Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Project Examples: Access

Other Project Examples

Paris Metro Transportation

Updated/reviewed January 2024

  • Need: Reliable transportation options for employment and medical access needs for residents of Paris, Texas.
  • Intervention: A regional government coalition, already operating a rural regional transportation system, partnered with a rural community's medical, education and business entities to expand and improve the community's transportation system.
  • Results: After implementation, decreased emergency room visits were noted, likely due to reliable transportation for scheduled medical appointments. Paris Metro still continues as a low cost/no cost transportation network and includes paratransit opportunities.

I-REACH (Improving Rural Enrollment, Access, and Healthcare in Rural Veterans)

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Added November 2023

  • Need: To improve veterans' access to healthcare in rural Michigan.
  • Intervention: I-REACH connects veterans to healthcare services and other programs and helps healthcare facilities and providers become more veteran-friendly.
  • Results: The program has received positive feedback from Veteran Service Officers in counties where there were outreach events.

Angel Flight East's Rural & Rare Reach Program

Updated/reviewed October 2023

  • Need: Free, non-emergency air travel for children and adults in need of medical treatment far from home who live in rural areas of the Northeast.
  • Intervention: Angel Flight East, a free medical flight service, has expanded their focus to include more patients from rural areas, as well as those with rare medical conditions.
  • Results: Since adding the Rural & Rare Reach program, Angel Flight East has made contact with over 100 Critical Access Hospitals and more than 300 FQHCs for referrals. Ongoing promotional efforts with rural health organizations are helping to increase the awareness of flight services to rural locations.

Cavity Free at Three

funded by the Health Resources Services Administration

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

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy funded by the Health Resources Services Administration

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.

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.

The Rural Outreach Center

Added June 2023

  • Need: To expand services for individuals and families living in poverty in rural Western New York.
  • Intervention: The Rural Outreach Center (ROC) offers care coordination, therapy, budgeting assistance, and multiple other services and opportunities to help address immediate needs as well as empower individuals to work toward long-term freedom from generational poverty.
  • Results: The Rural Outreach Center serves approximately 250 adults and children each year through counseling, care coordination, and empowerment opportunities. The ROC reports that many participants have achieved and sustained goals related to housing, savings, employment, and other social determinants of health – which are also measures of poverty.

Angel Flight West

Updated/reviewed March 2023

  • Need: Free, non-emergency air travel for people of all ages who need to access medical care and other essential services far from home.
  • Intervention: A network of more than 1,600 pilots donate their time, skills, aircraft, and all costs associated with flying to help families and individuals in need in 12 western states.
  • Results: Families are able to receive vital medical treatment and have other needs met that might not otherwise be possible because of financial, medical, or geographic limitations.

Kid One Transport

Updated/reviewed March 2023

  • Need: Transportation to medical appointments for children and expectant mothers living in rural Alabama.
  • Intervention: Kid One Transport provides rides to medical appointments for clients who otherwise have no other means of transportation.
  • Results: The program has transported 442,439 children and expectant mothers to and from medical appointments. Children have recovered from life-threatening illnesses and are experiencing a higher quality of life.

For examples from other sources, see: