“Rural health networks are the backbone of community health across much of New York State, relying on their collective strength to effectively meet the needs of the people they serve. Even as they carry out that important work, they have faced highly disruptive reductions in funding over the past several years,” Cheryl Smith Fisher, chair […]
“Rural health networks are the backbone of community health across much of New York State, relying on their collective strength to effectively meet the needs of the people they serve. Even as they carry out that important work, they have faced highly disruptive reductions in funding over the past several years,” Cheryl Smith Fisher, chair of the board of trustees of the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York, said. “As part of a group of foundations whose focus areas include rural communities that were provided generous gifts by MacKenzie Scott in 2022, we wanted our first action with these funds to reflect her approach of unrestricted, trust-based giving.”
Rural health networks
Rural health networks are collaboratives of community-based organizations and health-care providers addressing the needs of people in rural communities, as described by the Health Foundation. These networks build on cross-organizational strengths to provide health and social-care services in areas that often “suffer” from health-care provider and facility shortages, underfunded programs, and other resource challenges.
Some examples of the work led by the grant recipients include addressing maternal health needs of migrant farm workers, assisting families victimized by child abuse, providing housing to older adults and respite to caregivers, and keeping infants safe by training the public on safe sleep.
Over the past several years, rural health networks in New York have had a “sharp decline” in public funding, even as they faced additional community health needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health Foundation said. In 2016, rural health programs were allocated $16.2 million. Since then, the executive budget has “repeatedly reduced” funding to these programs to $9.4 million.
These funding cuts “create serious challenges” for rural health networks as they work to improve the lives of the people they serve and meet community-wide health equity goals, the foundation stated.
CNY report
The Health Foundation’s 2022 report Community Health Needs and Opportunities in WNY’s Southern Tier highlighted “systemic barriers” to good health in Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua counties. “Social determinants” of health — such as transportation challenges, lack of health insurance, poverty, and food insecurity — are drivers of health outcomes in those regions.
As a complement to that report, the Health Foundation will also fund a report of community health needs in rural Central New York. It’ll use the remaining $50,000 of the dedicated $500,000 for this report and for a public-awareness campaign that tells the story of the personal impact of rural health disparities. The goal of this work is to “influence and inform” public investments and policymaking around rural community health, the foundation said.