Ronald Reagan

“ A quarter of all Americans live in the towns, villages, and farms of rural America. Their location in remote areas with frequently limited transportation, together with their employment on the land and in forests, mines, and factories, presents continuing and sometimes formidable obstacles to the delivery of health services. For instance, rural areas are finding it hard to attract enough health care providers; just 12 percent of our physicians and a declining number of professional nurses and providers of long-term care currently serve our more than 50 million rural citizens. ”

“ In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twelfth. ”

“ Fortunately, dedicated Americans are striving to overcome challenges and make good health care, including the benefits of our ever-increasing knowledge about health, nutrition, and disease and the advantages of rapidly evolving medical technology, accessible to rural citizens. ”