Rural Project Examples Addressing Access - Rural Health Information Hub

Regional Oral Health Pathway
Updated/reviewed August 2023

Need: To address the oral health needs of low-income uninsured and underinsured residents in rural Appalachia.
Intervention: An oral health education program was implemented in Appalachian Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
Results: This program increased oral health visits in the area and provided residents with valuable information on oral health resources and services.

Franklin Cardiovascular Health Program (FCHP)
Updated/reviewed February 2023

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.

New Mexico Mobile Screening Program for Miners
Updated/reviewed December 2022

Need: To increase access to medical screening for miners in New Mexico.
Intervention: A mobile screening clinic with telemedicine capability screens miners for respiratory and other conditions.
Results: In a survey, 92% of miners reported their care as very good, while the other 8% reported it as good. The program has expanded to three other states.

Vermont Hub-and-Spoke Model of Care for Opioid Use Disorder
Updated/reviewed August 2020

Need: Increase access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder in rural Vermont.
Intervention: Statewide hub-and-spoke treatment access system.
Results: Increased treatment capacity and care coordination.

Health Extension Regional Offices (HEROs)
Updated/reviewed November 2021

Need: People in rural New Mexico often found it difficult to find and utilize needed resources from the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNMHSC).
Intervention: UNMHSC created Health Extension Regional Offices (HEROs), in which HERO agents live in the communities they serve, help identify health and social needs, and link them with UNMHSC and other university resources.
Results: In their regions, HERO agents' activities have been diverse, including recruiting physicians, mobilizing research funds to address local priorities, working on economic development, training laypeople in Mental Health First Aid, and helping local institutions access UNMHSC resources.

The Health-able Communities Program
Updated/reviewed April 2021

Need: Expand healthcare access for the more remote residents of 3 frontier counties in north central Idaho.
Intervention: Consortium of healthcare providers and community agencies used a hybrid Community Health Worker model to augment traditional healthcare delivery services in order to offer a diverse set of healthcare offerings to frontier area residents.
Results: Increased healthcare access, especially for cancer and chronic disease screening, along with providing education on a diverse array of health topics.

The Health Wagon
Updated/reviewed January 2021

Need: Healthcare access in Central Appalachia for the medically underserved challenged by social and economic determinants of health, including transportation barriers, food insecurity, poverty, and lack of health insurance.
Intervention: Three mobile clinics and 2 stationary clinics provide free health care for people in 16 counties in Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
Results: By leveraging technology and meeting patients where they are, Health Wagon provided comprehensive healthcare services — including specialty care — to 5,500 patients during 16,000 visit encounters in 2020.

The Rural Virtual Infusion Program
Updated/reviewed April 2020

Need: Allow rural cancer patients in a region inclusive of 26 counties in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota to have access to tertiary-level chemotherapy regimens in rural infusion centers.
Intervention: With telehealth-based oversight from a tertiary care oncology team, 3 rural infusion teams were trained to coordinate cancer treatment plans and administer complex chemotherapy regimens.
Results: Almost 130 patients were transitioned to receive chemotherapy in a rural infusion center, translating to over 1,000 infusion visits and saving patients/families nearly 65,000 trip miles, 1,800 travel hours and $71,000.

Healthy Monadnock Alliance
Updated/reviewed September 2023

Need: Improved health outcomes for Monadnock Region, a rural area of New Hampshire.
Intervention: A wide-scale effort across multiple sectors is aiming to improve health outcomes throughout the region.
Results: Community health trends have been tracked over time, and progress on goals such as increasing the number of residents with healthcare coverage, opportunities for physical activity, access to healthy foods, and smoking cessation has been made.

Healthy Adams County
Updated/reviewed August 2023

Need: Health initiatives in rural Pennsylvania communities to address locally-identified health disparities.
Intervention: Healthy Adams County was created by its rural community members to promote community-wide health.
Results: Community task forces have been formed to address breast cancer prevention, food policies, behavioral health, health literacy, oral health, tobacco prevention, and other rural, community-identified needs.

Rural Project Examples: Access