Rural Project Examples: Healthcare facilities
Effective Examples
Franklin Cardiovascular Health Program (FCHP)
Updated/reviewed February 2023
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.
Community-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program
Updated/reviewed February 2021
Updated/reviewed February 2021
- Need: More evidenced-based chronic lower respiratory disease management options for rural Appalachia patients, where lung disease rates are among the highest in the country.
- Intervention: Implementation of outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation programs in 2 Federally Qualified Health Centers and a Critical Access Hospital in West Virginia.
- Results: Improved health outcomes for patients with chronic lower respiratory disease, including those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Promising Examples

Updated/reviewed July 2020
- Need: To improve the oral health status of children ages 3 to 17 living in underserved rural areas of Louisiana.
- Intervention: School-based nurse practitioners perform oral health assessments, apply fluoride varnishes when indicated, and make dental referrals, with completion rates of the latter tracked by dental case managers.
- Results: Significant numbers of school children are receiving oral health examinations, fluoride varnish applications, and receiving care coordination to improve numbers of completed dental appointments.
Other Project Examples

Added September 2023
- 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.

Updated/reviewed July 2023
- Need: To improve sustainability and financial viability for rural healthcare providers throughout Indiana.
- Intervention: A network of rural healthcare providers for Critical Access and other hospitals in Indiana that are dedicated to improving their ability to deliver efficient and high-quality healthcare for their rural residents.
- Results: The network has been leveraged to increase access to resources, coordinate services, and improve and expand healthcare access.
Jefferson Healthcare Prescription CSA
Added July 2023
Added July 2023
- Need: To increase food security among low-income patients living with cancer and diabetes in rural Jefferson County, Washington.
- Intervention: A local healthcare system partnered with a small organic farm to offer weekly produce boxes to eligible low-income patients.
- Results: 10 patients participated in the Jefferson Healthcare prescription CSA program in 2022. In 2023, the program grew to serve 15 patients.
The Minnesota Integrative Behavioral Health Program
Updated/reviewed May 2023
Updated/reviewed May 2023
- 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 2023
- Need: To increase access and quality of care for patients in rural Maine.
- Intervention: Community hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers in Maine formed the Community Care Partnership of Maine Accountable Care Organization (CCPM ACO).
- Results: CCPM serves about 120,000 patients in Maine. In addition, it has implemented shared savings arrangements/contracts with different Medicare Advantage and other private health payers.
Regional Behavioral Health Network
Updated/reviewed April 2023
Updated/reviewed April 2023
- Need: Multiple organizations in rural east central Illinois needed a more efficient, centralized system for referring patients experiencing a behavioral health crisis to appropriate treatment services.
- Intervention: The Regional Behavioral Health Network was established with a 24-hour toll-free crisis line, providing immediate access to trained crisis clinicians.
- Results: Improved access to high quality behavioral healthcare for patients in rural east central Illinois.
Rural Recruitment Reimagined Workshop Presents the "Safe Sites" Model
Updated/reviewed April 2023
Updated/reviewed April 2023
- Need: Strategies to recruit and retain providers to practice in rural settings.
- Intervention: A traveling one-day workshop was designed to share ideas and firsthand accounts on successful strategies on how to create "Safe Sites" for new recruits.
- Results: So far, workshops have trained over 250 hospital administrators, board members, and rural hospital recruiters.
For examples from other sources, see: