(April 13, 2022) Sen. Brooks and Rep. Rapp co-hosted a Rural Health Summit with more than a dozen of their fellow legislators to explore the challenges impacting rural access to health care, the growing substance use disorder and mental health crisis, the workforce shortage, the changing demographics of Pennsylvania, and related factors facing rural Pennsylvania. Also discussed was the challenge of sustaining rural hospitals with nearby outpatient emergency departments, the need for rural Pennsylvania to be at the policy-making table, and the urgent need to recruit physicians and nurses to practice in rural areas.
