Rural Project Examples: Healthcare facilities
Effective Examples
Franklin Cardiovascular Health Program (FCHP)
Updated/reviewed February 2024
- Need: To develop sustainable, community-wide prevention methods for cardiovascular diseases in order to change behaviors and healthcare outcomes in rural Maine.
- Intervention: Local community groups and Franklin Memorial Hospital staff studied mortality and hospitalization rates for 40 years in this rural, low-income area of Farmington to seek intervention methods that could address cardiovascular diseases.
- Results: A decline in cardiovascular-related mortality rates and improved prevention methods for hypertension, high cholesterol, and smoking.
Community-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program
Updated/reviewed January 2024
- Need: More evidenced-based chronic lower respiratory disease management options for rural Appalachia patients, where lung disease rates are among the highest in the country.
- Intervention: Implementation of outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation programs in 2 Federally Qualified Health Centers and a Critical Access Hospital in West Virginia.
- Results: Improved health outcomes for patients with chronic lower respiratory disease, including those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Promising Examples
School-Based Health Center Dental Outreach
![funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy](/assets/4668-20779/forhp-badge-125.png)
Updated/reviewed July 2020
- Need: To improve the oral health status of children ages 3 to 17 living in underserved rural areas of Louisiana.
- Intervention: School-based nurse practitioners perform oral health assessments, apply fluoride varnishes when indicated, and make dental referrals, with completion rates of the latter tracked by dental case managers.
- Results: Significant numbers of school children are receiving oral health examinations, fluoride varnish applications, and receiving care coordination to improve numbers of completed dental appointments.
Other Project Examples
Community Care Partnership of Maine Accountable Care Organization
![funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy](/assets/4668-20779/forhp-badge-125.png)
Updated/reviewed April 2024
- Need: To increase access and quality of care for patients in rural Maine.
- Intervention: Community hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers in Maine formed the Community Care Partnership of Maine Accountable Care Organization (CCPM ACO).
- Results: CCPM serves about 120,000 patients in Maine. In addition, it has implemented shared savings arrangements/contracts with different Medicare Advantage and other private health payers.
Rural Recruitment Reimagined Workshop Presents the "Safe Sites" Model
Updated/reviewed April 2024
- Need: Strategies to recruit and retain providers to practice in rural settings.
- Intervention: A traveling one-day workshop was designed to share ideas and firsthand accounts on successful strategies on how to create "Safe Sites" for new recruits.
- Results: So far, workshops have trained over 250 hospital administrators, board members, and rural hospital recruiters.
Bozeman Health RV Parking Program
Added February 2024
- Need: To provide a convenient and affordable lodging option for patients who have traveled from a distance to receive medical treatment in Bozeman, Montana.
- Intervention: An RV parking program that lets anyone who is actively seeking care at Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center stay in the hospital parking lot.
- Results: Throughout the summer of 2023, at least one patient was using an RV parking space at all times.
CMH Addiction Recovery Program
![funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy](/assets/4668-20779/forhp-badge-125.png)
Added November 2023
- Need: To help people who use drugs and their families access treatment and counseling in rural Missouri.
- Intervention: The CMH Addiction Recovery Program provides medication-assisted treatment, counseling, peer and family support, and other related services through a Rural Health Clinic.
- Results: The program operates 5 days a week and sees 400 patients each month.
Healthy Southern Illinois Delta Network
Updated/reviewed November 2023
- Need: To improve people's health in a rural 16-county region in Illinois.
- Intervention: A coalition of local health departments and healthcare facilities coordinates regional efforts, which are implemented locally by health community coalitions.
- Results: HSIDN has created toolkits, developed resource guides, and provided wellness trainings, among other initiatives.
Georgia Health Initiative's CDFI Investments
Updated/reviewed October 2023
- Need: Across Georgia, especially in rural areas, poor health outcomes and high poverty rates require strategic investments to reduce disparities and improve health across the state.
- Intervention: Georgia Health Initiative invests in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) working in Georgia to build a strong ecosystem of mission-driven community lenders focused on rural and low-income communities. The capital and capacity building provided by CDFIs support systemic change to reduce inequality and improve health across the state.
- Results: Since 2017, grants and Program Related Investments (PRIs) in CDFIs working in low-income, medically underserved rural communities have generated impact through stronger and growing Community Health Centers, expanded affordable housing, green energy loans and jobs, and growing small businesses owned by women and people of color.
Scenic Bluffs Community Health Center Help Team
![funded by the Health Resources Services Administration](/assets/4669-20781/hrsa-badge-125.png)
Updated/reviewed October 2023
- Need: To help inform western Wisconsin residents about their health insurance options and local programs to support their healthcare needs.
- Intervention: The Scenic Bluffs Community Health Centers' Help Team offers free services for community members facing barriers to accessing healthcare, such as transportation, language, cost, and insurance, among other social factors.
- Results: In 2022, nearly 1,300 people received support and guidance from the Help Team regarding programs, resources, and health insurance enrollment. In total, 201 individuals were enrolled in health insurance.
For examples from other sources, see: