Rural Project Examples from FORHP Rural Health Care Services Outreach Grant Program
Other Project Examples
Mobile Integrated Healthcare Network (MIHN)
Updated/reviewed October 2024
- Need: To bring preventive care and other services to rural Missouri patients with chronic illnesses and difficulties accessing primary care.
- Intervention: Community paramedics and community health workers make home visits and provide basic care, home assessments, and medication reconciliation and facilitate telehealth visits.
- Results: Patients experienced improved access to care, health status, and compliance with medication regimens along with increased patient engagement, satisfaction, and access to community resources.
Butte Child Evaluation Center
Updated/reviewed August 2024
- Need: Before 2000, Butte and southwest Montana saw around 1,300 cases of child abuse a year, with only a 20% conviction rate for perpetrators of sexual abuse.
- Intervention: Multiple agencies in the community came together to address the issue of child abuse by forming the Butte Child Evaluation Center (CEC), a Children's Advocacy Center.
- Results: During a 3-year grant cycle, over 200 interviews and exams were performed on victims of sexual abuse and the Butte CEC became the first program in Montana to be accredited by the National Children's Alliance.
Arukah Institute's Living Room Program
Added December 2023
- Need: To address high rates of substance use in Princeton, Illinois and the surrounding area.
- Intervention: The Arukah Institute, a local nonprofit organization providing mental health services, adapted a statewide model to provide support and a safe space for people in need of substance use resources.
- Results: The Living Room program had 1,485 visits in its first year, with 100% of clients served by recovery support specialists.
MIST: Mothers and Infants Sober Together
Updated/reviewed May 2023
- Need: To address the needs of pregnant women who are using substances and infants born into drug-positive families.
- Intervention: The Mothers and Infants Sober Together (MIST) program assisted mothers who used substances get treatment and provide a safe, drug-free home for themselves and their newborn.
- Results: MIST has helped mothers find treatment and education and has helped children grow up in safe and healthy homes.
Addiction Recovery Mobile Outreach Team (ARMOT)
Updated/reviewed January 2023
- Need: To reduce the number of overdoses and overdose-related deaths from opioids in rural Pennsylvania.
- Intervention: ARMOT provides 1) case management and recovery support services to individuals with substance use disorders and 2) education and support to rural hospital staff, patients, and their loved ones.
- Results: Since 2015, ARMOT has received over 2,956 referrals.
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 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.
NEON Pathways Community Hub
Updated/reviewed July 2020
- Need: Connect individuals to services that address health barriers.
- Intervention: A pay-for-outcomes model utilizing Community Health Workers who help provide community members with tools to address needs associated with improving health.
- Results: Trained Community Health Workers help patients navigate the healthcare and social service systems and provide education about community healthcare resources.
Garrett County Regional Cancer Patient Navigator Program
Updated/reviewed March 2020
- Need: Comprehensive cancer services for residents of an 8-county, 3-state area in Appalachia.
- Intervention: Using a Cancer Patient Navigation Tool Kit, a Maryland acute care facility led a multidisciplinary collaboration that provided the area's patients with expanded cancer treatment services.
- Results: In addition to several new cancer-related programs, expanded services are now available for cancer patients, families, and cancer survivors.
Medical Home Plus
Updated/reviewed February 2020
- Need: To help reduce diabetes, depression, and stroke risk in rural residents.
- Intervention: A collaborative care model was implemented in the Idaho counties of Clearwater, Idaho, and Lewis.
- Results: Increased number of patients with controlled blood sugar, controlled blood pressure, and higher depression screening rates.
Ohio Northern University's HealthWise Mobile Outreach Program
Updated/reviewed July 2019
- Need: Meeting both advanced practice pharmacy student education needs and patient healthcare needs in a nearby rural/underserved area.
- Intervention: With support from multiple organizations, students in the Ohio Northern University's College of Pharmacy program use a motor coach to deliver a wide range of healthcare services during scheduled outreach visits.
- Results: In the program's first two years, point-of-care screening, immunizations, and chronic disease prevention and management education have been provided to 800+ Hardin County, Ohio, residents.
