Rural Project Examples Addressing Healthcare business and finance

Updated/reviewed March 2026

Need: Improve healthcare access and decrease chronic disease disparities in rural Appalachia.
Intervention: A unique community health worker-based chronic care management program, created with philanthropy support.
Results: After a decade of use in attending to population health needs, health outcomes, and healthcare costs, in 2024, the medical condition-agnostic model has a 4-year track record of financial sustainability with recent scaling to include 31 rural counties in a 3-state area of Appalachia and recent implementation in urban areas.

Updated/reviewed August 2026

Need: To coordinate formal and informal community-based caregivers for optimal patient experience.
Intervention: The Maryland Faith Health Network unites places of worship and healthcare systems in Maryland. This program aims to decrease the amount of potentially avoidable hospitalizations, improve a patient's overall wellness, and cut down on the cost of medical services.
Results: This model is currently running in 3 hospitals that serve both rural and urban residents in central Maryland. So far, 1,300 congregants from 70 congregations representing Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths have enrolled in the Network.

Updated/reviewed November 2025

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 administered 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: The original grant-supported effort — with its results of saving 130 patients 65,000 trip miles and 1,800 travel hours – proved sustainable.

Added August 2024

Need: Solutions for Medicare beneficiaries' post-acute care recovery gaps in Arkansas's southeast Delta Region.
Intervention: Supported by federal funding and their membership organization, seven hospitals implemented an evidence-supported Critical Access Hospital transitional care model.
Results: Participating hospitals found a significant increase in swing bed services revenue, an all-cause low readmission rate, high percentage of patients discharged to home or to an assisted living environment, and positive patient satisfaction surveys.

Updated/reviewed May 2026

Need: To connect patients to resources in order to reduce use of emergency services, emergency department visits, and hospital readmissions.
Intervention: Patients receive support (by in-person visit, phone call, or telehealth visit) from a paramedic, community health nurse, peer recovery specialist, and pharmacist.
Results: Between July 2016 and March 2024, the program made 1,098 patient contacts and continued to see a reduction in emergency department and inpatient visits and costs.

Updated/reviewed May 2026

Need: Out of 79 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) surveyed in Minnesota in 2015, behavioral health was the most frequently cited service requested.
Intervention: In response, Rural Health Innovations launched the Minnesota Integrative Behavioral Health Program. This initiative engaged representatives across all sectors in health integration between hospital, primary care, and community services.
Results: Strategy sessions resulted in the creation of resource directories to improve care coordination, evaluation measurements to document results, and an overall better understanding of integrative care challenges.

Updated/reviewed April 2026

Need: To provide increased educational opportunities for emergency care personnel in rural and frontier South Dakota.
Intervention: A technologically advanced training was created to enhance the delivery of emergency patient care.
Results: Hundreds of emergency medical services (EMS) staff and volunteers received training that in turn helped them in the field of emergency patient care.

Updated/reviewed March 2026

Need: Population health approach to decrease cardiovascular disease deaths in a rural Ohio healthcare delivery system's service area.
Intervention: A rural health system's investment in level II cardiac catheterization services and the required specialized cardiology workforce.
Results: In August 2018, Avita Health System started their cardiovascular service offerings in rural north central Ohio. Early results included decreased tertiary care hospital transfers. Building on the success of their increased ability to provide acute care, care coordination for patients with significant cardiovascular risks, preventive education with risk factor identification and modification, the health system continues to expand its local cardiovascular care.

Updated/reviewed November 2025

Need: Men in the agriculture industry face high suicide rates due to factors including long hours, geographic isolation, lack of social opportunities, and stigma surrounding mental health care.
Intervention: The Coffee Break Project, a program led by Valley-Wide Health Systems, Inc. in southeastern Colorado, encourages mental health check-ins for farmers and ranchers through a public awareness campaign and casual coffee gatherings that utilize COMET, an intervention model developed specifically for rural communities.
Results: Between eight and 20 people typically attend each coffee gathering.

Updated/reviewed October 2025

Need: Parts of rural Todd County, Minnesota and surrounding areas are classified as food deserts, where many rural families face food insecurity and low availability of both nutritious and affordable provisions.
Intervention: A collection of programs address food insecurity and the dietary health of members of the community, from children and families to older adults, supplying them with locally sourced fruits, vegetables, and meat.
Results: Lakewood Health System conducts around 50,000 food insecurity screenings each year. Fresh produce, meat, and other goods are distributed to roughly 140 families (around 500 individuals), 75 seniors, and 75 school-aged children annually.

Rural Project Examples: Healthcare business and finance