Rural Project Examples Addressing Healthcare facilities

Avita Health System Comprehensive Cardiology Program
Added April 2021

Need: Population health approach to decreasing area deaths from cardiovascular disease.
Intervention: A health system-level investment in level II cardiac catheterization services and the required specialized cardiology workforce.
Results: Since August 2018, the Avita Health System in north central Ohio has provided local cardiovascular services that have decreased hospital transfers, increased care coordination, and provided education and prevention activities that, with time, will impact population health cardiovascular outcomes.

Leadership Development Program
Updated/reviewed March 2021

Need: Reasonably-priced leadership education was needed for professional development of healthcare organization managers in southeastern Idaho and western Wyoming.
Intervention: Creation of a health network providing leadership training opportunities for member hospitals.
Results: Increased leadership and managerial quality, and decreased professional development costs for rural hospitals of southeastern Idaho and western Wyoming.

Southwest Health System Antibiotic Stewardship Program
Updated/reviewed March 2021

Need: Impact patient care and safety issues related to antibiotic use in southwest Colorado.
Intervention: Pharmacy-led antibiotic stewardship program for inpatient, outpatient, and long-term care settings.
Results: With antibiotic use guidelines, refined infection diagnostics, and first-choice antibiotic selections, all care settings now see decreased days of treatment and decreased resistance patterns.

La Red Health Center
Updated/reviewed December 2020

Need: Meeting the health care needs of the uninsured and underinsured population of Sussex County, Delaware.
Intervention: La Red Health Center was created to offer culturally competent primary and preventative care to children and adults, regardless of ability to pay.
Results: La Red Health Center (LRHC) serves thousands of residents at four clinical sites, a school-based wellness center and through a collaborative effort with a local senior center.

West Virginia's Partners In Health Network Regional Collaborative Services
Updated/reviewed September 2020

Need: Coordinated approach to healthcare delivery in central and southern West Virginia.
Intervention: Creation of a nonprofit organization that focused on quality and collaboration.
Results: With an ability to provide services that meet the evolving needs of patients, providers, and communities, the organization provides unique services, such as a credentialing service and web-based data sharing care management tool.

My Virtual Clinic School-Based Telehealth Program
Updated/reviewed May 2020

Need: Improve healthcare access for school-aged children in a rural and underserved Indiana county.
Intervention: Working with several rural school districts and the state's rural health association, an Indiana county healthcare system used school-based telehealth to expand access for acute illness.
Results: As of May 2019, Greene County General Hospital in rural Linton, Indiana, has expanded primary care access by offering school-based telehealth in 2 elementary and 1 middle school in 3 of the county's 5 school districts.

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.

University of Mississippi Medical Center's Center for Telehealth
Updated/reviewed January 2020

Need: Rural areas in Mississippi often lack adequate access to specialty healthcare services such as emergency medicine, stroke neurology, pediatric specialists and psychiatrists.
Intervention: The University of Mississippi Medical Center created the Center for Telehealth to deliver quality specialty services through telehealth video conferencing and remote monitoring tools to the underserved areas of Mississippi.
Results: The program has been successfully implemented throughout many of the state's rural hospitals and has reduced transfers and geographic barriers for patients.

Healthcare Georgia Foundation's CDFI Investments
Added December 2019

Need: In rural Georgia, poor health outcomes and high poverty rates require innovative approaches.
Intervention: As the only statewide private foundation in Georgia with the sole focus of improving health, Healthcare Georgia Foundation supports Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to do the same.
Results: With a program related investment from the Foundation, 2 statewide CDFIs and 1 national CDFI are providing low-interest loans and other support to rural healthcare efforts.

Foundations Family Medicine's HIV, HCV, Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Services
Added November 2018

Need: Due to the opioid crisis, Austin, Indiana has seen the largest concentrated outbreak of HIV in rural America's recent history. Since 2015, over 200 residents have been diagnosed with the virus.
Intervention: Foundations Family Medicine began offering testing and treatment services for HIV, hepatitis C, and opioid/substance use disorder. Education, care coordination and behavioral health services were also offered as an integrated part of their primary care clinic.
Results: Although the virus continues to spread throughout Scott County, the rate has significantly decreased, outdoing national suppression rates by a large margin (76% compared to national average of 49%).

Rural Project Examples: Healthcare facilities