Nick Langworthy: “As a proud member of the Rural Health Caucus, I join my colleagues in celebrating Rural Health Month. I want to…”

“As a proud member of the Rural Health Caucus, I join my colleagues in celebrating Rural Health Month. I want to highlight the great work of rural healthcare providers across my district. I represent rural communities across western New York and the Southern Tier, the counties along the Pennsylvania line. Many of my constituents will tell you that their access to high-quality, affordable healthcare is a lifeline, whether it is preventive care, managing chronic conditions, or emergency treatment. In rural areas, healthcare providers are often the first and sometimes the only line of defense against serious illness. One example in my own district is an innovation by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center with their mobile lung cancer screening facility that they call EDDY, which I had the opportunity to tour earlier this month. This program and vehicle takes healthcare directly into our rural communities, offering screenings that catch lung cancer earlier and improve survivor rates. It is not the large medical centers doing this alone, but community health centers across my district that are stepping up to fill a gap, like the Southern Tier Health Care System based in Olean or Schuyler Hospital in Montour Falls or the Chautauqua Center with locations across the Southern Tier. There are too many excellent rural healthcare providers to name them all.…”