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Dr. Holmes addresses US Senate Subcommittee on Rural Access to Care

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Dr. Mark Holmes, director of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at UNC-CH and the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, testified before the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Care on May 17th, 2023. The hearing was titled “Improving Health Care Access in Rural Communities: Obstacles and Opportunities”.

 

Dr. Holmes shared his expertise on rural health policy and research, highlighting three main points: 1) threats to a robust rural health care system, 2) acute health workforce shortages, and 3) rural communities can innovate and lead when policies are rural-appropriate and supportive.

 

Dr. Holmes was one of four witnesses who testified at the hearing, along with Erin Aune, vice president of strategic programs at Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital in Glasgow, Montana; Sara Rich, president and CEO of Choptank Community Health System in Denton, Maryland; and David Herman, CEO of Essentia Health in Duluth, Minnesota. The witnesses represented different types of rural health care organizations and perspectives.

 

The hearing was part of a series of hearings on rural health care that the subcommittee plans to hold this year. It can be viewed online at https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/improving-health-care-access-in-rural-communities-obstacles-and-opportunities. The written testimony of Dr. Holmes and the other witnesses can be downloaded from the same website.