, until one came to his town. Over the last seven months, Halverson’s community of Menomonie, Wisconsin, population 16,700, has…
Month after month, Patricia Hunter and other members of the Nursing Home Reform Coalition logged onto video calls with congressional representatives, seeking support for a proposed federal rule setting minimum staff levels for nursing homes. Finally, after decades of advocacy,…
Across the nation, the consequences of a childcare shortage are dire. Women leave the workforce. Young families move away. Employers can’t find enough workers. The childcare providers who remain often leave the field for better-paying jobs, and those who stay…
In Walworth County, Wisconsin, a grassroots effort is reimagining what care can look like across generations. A local community group has launched the “Nursery to Nursing Home” campaign, a proposal to transform a vacant wing of the county’s nursing home…
The demise of the coal industry left much of Appalachia in economic tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water, and depopulated communities across the coalfields of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia. Now, in an ironic twist of the region’s energy history,…
A deal between the federal government and groups that sued the Trump administration over National Institutes of Health research grant proposals consigned to bureaucratic limbo because of anti-DEI policies is already bearing fruit. The agreement, which was reached Monday, came…
In the chaotic environment of an emergency room, hospital staffers sometimes face the question of whether to use physical restraints when a patient is experiencing a behavioral crisis. Using restraints is meant to be a last resort in the face…
Abby Madore covers a lot of ground each day at work. A staffer at a community health center in Carson City, Nevada, Madore spends her days helping low-income residents understand their health insurance options, including Medicaid. Her phone is always…