Rural Health Models and Innovations Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration
A collection of rural health projects that received support from a part of the Health Resources and Services Administration other than the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy:
Other Project Examples
Cavity Free at Three
Updated/reviewed October 2023
- Need: In Colorado, 31% of children have experienced dental decay by the time they reach kindergarten. With several frontier and rural counties in Colorado considered Dental Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), options for oral healthcare are limited.
- Intervention: Cavity Free at Three (CF3) works to improve access to preventive oral health for pregnant women and young children.
- Results: CF3 has trained over 6,000 medical and dental professionals in performing preventive dental health. The percentage of children who received oral healthcare from a medical or dental provider before the age of 2 has progressively increased, and Colorado saw reduced cavities starting in 2007.
One Health Recovery Doulas
Added October 2023
- Need: To support pregnant and parenting women with a history of substance use, mental health, or co-occurring disorders in rural areas of Montana.
- Intervention: One Health, a consortium of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), developed a team of "recovery doulas" – individuals who are dual-certified as doulas and peer-support specialists. The One Health recovery doula program offers group and individual services to women and their partners from pregnancy through the first years of parenthood.
- Results: A team of nine recovery doulas (or doulas-in-training) employed by One Health offer services in ten rural Montana counties. Recovery doulas have provided essential support to women with substance use disorder, survivors of sexual abuse, unhoused individuals, and individuals facing other complex challenges.
Scenic Bluffs Community Health Center Help Team
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.
Mobile Health Units for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
Updated/reviewed August 2023
- Need: To bring medication-assisted treatment to rural and underserved areas in Colorado.
- Intervention: Six mobile health units travel to 32 counties and offer services like telehealth sessions, counseling, naloxone, and referrals to wraparound services.
- Results: The units traveled more than 100,000 miles from January 2020 to January 2021.
Structured Training for Rural Enhancement of Community Health in Obstetrics (STRETCH-OB)
Added June 2023
- Need: To improve maternal and birth outcomes in rural and underserved areas by increasing the number of family medicine physicians in these areas who have high-quality, evidence-based obstetrical care skills.
- Intervention: The STRETCH-OB program trains a select number of family medicine residents at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford each year to provide high-quality maternity care, including surgical obstetrical care.
- Results: The first two STRETCH-OB residents graduated in June 2023.
Outer Cape Health Services Community Resource Navigator Program
Updated/reviewed March 2023
- Need: Improving outcomes for Outer and Lower Cape Cod residents in need of social, behavioral health, and substance use disorder services while reducing the burden and costs to town agencies and hospital emergency rooms.
- Intervention: The Community Resource Navigator Program works with local social services, town agencies, faith-based institutions, hospitals, the criminal justice system, and others to identify and connect clients to needed services.
- Results: Clients are gaining access to the care they were once lacking, as measured by improvements in self-sufficiency. The program also helps community partners and stakeholders work together to reduce the impact of risks associated with behavioral health symptoms, substance use disorder, and social determinants of health.
Volunteers of America Southeast Louisiana's Stepping Stones Program
Added February 2023
- Need: Black women living with HIV in rural southeastern Louisiana face challenges in accessing care and other needed resources, often while dealing with other life stressors such as poverty, physical and mental health comorbidities, and a history of trauma.
- Intervention: Implementing three evidence-informed interventions simultaneously ensures success in linking, treating, and retaining Black women in HIV care to improve health outcomes.
- Results: As of February 2023, Stepping Stones has recruited 38 participants.
Health-e-Schools
Updated/reviewed October 2022
- Need: Rural school children lack proper healthcare resources within the school setting.
- Intervention: Health-e-Schools provides health services to students via telehealth using video conferencing and special equipment.
- Results: Health-e-Schools increases access to primary healthcare, increases attendance in the classroom, and decreases the amount of time that parents or guardians must take off of work to bring their child to health-related appointments.
ASPIN's Certified Recovery Specialist Program
Updated/reviewed September 2022
- Need: Improved approach in addressing the behavioral health and primary care disparities of Indiana's underserved rural counties.
- Intervention: A network was established that trained community health workers (CHWs) to be certified health insurance enrollment navigators and provide mental health services.
- Results: This year, ASPIN trained 230 CHWs, cross-trained 70 behavioral health case managers as CHWs, and 35 individuals in the Indiana Navigator Pre-certification Education.
Maine Critical Access Integrated Paramedics
Added August 2022
- Need: With the nearest hospital more than an hour away, the local community health center in rural Jackman, Maine struggled to maintain its ability to offer 24/7 care to due to staffing and budgetary challenges.
- Intervention: Critical Access Integrated Paramedics provide urgent care to patients after hours and on weekends.
- Results: The Jackman Community Health Center has been able to offer round-the-clock care to clinic patients, while also increasing the level of EMS service available to the community.