Marcia Statz, a school nurse on an island that sits in a portal to the Pacific Ocean, has seen firsthand how geographic challenges and a lack of provider options can affect families' access to medical help.  Due to state-mandated screening and vaccination requirements, Statz can spend much of her day tracking down students on Washington state's Whidbey Island who haven't had shots or need hearing and vision exams to stay enrolled. But the work often leads to frustration for both her and the students' families, she says, since clinics on the island only accept limited types of insurance and wait times for new-patient appointments are long.

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