Photo by Sam Upshaw Jr.; The Courier-Journal Dr. Ron Waldridge II has a 'team huddle' with medical assistant Wilma Collins as they go through their pre-patient planning process at his practice in Shelbyville, Ky. He says he cannot take on more patients.

Is There a Doctor in the House? – Are there enough doctors in rural areas of Kentucky to support the state’s new Medicaid expansion? The expansion will grant access to 308,000 residents who earn 138 percent of the federal poverty level or less, but the federal government lists 47 of the state’s counties are short on healthcare professionals. Despite this, Stephen Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Norton Healthcare, remains hopeful that the new measure will succeed. “I doubt this will turn into a huge problem — although there may be pockets.”

Plans purposed to deal with the issue include increased reliance on community health centers, and attracting more nonphysician health care providers to areas in need.

Gene Blevins, Reuters People look through the wreckage of their neighborhood after a tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20.

Disaster in Oklahoma – Today the nation is focused on Moore, OK, where a tornado left a trail of destruction two miles wide and seventeen miles long. At least 43 have died, and 230 have been injured. Governor Mary Fallin said this morning, that the storms were the “most horrific storms and disasters that this state has ever faced."

The town of Joplin Missouri, which dealt with a similar natural disaster in 2011, has brought together a team of public safety officials that will be sent to help Moore and the surrounding area recover. Joplin also plans to pitch in in the coming days. 

Rural Center at a Crossroads – The fate of North Carolinas Rural Economic Development Center hangs in the balance as N.C. Senate Republicans take aim at defunding the organization. Proponents of zeroing out the institution say that the organization has become bloated and inefficient over the years, as their board of directors has grown to over fifty members, and the state has no control on how the money is spent. “There is a need to change how it’s set up, to streamline the process.” Says Sen. Harry Brown

However, the center itself says that defunding the organization would cripple rural development. The organization has awarded over $2 billion in grants and created 33,000 jobs since its inception in 1987. “Why would you want to defund it and do away with it? I’m afraid the special needs of rural North Carolina will get lost in that reorganization.” Says Larry Wooten, president of the state’s farm bureau.

Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Women-owned businesses are on the rise in McKenzie County

Women Spurring Business – Businessweek reports that opportunities are expanding for women in rural western North Dakota, thanks in part to the recent shale boom.  Western North Dakota is shale-oil central, and as more companies arrive to profit off of the shale, more women have started complimentary service businesses to cash in themselves. The progress women workers have made is clear when one looks at their salaries, as they have shot up 22% since 2006, outdoing male gains in the same timeframe.

“There are great opportunities for women. Whatever skill you have, we need it in western North Dakota.” Says Kathy Neset, president of Neset Concealing Service.

Back in Black – A tragic mining disaster that rocked a small town in West Virginia in 2010 is in the news again, this time due to medical experts finding curious issues in the lungs of the deceased. Today a team of pathologists and lung disease experts are expected to show the results of a study regarding the lung tissue in many of the victims that died during the Upper Big Branch mine disaster. 

The researchers believe it is new evidence of a resurgence of Black Lung, a once common disease that afflicted many in the coal mines.

Especially alarming is the number of younger miners that were found to have black lung. “There were probably some intense exposures and excessive exposures over a short period of time. That raises some concerns." Says lead researcher Robert Cohen.