Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response resources via the Rural Health Information Hub

Funding opportunity: Smith-Lever Special Needs Competitive Grants Program

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:06:06 -0500

Funding to enable the Cooperative Extension System (CES) to assist in preparing for, providing an educational response to, recovering from, and mitigating disasters and disaster threats. The program supports innovative, education-based approaches to address disaster preparedness and specific responses related to disasters or disaster threats caused by natural, human-made, technological hazards, or by other factors that contribute to the exposure of or risk to a community. -- National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture

News: Data and Situational Awareness for Medical and Public Health Preparedness and Response (A Workshop Series): Call for Experts

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:04:41 -0500

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is seeking experts for a workshop series examining how medical, public health, emergency management, and critical infrastructure data are collected and used to support the decision-making process before, during, and after disasters and emergencies. Both committee members and potential speakers, participants, and peer reviewers are needed. Nominations are due April 17, 2026.

News: Disaster Resilience in Rural Communities

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:18:16 -0500

Highlights disaster preparedness plans in rural Alaska, Maine, and New York communities with focus on planning for the specific needs of older adults, people with disabilities, and people with chronic illnesses.

Resource: The Dialogue: Rural and Remote Disaster Behavioral Health

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:22:13 -0600

Journal issue discusses the behavioral health needs and challenges during disasters in rural and remote communities. Highlights the mental health challenges that co-occur with disasters such as extreme heat, floods, droughts and other disasters in rural communities and details strategies for addressing them. -- SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center

Event: 2026 Annual National Healthcare Coalition Preparedness Conference

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 08:39:01 -0600

National Harbor MD
December 1, 2026

Resource: Changes in Bed-Based Measures of Surge Capacity from 2018 to 2022 among Rural and Urban Hospitals

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 10:52:35 -0600

Policy brief describing how hospitals' inpatient capacity changed from 2018-2022 and examining trade-offs between cost-saving reductions and emergency preparedness. Features statistics on hospitals' average daily census (ADC) and number and percentage of unoccupied beds, with breakdowns by year and urban or rural location. -- North Carolina Rural Health Research Program

Event: Health Center Preparedness & Response Forum: Patient Supports

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 12:16:14 -0600

Resource: Health Industry Cybersecurity Sector Mapping and Risk Toolkit (SMART)

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 11:52:45 -0500

Provides templates and methodologies for healthcare providers, insurance plans, and manufacturers to map and identify systemic cybersecurity risks posed by third party technology, software, and communications services. Includes considerations for small and rural healthcare organizations.

Resource: Risk Management in Rural Communities: Expanding Capacities for the If and When

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 16:30:31 -0500

Training module introducing concepts and practical issues related to risk management, collective capacity, and risk communication for rural public health professionals. Provides tailored guidance on developing organizational risk management plans for emergency response. Continuing education credits for this course are available through September 1, 2027, via CDC TRAIN.

Resource: Tornadoes: Agencies Promote Resilience but Actions Needed to Improve Access to FEMA Assistance

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 13:05:54 -0500

Report investigating accessibility of FEMA assistance funding for tribal and rural communities. Discusses grant writing, cost share, benefit-cost analyses, infrastructure, emergency management staffing, and more. -- Government Accountability Office

Resource: Public Health Preparedness: HHS Needs a Coordinated National Approach for Diagnostic Testing for Pandemic Threats

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 10:11:06 -0500

Describes a roundtable of 19 experts the Government Accountability Office (GAO) convened to discuss actions the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should take to improve diagnostic testing for infectious diseases with pandemic potential. Identifies actions suggested by the experts, including two areas commonly repeated by experts. Offers four recommendations to HHS related to developing a national diagnostic testing strategy and establishing a national testing forum. Includes rural references throughout. -- Government Accountability Office

Resource: Lessons for Human Services: Perspectives of Program Participants on Extreme Weather and Environmental Hazards

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 08:59:05 -0600

Examines how human services programs mitigate issues caused by environmental hazards and extreme weather for low-income and underresourced communities. Utilizes qualitative data from 41 participants, with a focus on impacts of trash and garbage, flooding, air and water quality, extreme heat, and other environmental conditions. Includes commentary about hazards specific to rural areas. -- HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

Resource: Resilience Planning: What Communities Can Do to Keep Hazards from Turning into Disasters

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 09:59:27 -0600

Provides guidance for communities of all sizes to integrate resilience objectives in their long-term planning. Discusses how to work through resilience planning and includes examples from a rural Southampton Township in New Jersey. -- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Resource: Strengthening Indigenous America: Building Resilience Through Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 14:32:38 -0500

Summarizes key concepts from a July 2024 workshop that explored how to support the capacity of Indigenous American and tribal communities and nations to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and public health emergencies. Discusses tribal sovereignty; emergency management capacities and capabilities; relationships with partners and jurisdictions; Indigenous knowledge, best practices, and translation; and data and research. -- Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Resource: Medical Surge and the Role of Health Clinics

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 16:07:12 -0500

Results of a study exploring the scope and level of implementation of emergency management activities among health clinics, including Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics. Uses information from 175 online surveys with health clinic leaders from 38 states. Features statistics from participating clinics, with breakdowns by urban, suburban, rural, and remote locations, and type of clinic. -- Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response

Resource: Lessons for Future Pandemics: Temporal Evolution and Rural-Urban Variations in the Impacts of the COVID-19 on Opioid Use Treatment

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 17:21:36 -0500

Presents a study highlighting the lessons learned from opioid use treatment programs operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Explores the impact of the pandemic on treatment services. Discusses the use of telehealth for both counseling and medication prescribing, as well as the challenges faced by patients trying to obtain treatment during the pandemic.

Resource: HHS emPOWER Map

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 09:33:26 -0500

Map system displaying the number of Medicare beneficiaries who have had a claim for one or more types of electricity-dependent durable medical and assistive equipment (DME) and devices, as well as at-risk combinations data for people who rely on essential healthcare services and electricity-dependent DME and devices. Users can access data to inform emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation public health activities. -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Resource: Risk Communicating Resources for Rural Areas: A Toolkit to Help Rural Public Health Clinics Communicate Their Message to the Community During an Emergency or Disaster.

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 10:08:58 -0500

Toolkit offering links to comprehensive, accessible, and ready-to-use materials to provide local health department staff with information to improve communication efforts. Places emphasis on challenges encountered in rural settings and targeted for use among county health department nurse managers, supervisors, and other public health staff. -- Georgia Department of Community Health

Resource: Rural Communities of Color Are Overrepresented among Community Disaster Resilience Zones

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 13:26:48 -0500

Analysis of the rurality of community disaster resilience zones (CDRZs), a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designation that offers priority federal support for preparation for and response to disasters. Includes data breakdown by remoteness and distribution of people of color. Discusses rates of philanthropic giving. -- Urban Institute

Resource: Ready or Not 2024: Protecting the Public's Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 09:25:50 -0500

Report explores the readiness of state public health systems to respond to emergencies, such as diseases, disasters, and bioterrorism. Focuses on measures such as hospital safety scores, vaccination rates, and water system maintenance, among others. Includes rural considerations throughout. -- Trust for America's Health

Resource: Small Business Administration: Targeted Outreach about Disaster Assistance Could Benefit Rural Communities

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 14:29:48 -0600

Examines disaster loan trends in rural and urban areas using geocoded Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan application data for fiscal years 2017 through 2022. Describes challenges rural communities may face in seeking disaster assistance from SBA and actions SBA could take to address these challenges. -- Government Accountability Office

Resource: Building Resilience through Disaster Relief and Recovery

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 08:59:40 -0600

Describes the impact of climate events on rural populations and community infrastructure. Provides strategies for localized disaster response and recovery solutions by utilizing partnerships, building resilience, and improving food access. Transcript available below description. -- No Kid Hungry

Resource: Neighborhoods at Risk

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 10:56:00 -0600

Tool offering maps and reports of neighborhoods by environmental risks and disparities in impact. Data available at the census tract, city, county, or state level.

Resource: Wildfire Risk to Communities

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 10:07:19 -0600

Offers interactive maps, charts, and resources showing risk of wildfire at the city, county, or state level. Includes impact to vulnerable populations such as those in poverty, with limited transportation, by age, with a disability, and more. Includes recommended actions for reducing risk for community members, elected officials, healthcare services, and more.

Resource: RHC Emergency Preparedness 101

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 09:08:46 -0600

Recording of a November 7, 2023, webinar on Rural Health Clinic (RHC) emergency preparedness requirements. Provides an overview of the regulatory and interpretive guidance requirements and discusses the components of an emergency preparedness manual. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series. -- National Association of Rural Health Clinics

Resource: Public Health Preparedness: Building and Maintaining Infrastructure beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 11:51:46 -0600

Describes Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding programs that support public health infrastructure and preparedness at the state and local levels. Examines challenges identified by officials across 12 jurisdictions and 10 stakeholder groups regarding building and maintaining the public health and preparedness infrastructure. Appendix III profiles the 12 selected jurisdictions, notes the rurality of each jurisdiction, and outlines examples of projects funded by CDC awards. -- Government Accountability Office

Resource: Recovering from a Cybersecurity Attack and Protecting the Future in Small, Rural Health Organizations

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 14:13:58 -0500

Discusses the impact cyber-attacks can have on rural healthcare facilities. Features two Critical Access Hospital leaders describing attacks at their organizations. Shares insights from an information technology compliance expert, including actions organizations can take to protect themselves. -- Rural Health Information Hub

Resource: Take Control in 1, 2, 3: Disaster Preparedness Guide for Older Adults

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 10:32:13 -0500

Offers recommendations for becoming prepared for disasters, in 3 steps: Assessing needs, making a plan, and engaging with a support network. Includes sections geared toward older adults with disabilities or with limited resources, and rural older adults. -- Federal Emergency Management Agency

Resource: Rural Disaster Behavioral Health: A Guide for Outreach Workers and Crisis Counselors

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 13:38:47 -0500

Provides recommendations to behavioral health professionals who are working with rural populations following a disaster. Offers an overview of rural populations in the United States, behavioral health impacts of disasters, strategies to effectively assist in a rural context, and disaster response recommendations and resources. -- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Resource: Broadband Climate Risk Mitigation Tool

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 09:26:41 -0500

Tool that provides hazard risk data alongside broadband access data for the purpose of infrastructure decision-making while considering natural hazards. Provides information at the county, address, or census tract level. -- Center on Rural Innovation