CVC Rural Texas Vulnerability
For census tracts the CVC identifies as high or very high for overall vulnerability, access challenges extend well beyond hospitals. Preliminary CVC analysis of Access to Vital Services indicates that many vulnerable rural census tracts are removed from primary care clinics, pharmacies, behavioral health providers, and emergency services. This “distance to care” effect compounds disease severity, medication non- adherence, delayed diagnosis, and preventable mortality. A deeper issue related to access is the lack of providers and prospective providers who have grown up or lived in rural communities. According to the CVC, nearly 16 percent of rural residents do not graduate from high school. Additionally, more than 33 percent of rural residents graduate from high school (or equivalent) but do not continue their education or pursue professional or trade training. Access to Care Constraints: Lack of Internet Connectivity and its Impact on Modern Care Compounding the disease and eroding infrastructure burden, the lack of internet connectivity in rural Texas significantly constrains modern care delivery. CVC data shows that: • Nearly 74 percent of rural census tracts are high or very high vulnerability for connectivity • 73 percent of the population in those rural census tracts are experiencing high or very high vulnerability for connectivity Without reliable broadband access, telehealth, remote monitoring, and digital navigation tools remain inaccessible, further widening disparities in chronic disease management. The State of Texas’s Rural Texas Strong 2 project, a comprehensive, statewide strategy designed to reach residents in 100% of Texas’s rural counties, has laid out a plan to invest $150 million to expand technology, AI, and broadband in rural Texas. This would allow rural counties for the first time to participate in connectivity- and data-driven programs that are critical for improving health outcomes through enabling remote care, enhancing patient engagement, preventing and managing chronic diseases, and reducing mortality rates.
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