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
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.
Futures Without Violence in Tillamook County
Updated/reviewed August 2021
- Need: To address intimate partner violence (IPV) in primary care settings as a health concern. To increase healthcare providers' professional understanding about its prevalence and adverse impacts on patient health.
- Intervention: In partnership with Safer Futures, Tides of Change provides an advocate at a local health clinic to give confidential services to IPV survivors and training to medical staff. The advocate uses curriculum and other materials designed by Futures Without Violence.
- Results: Healthcare providers at the clinic reported increased understanding of IPV and its impact on health. As a result, IPV advocates received an increase in referrals from healthcare providers. Patients experiencing IPV reported a reduction in chronic, toxic stress and improved overall health after receiving advocacy services.
New Horizons Substance Use Recovery Network
Updated/reviewed August 2021
- Need: In northern Michigan, a need for an integrated approach to deliver medication-assisted treatment for established patients of Federally Qualified Health Centers with opioid use disorder.
- Intervention: Collaboration between one FQHC across 3 sites, a local waivered prescriber group, and a behavioral health organization created an integrated treatment approach for opioid use disorder.
- Results: Increased access to medication-assisted treatment and comprehensive substance use disorder services leading to increased retention in treatment and increased engagement in stable recovery from opioid and alcohol use disorders.
West Virginia's Partners In Health Network Regional Collaborative Services
Updated/reviewed September 2020
- Need: Coordinated approach to healthcare delivery in central and southern West Virginia.
- Intervention: Creation of a nonprofit organization that focused on quality and collaboration.
- Results: With an ability to provide services that meet the evolving needs of patients, providers, and communities, the organization provides unique services, such as a credentialing service and web-based data sharing care management tool.
Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE)
Updated/reviewed February 2020
- Need: Address oral health disparities in Washington's rural and underserved communities.
- Intervention: The University of Washington School of Dentistry developed the Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program preparing dentists for practice in rural and underserved areas.
- Results: As of 2019, 77% of all RIDE graduates are practicing in Washington state. Of those, 82% are practicing in rural and underserved communities.
University of Mississippi Medical Center's Center for Telehealth
Updated/reviewed January 2020
- Need: Rural areas in Mississippi often lack adequate access to specialty healthcare services such as emergency medicine, stroke neurology, pediatric specialists and psychiatrists.
- Intervention: The University of Mississippi Medical Center created the Center for Telehealth to deliver quality specialty services through telehealth video conferencing and remote monitoring tools to the underserved areas of Mississippi.
- Results: The program has been successfully implemented throughout many of the state's rural hospitals and has reduced transfers and geographic barriers for patients.