Purple Politics Nevada with Lucia Starbuck is KUNR’s weekly show about the Nevada Legislative Session. The name refers to how the state isn’t blue or red — it’s both. Friday marks the end of the first week of the 82nd Session with a Democratic-controlled legislature and Republican governor.
This episode explores the health care gaps rural Nevadans are facing and what one rural lawmaker is looking to do about it.
Click here for a transcript of the audio story.
Episode Overview
All 17 counties in Nevada are experiencing health care workforce shortages. And coming out of the pandemic, there’s pent-up demand for health care and delayed procedures — even in urban areas.
“Residents of rural and frontier areas face a lot of the same obstacles getting in to see a psychiatrist, or a psychologist, or a counselor, and so forth. But those are particularly acute in rural areas,” said John Packham, Ph.D., the associate dean of the Office of Statewide Initiatives at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine.
Packham would like to see the legislature find ways to cover expenses through loan repayment, or on the front end, through stipends and scholarships, particularly for behavioral health care providers.
Republican Assemblyman Gregory Koenig represents rural Western Nevada, including Fernley, Fallon, Hawthorne and Yerington, and he’s seen the specialist shortage firsthand as an optometrist with several practices in rural Nevada.
“I literally have patients in Yerington who have glaucoma and need to be seen by a specialist once a year, and are in their 80s and 90s, and aren’t able to go. So instead of receiving the care, they just go without, and that’ll eventually cause them to go blind,” Koenig said.
Listen to this week’s episode of Purple Politics Nevada to learn about the assemblyman’s experience caring for patients and a telehealth bill he wants to introduce to allow for certain optometry services to be provided remotely.
Transcript
(UPBEAT JAZZ MUSIC BEGINS)
LUCIA STARBUCK, HOST: Welcome to the second episode of Purple Politics Nevada. I’m your host, Lucia Starbuck. The name reflects the fact that Nevada isn’t red or blue — it’s both. Today marks the end of the first week of the Nevada Legislative Session with a Democratic-controlled legislature and Republican governor.
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STARBUCK: On the first day, the halls were packed with enthusiastic lawmakers and their families, energetic lobbyists, and other journalists. Lawmakers spent the first day being sworn in and hearing short summaries of proposed bills. Over the next two months, lawmakers will work on the bills in their assigned committees, which focus on different issues like elections, education, and labor.
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For this week’s episode of Purple Politics Nevada, we’re talking about rural health care. All 17 counties in Nevada are experiencing health care workforce shortages.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN PACKHAM): Every time I talk to a hospital administrator, rural health clinic manager, community health center, they all struggle with staffing.
STARBUCK: That was John Packham, the associate dean of the Office of Statewide Initiatives at the UNR School of Medicine. He also studies rural health care trends. He says coming out of the pandemic, there’s pent-up demand for health care and delayed procedures — even in urban areas.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN PACKHAM): Residents of rural and frontier areas face a lot of the same obstacles getting in to see a psychiatrist, or a psychologist, or a counselor, and so forth. But those are particularly acute in rural areas. I think that we will address that through some legislation that’s coming up, addressing things like loan repayment.
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STARBUCK: Packham would also like to see the legislature find ways to cover expenses on the front end through stipends and scholarships. I’m Lucia Starbuck, and you’re listening to Purple Politics Nevada.
There’s one Nevada legislator who sees the specialist shortage firsthand. Republican Assemblyman Gregory Koenig represents rural Western Nevada, including Fernley, Fallon, Hawthorne, and Yerington.
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STARBUCK: So, you’re a practicing optometrist. Will you tell me a little bit about your practice, the people you care for? What’s it like being an optometrist in rural Nevada?
GREGORY KOENIG: I have practices in Fallon and Fernley and Yerington. I see a lot of rural patients. I literally have patients in Yerington who have glaucoma and need to be seen by a specialist once a year, and are in their 80s and 90s, and aren’t able to go. So, instead of receiving the care, they just go without. And literally, that’ll eventually cause them to go blind.
STARBUCK: Because of your experience in the medical field, you’re on the assembly’s Health and Human Services Committee. Let’s talk about some of the bills you want to propose starting with telehealth.
KOENIG: So I think one perfect example for that is, if you come to my office to get contact lenses, I take all my measurements, make sure your eyes are healthy, and then I send you on your way and expect you to come back in a week or two for a five minute follow up to make sure those are working. If you live in Fallon and it’s a five-minute drive, no big deal. But if you’re having to come from, I use Round Mountain because that’s kind of the farthest where we see the most people from, but you’re driving three hours each way for a five-minute check for a contact lens that’s working just fine, that’s a burden. The telehealth bill I’m co-sponsoring, you wouldn’t be able to do your initial visit over telehealth, over the internet. It would be more for the follow-ups.
STARBUCK: Does current state legislation actually prohibit you from doing that now?
KOENIG: There’s nothing specific in optometry that allows you to do that. Mental health, they can do a lot of that through telehealth.
STARBUCK: And switching gears to Nevada’s workforce shortages. We know that it’s really hard to get health care workers in a bigger city like Reno. How do you attract health care workers to rural Nevada?
KOENIG: I like the old TV show Northern Exposure, where the guy from New York City was hired by the State of Alaska. And he goes to Alaska and practices medicine in rural Alaska, but they paid off his debt. And, you know, I’m not saying, maybe, you can’t probably pay off a doctor’s full school loans, but if there’s ways where you could do some sort of loan forgiveness or some incentives that, okay, we’ll pay whatever, 25% of your student loan, if you give us four years in the State of Nevada.
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STARBUCK: That was Assemblyman Gregory Koenig. Thank you so much for listening. You can join us every Friday during Morning Edition, ATC [All Things Considered], and at noon. Please reach out if you have questions, comments, or story ideas! Email me at LS@KUNR.org or on social media @LuciaStarbuck. You can also submit your thoughts at KUNR.org. I’m Lucia Starbuck, and you’ve been listening to Purple Politics Nevada.
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The theme song, “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, is licensed under Creative Commons and was edited for this episode.
