The MU School of Medicine has received a $2.8 million grant to continue working on the problem of the physician shortage in rural Missouri.
This funding is in addition to the nearly $5 million grant the School of Medicine received last fall. The grant extension will be administered by the School of Medicine and MU Extension.
The Missouri Hospital Association released a 2018 study that projected by 2030 there will be a shortage of up to 49,300 primary care physicians in the state. The report also noted 69 of the 143 licensed hospitals in Missouri are located in rural counties, leaving 32 counties without a local hospital.
Kathleen Quinn, associate dean for rural health in MU's School of Medicine, said the funds will make a significant contribution to “a long-term, statewide impact in Missouri.”
It will help fund the development of new rural programs and the upgrading of software and equipment, like the purchase of “a state-of-the-art mobile simulation truck equipped with top-of-the-line clinical equipment to quickly provide on-site training for physicians, students, nurses and first responders in rural communities,” Quinn said.
The funding will also be used to help identify health care workforce needs and for telehealth projects.
“The reason that it is so important to invest in rural health is because healthy people lead to healthy communities and healthy communities lead to healthy economies,” Quinn said.
The initial grant will run through 2023 while the $2.8 million addition will run through 2021.