Texas Tribune: How Rural Communities are Solving Health Care Challenges

On February 16, The Texas Tribune held a forum in Tyler, Texas on issues related to rural health care challenges in Texas.  Texas Insight attended the forum, and the forum summary follows. With small-town hospitals closing across Texas, many communities are rethinking their approach to health care. Some are looking into community health models with a more entrepreneurial lens, and there’s regular talk about improving broadband access to help with telemedicine. In Tyler, there’s a new health college in the works, and the East Texas city has seen population growth amid excitement about local opportunities in the medical field. This focus and innovation around rural health care follow targeted legislation and investment. In this Texas Tribune conversation, we’ll look at how communities like Tyler are taking on healthcare challenges, what is happening at the state level to support these efforts and how the future of healthcare will look in rural Texas. Moderating the con