Half of the U.S. military bases have health care access issues

The United States Military Bases Health Care Successes and Healthcare Access: An Analysis Using Geographic Maps of Health Professional Shortage Areas

There are maternity care shortage areas. Areas were used as maternity care deserts or areas with low access to care in the analysis.

Primary care and mental health care shortage areas came from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s shortage designations. These health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) are identified by state offices and approved by the federal agency. This analysis used geographic HPSAs because they were the only areas where a shortage is for the entire population. Travel time is one of the factors taken into account when determining an HPSA designation.

Military base locations came from the Military Installations, Ranges and Training Areas (MIRTA) dataset produced by the Department of Defense. This data includes places in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Guam with a facility replacement value of at least $10 million.

The Pentagon requires troops to find health care off base when they’re ordered to do so. 50% of U.S. military bases are in a health professional shortage area, according to an NPR investigation.

Murphy is concerned that downsizing healthcare has hurt military readiness, leaving American troops less healthy and spiraling down the number of doctors, nurses and battlefield medics trained-up in the case of another war.

Many healthcare providers can’t afford low reimbursement rates from Tricare because of their low profit margins, even in areas that aren’t health care deserts. He got turned down by four doctors when he retired, and then found a fifth doctor that would take Tricare.

“So you’re out with the rest of everybody in the boonies. The military members have been promised a certain level of care no matter where they are.

“Military members often don’t have a lot of control over where they’re stationed. Certainly their families don’t,” says Eileen Huck, with the National Military Family Association.

The Outsiders, Hell’s Kitchen, and the Israel Military Health Deserts (Tony Awards Takeaway Winners)

The winner of the Best Musical award at last year’s Tony Awards was the only surprise last night. The Outsiders, a novel about a group of people, won the last award of the night. Hell’s Kitchen, a musical which was based on the life of singer-guitaristAlicia Keys, won two awards out of 13 nominations. Here are five takeaways from the ceremony and the full list of winners.

You might know something about guilty pleasures, if you binge-watching Bridgerton and then stay up way too late for House of the Dragon. There’s more to a balanced pleasure cycle than simply eating chocolate or reading “Romantasy”, it involves understanding why it’s good for you and how to have it when you need it the most.

Across the world, women shoulder three-quarters of all unpaid caregiving, according to the International Labour Organization. At Bogotá’s Care School for Men, a city-led program, men learn how to tend to their families and homes and to step up to do their share of housework and child care. Besides hands-on learning, men who participate also discuss the importance of challenging the gender norms they were raised with. Ferley Senz says the program allowed him to be with his children.

Israel’s military announced yesterday that they would suspend fighting for seven hours every day on a road between Gaza and Egypt. The pause aims to allow aid trucks to safely travel from the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel deeper into Gaza.

Source: 50% of U.S. military bases face health care access issues; Tony Awards takeaways

The Midwest had a lot of heat yesterday, so what do we need to know? Tune in and get up to Up First to start your day

The Midwest was having a lot of heat yesterday. The heat wave is expected to go on for a while in the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The temperatures could break a daily record. It could be the longest heat wave experienced in decades for some locations, according to the National Weather Service.

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