Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital.
Welcome back to Rural Health News, the segment of Rural Health Today where we fill you in on the latest in rural health headlines. We’ll cover three headlines in today’s episode: what’s most urgent, a rural health damage report, and a success story to send us into the week.
Most Urgent
Fruits and vegetables for rural families are on the chopping block under President Trump’s new budget proposal, which cuts the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children by two-thirds. This especially affects rural communities because they have fewer grocery options and higher food insecurity rates than urban areas. Later this week, the House will start to mark up the budget and hopefully consider the weight of this significant reduction in resources for families across America.
Damage Report
As hospital reimbursement reaches a breaking point and the costs of labor and supplies continue to rise, some hospitals in the US are cutting jobs this year. Since January, hospitals have eliminated or have announced plans to soon eliminate more than 2,000 positions. Many of these eliminations have been a direct result of a hospital filing bankruptcy or closing down entirely. With rural hospitals already at a disadvantage in recruiting and retaining talent, they are even more at risk of suffering job elimination, which impacts their hospital operations and the economic health of the surrounding community.
In other news, a recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll revealed that misinformation about health and science has increased and the number of people trusting in traditional experts for science and health information has decreased. About 1 in 5 young adults distrust doctors and scientists, and 82% of Americans overall worry about their family’s wellbeing due to the misinformation that’s particularly widespread on social media. Despite this concern, 75% of those polled still get their science and health information from social media at least once per month and most of those who share articles about science and health do so without reading past the headline.
Success Story
One in every five new mothers experience perinatal mood disorders, which include symptoms of anxiety and depression up to a year after having a baby. Our friends at the Michigan Health and Hospital Association are expanding mental healthcare services across Michigan for mothers struggling with perinatal mood disorders. By implementing and supporting programs designed to diagnose and treat these conditions, they can create sustainable postpartum mental health services to serve Michigan’s many rural communities.
Sources
Marcia Brown, “The future of WIC’s fruit and veggie benefit,” April 20, 2026, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-agriculture/2026/04/20/the-future-of-wics-fruit-and-veggie-benefit-00880249, Politico.
Kelly Gooch and Kristin Kuchno, “The hospitals, health systems cutting jobs in 2026,” April 24, 2026, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/the-hospitals-health-systems-cutting-jobs-in-2026/, Becker’s Hospital Review.
Science Delivers, “The State of Science in America: What the Data Reveal,” February 4, 2026, https://sciencedelivers.com/get-the-data?utm_source=pol&utm_medium=dig_news&utm_campaign=bayer26_dc&utm_content=txt1c&dclid=CMT-0rDUhJQDFZggjgUd3yIk6w&gad_source=7.
The Harris Poll, “Science Under Siege: The Battle Between Viral Misinformation and Shared Belief in the Value of Science,” https://theharrispoll.com/articles/misinformation-and-the-value-of-science/.
The Harris Poll, “Science Under Siege: The Battle Between Viral Misinformation and Shared Belief in the Value of Science,” February 4, 2026, https://theharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Harris-Poll-Misinformation-and-Science-Report_march-2026.pdf.
Lee Van Roth, “Statewide effort tackles postpartum depression and perinatal mood disorders,” April 9, 2027, https://modeldmedia.com/statewide-effort-tackles-rising-rates-of-postpartum-depression-and-perinatal-mood-disorders/, Model D.
Rural Health Today is a production of Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale, Michigan and a member of the Health Podcast Network. Our host is JJ Hodshire, our producer is Kyrsten Newlon, and our audio engineer is Kenji Ulmer. Special thanks to our special guests for sharing their expertise on the show, and also to the Hillsdale Hospital marketing team. If you want to submit a question for us to answer on the podcast or learn more about Rural Health Today, visit ruralhealthtoday.com.
