Orlando Sentinel: For rural Floridians, better healthcare starts with better transportation

Florida is about to make a significant investment in rural health. The question is whether those investments will reach the people who need them most.

In June, the Health Resources and Services Administration announced nearly $140 million in new funding to improve health in rural communities. As Florida and the nation look for ways to help people in these areas, there is an opportunity to think beyond doctors' offices and hospitals. One of the most important pieces of rural health infrastructure may be something far more basic: transportation. For many rural residents, access to healthcare doesn't end with whether a provider or clinic exists. It begins with whether they can get there.

That challenge became clear during a recent University of Florida project in Levy County, which is one of 33 counties in the state that the Florida Department of Health officially designates as rural. A team working through UF's Research, Engagement and Applied Consulting in Healthcare (REACH) program developed a phased rural commuter transportation proposal in April after examining gaps in health services and workforce development. Transportation quickly emerged as a problem that connected all of these issues.