Rural Project Examples Addressing Networking and collaboration

Added March 2026

Need: To strengthen and grow capacity for the community health worker (CHW) workforce in rural Arizona.
Intervention: RAzCHOW is building rural workforce infrastructure through a coordinated network model that strengthens CHWs and the organizations that employ them.
Results: RAzCHOW has reported increased network capacity, trainings for CHWs, utilization of CHW services, and integration into healthcare teams and care coordination.

Updated/reviewed January 2026

Need: To promote mental health and prevent substance use disorders in rural Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska.
Intervention: Coast to Forest strengthened local capacity through training, technical assistance, education, and community partnerships.
Results: Since the project's launch in 2020, it trained over 800 individuals across the Pacific Northwest in Mental Health First Aid, developed 100 county-level resource guides, organized a series of Community Conversations in five rural Oregon counties, and more.

Updated/reviewed January 2026

Need: To improve people's health in a rural 16-county region in Illinois.
Intervention: A coalition of local health departments and healthcare facilities coordinates regional efforts, which are implemented locally by health community coalitions.
Results: HSIDN has created toolkits, developed resource guides, and provided wellness trainings, among other initiatives.

Updated/reviewed November 2025

Need: To create initiatives in rural Pennsylvania communities to address locally-identified health disparities.
Intervention: Healthy Adams County was created by Adams County residents to promote community-wide health.
Results: Community task forces have been formed to address healthcare access, female cancers, food policies, behavioral health, children's health & nutrition, domestic violence/sexual assault, and other community-identified needs.

Updated/reviewed November 2025

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.

Updated/reviewed November 2025

Need: Primary care physicians in the rural areas of Wisconsin.
Intervention: A GME collaborative and technical assistance center that provides leadership, GME expertise, and support for expanding rural graduate medical education in Wisconsin.
Results: The collaborative expanded rural graduate medical education opportunities which now include over 30 rural-focused residency programs. There are several GME opportunities in specialties ranging from family medicine to surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, internal medicine and more.

Updated/reviewed October 2025

Need: To expand public health and human services to adults living in rural West Central Missouri.
Intervention: HCC Network organized Project Connect events, daylong resource fairs that offer free public health and human services to low-income adults, and now serves as a resource for other organizations who would like to host a Project Connect event in their area.
Results: In 2024, local Project Connect events welcomed 100 families and offered numerous services and resource connections.

Updated/reviewed September 2025

Need: To provide accessible and affordable services to address the challenges associated with aging, serious illness, and grief across rural western Colorado.
Intervention: A nonprofit, community-sustained healthcare model was created to provide the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), dementia support, hospice care and palliative care, as well as grief support services for individuals of all ages.
Results: Since 1993, HopeWest has grown to serve more than 3,000 patients and families annually across five counties in western Colorado.

Updated/reviewed April 2025

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.

Updated/reviewed August 2024

Need: To enhance emergency preparedness in rural areas by providing access to training, exercises, and crucial information.
Intervention: SPARC, a coalition of 197 organizations in southern Illinois, focuses on emergency preparedness.
Results: SPARC has facilitated numerous training sessions, exercises, and community events, enhancing regional preparedness and resilience.

Rural Project Examples: Networking and collaboration