Maryville’s Online Nursing Programs are reaching thousands of rural students to provide access to health care for those who are without access in their communities.

BY CONSTANCE GIBBS

The need for doctors and nurse practitioners in rural areas is extreme. More than 46 million Americans, or 15 percent of the U.S. population, live in rural areas. Many of these individuals lack access to the most basic health care. They also face numerous health disparities compared to their urban counterparts.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rural Americans are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease and stroke. Unintentional injury deaths are approximately 50 percent higher in rural areas than in urban areas due to greater risk of death from motor vehicle crashes and opioid overdoses.

While residents of rural areas tend to be older and sicker than their urban counterparts, children in rural areas also face challenges. A recent CDC study found that children with mental, behavioral and developmental disorders in rural areas face more community and family challenges than children in urban areas with the same disorders.

Amidst these struggles, the health care gap is being addressed by an important group: the providers. Across the country, doctors and nurses are working to reach those who otherwise would be left out of the health care system. Among them are nurses who received their advanced degrees through Maryville’s Online Nursing Programs.

Online education allows these rural nurses to receive the advanced education they need and be able to apply it in their own communities, thus allowing them to develop professionally and remain in those communities. Online education also reaches these students where they are academically and can be tailored to different learning styles and approaches, filling a critical need and enriching local communities.

Part One: Linda Owen – Village of Hondo, New Mexico

Part Two: Melony Jaggers – Hardinsburg, Kentucky

Part Three: Sallie VanBlaricum – Olney, Illinois