Minnesota lawmakers weigh funding to address rural cancer care disparity

A pilot campaign that aims to address a shortage of cancer care in rural Minnesota would receive funding under measure 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 expeditiously 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 statement from the Centers for Condition Control and Prevention The ordinance would allocate over fiscal years - from the state s workforce enhancement fund to the Rural Cancer Institute to launch a pilot campaign aimed at exposing biological students to oncology care in rural Minnesota Dr Wade Swenson of Lakewood Vitality System in Staples a health oncologist with years of experience in rural Minnesota mentioned the venture would be a life-saving necessity The need is urgent Swenson disclosed We currently lack threshold in this state to effectively care for our rural patients with cancer The initiative would be modeled after the Rural Physician Associate Initiative which places therapeutic students in rural communities The Rural Cancer Institute s project would adapt the approach to cancer care giving health students residents and fellows experience in rural oncology practice by placing them in clinics and providing housing encouragement according to Swenson Swenson reported he hopes if the project is funded it will encourage clinical 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 commented Swenson disclosed expanding rural oncology operation providers would not only improve rural communities access to strength care but also strengthen their economies by retaining vitality care dollars locally Rural oncologists bring about million in downstream revenue to their surrounding communities on average supporting five to eight vitality care-related jobs according to Swenson Sen Rich Draheim R-Madison Lake the primary author of the bill commented he has personally seen medicinal 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 revealed 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 decree was heard April and laid over for doable inclusion in an omnibus bill by the Senate Jobs and Economic Improvement 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 patronage local news in all areas of the state The post Minnesota lawmakers weigh funding to address rural cancer care disparity appeared first on MinnPost