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
Last week, the medical device company, Stryker announced a cyberattack linked to an Iran-affiliated hacking group, causing a global network outage. In a statement, Stryker said the attack was contained to the internal Microsoft environment and had not resulted in any malware or ransomware, but order processing, manufacturing and shipping has been significantly disrupted due to thousands of Stryker systems being wiped. Hospitals are grappling with the decision to use or replace possibly affected supplies including life-saving equipment many patients rely on for care. While Stryker has assured hospitals certain products are still safe to use, such as the Mako robot and Vocera Communications, the global healthcare industry remains on edge, awaiting further news.
Damage Report
A recent story from KFF Health News features six scientists who left or lost their jobs working for the National Institute of Health in the wake of staffing cuts and policy shifts. Let’s hear from three of these former employees have to say about the new direction of the NIH and the research that has been lost or disregarded.
Sylvia Chou, a health communication scientist in Maryland, says she left her NIH job because the “work is no longer based on facts or truth” and the entire system is going backwards, rather than forward.
Philip Stewart, an allergy and infectious disease scientist in Montana, said he experienced so many hurdles in his work last year that it became essentially impossible for him to do his research on tick-borne diseases. He said the remaining scientists at the NIH will continue to experience these burdens and obstacles, and those who haven’t been let go are in a difficult position.
Alexa Romberg, a Maryland scientist studying drug abuse, said she left because her work on policies reducing health disparities was compromised and defunded.
Others have cited the politically hostile work environment, funding denials, increased stress, and the politically-oriented decision-making process that developed quickly under the pressure of staffing and funding cuts. This has a significant effect not only on the thousands of families affected by job losses, but the state of health research and disease management for our country.
Success Story
A Medicaid-funded Missouri pilot program has established social assistance hubs within six different rural hospitals. Providers at these hospitals can now refer Medicaid patients to social assistance programs and track their progress through an online program. As a result of this program, providers reported improved blood pressure rates and behavioral health follow-ups from emergency room patients.
This is fantastic news because social drivers of health, like access to food and housing, can often be overlooked in healthcare conversations. As we continue to discuss in our new Rural Health Fractured series, the work of healthcare must bridge the divide between patients and necessary access to tailored care. Check out my latest interview with Ewa Panetta from the Michigan Health & Hospital Association to hear more on this topic.
Sources
Naomi Diaz, “Stryker hit by cyberattack reportedly tied to Iran-linked hackers,” March 12, 2026 https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/cybersecurity/medical-device-maker-stryker-hit-with-cyberattack/, Becker’s Healthcare.
Ross Law, “Stryker still recovering from Iran-linked cyberattack,” March 13, 2026, https://www.medicaldevice-network.com/news/stryker-still-recovering-from-iran-linked-cyberattack/, Medical Device Network.
Rachana Pradhan and Katheryn Houghton, “The People — And Research — Lost in the NIH Exodus,” March 6, 2026, https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/nih-national-institutes-of-health-resignation-scientist-profiles-brain-drain/, KFF Health News.
Meg Cunningham, “A Missouri pilot program reimagines rural hospitals as the central hub for more than health care,” March 10, 2026, https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2026/03/10/missouri-hospital-medicaid-pilot-torch-program/, The Beacon News.
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.
