U.S. Sen. Al Franken's (D-Minn.) staff will be in Brainerd Thursday to lead a discussion with local rural health experts on the top needs of patients and providers in rural Minnesota and to discuss innovative ways to address those issues.
The meeting is part of Sen. Franken's "Rural Health Tour" that his staff will conduct in communities across the state.
As the co-chair of the U.S. Senate's bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, Franken said rural communities in Minnesota and across the country face unique barriers to accessing quality health care services that urban communities don't face, and the meetings are part of his efforts to identify the top health care needs in rural America.
"Rural communities in Minnesota and across the country face unique challenges when it comes to ensuring access to quality health care for residents," Franken said in a news release. "As the co-chair of the Senate's bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, I want to make addressing those challenges a top Senate priority. My office's Rural Health Tour is part of that important effort."
Last year, Franken helped introduce bipartisan legislation to support rural health care delivery systems, and to provide innovative, sustainable healthcare solutions for patients in rural America. Specifically, the legislation would provide access to hospitals, doctors, and ambulance services in rural areas. He said he will press similar efforts in the new Congress.
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The discussion in Brainerd is planned at 9 a.m. Thursday at Essentia Health-St. Joseph's Medical Center, Brainerd.
