Federal Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came to Bismarck Thursday, at the invitation of the state’s Congressional delegation, to tout the rural healthcare initiatives included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Congress passed.
The bill set aside money to improve rural healthcare.
Kennedy said the spending will help rural hospitals do what he says they have been putting off for a long time — including infrastructure improvements, tele-health and front-line health care worker recruitment and retention.
"They don't have enough doctors and nurses," Kennedy told reporters. "And doctors and nurses don't want to move there."
Kennedy said HHS is working with residency programs for doctors and nurses. He said once those doctors and nurses go through their residency programs, many likely will stay in those communities. he also said HHS has reached an agreement with all 50 states to use the money they collect in fines from nursing homes for nurse training.
"We're going to be able to, the next couple of years, to recruit 4,000 extra nurses," Kennedy said. "It's going to go a long way in resolving the problem we have in rural America — lack of recruiting nurses."
Kennedy also met with tribal leaders to discuss healthcare needs in native communities.
