National Rural Health Month

Floor Speech

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Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of the Rural Health Caucus, I join my colleagues in celebrating Rural Health Month. I want to highlight the great work of rural healthcare providers across my district.

I represent rural communities across western New York and the Southern Tier, the counties along the Pennsylvania line. Many of my constituents will tell you that their access to high-quality, affordable healthcare is a lifeline, whether it is preventive care, managing chronic conditions, or emergency treatment.

In rural areas, healthcare providers are often the first and sometimes the only line of defense against serious illness.

One example in my own district is an innovation by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center with their mobile lung cancer screening facility that they call EDDY, which I had the opportunity to tour earlier this month. This program and vehicle takes healthcare directly into our rural communities, offering screenings that catch lung cancer earlier and improve survivor rates.

It is not the large medical centers doing this alone, but community health centers across my district that are stepping up to fill a gap, like the Southern Tier Health Care System based in Olean or Schuyler Hospital in Montour Falls or the Chautauqua Center with locations across the Southern Tier. There are too many excellent rural healthcare providers to name them all.

These centers are the cornerstone of rural healthcare, providing essential services like primary care, mental health support, and preventative education to populations that might otherwise go without care.

I also want to speak to the importance of our community pharmacists. They play a critical role in rural healthcare. These local pharmacists are often the most accessible healthcare providers for rural residents that they have the most access to, offering guidance for everything from medication to chronic disease management and advice on appointments.

However, our rural communities and their healthcare providers face significant challenges. For many families, the nearest hospital or specialist could be hours away. It makes it difficult and sometimes impossible to get timely care. At the same time, rural areas struggle to recruit and retain skilled doctors and nurses and other professionals, leading to shortages and burnout.

On top of that, many rural hospitals and clinics operate at razor- thin margins, and too many have been forced to close their doors. When these facilities shut down, entire regions, counties, and communities lose access to essential services, forcing residents to travel even farther for care.

That is why I will always fight for commonsense policies that strengthen rural healthcare, ensuring that no one is left behind because of where they live.

I am proud to lead the Rural Telehealth and Education Enhancement Act, which reauthorizes critical funding for programs that expand telemedicine and distance learning in rural areas. This bill, which is included in the House Republicans' farm bill, would invest in new ways for patients to connect with medical experts, improve access to specialized care, and enhance health outcomes in our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I thank every single healthcare provider who has dedicated their time and talents to serving Americans in rural communities. The work they do saves lives and makes our country stronger.

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