Minnesota lawmakers weigh funding to address rural cancer care disparity

A pilot venture that aims to address a shortage of cancer care in rural Minnesota would receive funding under rule being considered at the state Capitol The rural cancer gap describes a trend in preventable deaths from cancer being higher in rural areas than in urban communities Though death rates for cancer are falling overall rates are falling more fleetly in urban areas than rural communities according to the Rural Cancer Institute Doctors say rural Minnesotans are experiencing wellbeing care access discrepancies reflected across rural America with long waiting times and drives to see specialists who are often hard to find And rural Americans experience higher cancer death rates than their urban counterparts despite having fewer new cancer cases according to a description from the Centers for Disorder Control and Prevention The regulation would allocate over fiscal years - from the state s workforce progress fund to the Rural Cancer Institute to launch a pilot operation aimed at exposing anatomical students to oncology care in rural Minnesota Dr Wade Swenson of Lakewood Soundness System in Staples a curative oncologist with years of experience in rural Minnesota stated the venture would be a life-saving necessity The need is urgent Swenson explained We at the moment lack threshold in this state to effectively care for our rural patients with cancer The initiative would be modeled after the Rural Physician Associate Venture which places diagnostic students in rural communities The Rural Cancer Institute s operation would adapt the approach to cancer care giving medicinal students residents and fellows experience in rural oncology practice by placing them in clinics and providing housing patronage according to Swenson Swenson declared he hopes if the campaign is funded it will encourage health students to live and practice in rural communities after graduation It s really about exposure and changing the narrative about how cancer care is delivered in communities and rural practices Swenson revealed Swenson reported expanding rural oncology institution providers would not only improve rural communities access to strength care but also strengthen their economies by retaining wellbeing care dollars locally Rural oncologists bring about million in downstream revenue to their surrounding communities on average supporting five to eight strength care-related jobs according to Swenson Sen Rich Draheim R-Madison Lake the primary author of the bill mentioned he has personally seen anatomical personnel shortages affect his rural hometown including hospital closures clinic consolidations and long wait times Here we re helping the rural communities We re helping train doctors that will save lives Draheim declared Just think if it was your loved one your husband your wife your kids that had to get cancer care Would you want to drive two or three hours each way The measure was heard April and laid over for accomplishable inclusion in an omnibus bill by the Senate Jobs and Economic Maturation committee This article originally appeared at KAXE org Document for Minnesota is a project of the University of Minnesota s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication to advocacy local news in all areas of the state The post Minnesota lawmakers weigh funding to address rural cancer care disparity appeared first on MinnPost