For this month’s episode, we spoke to Lisa Davis, Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health and Ann Tickamyer, PhD, Professor Emerita of Rural Sociology and Demography at Penn State, about the challenges and opportunities of healthcare in rural communities.

Pennsylvania is considered one of the most rural states in the nation, and is anchored by Pittsburgh in the southwestern and Philadelphia in the southeastern parts of the state. Across the nation, however, rural counties have much in common in terms of geographic isolation and significant challenges like access to economic development, transportation infrastructure, broadband services, healthcare services, and many others. As the U.S. continues to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, the inadequacy of our country’s healthcare system hangs heavily over rural communities and the people living in them.

Note: This episode was recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic and does not account for current changes for rural communities.