March 25, 2026
Healthcare delivery in rural America must sometimes occur outside of the traditional access points of clinics and hospitals. In rural Ohio, a university pharmacy department has a dual focus of not just preparing their pharmacist graduates to be rural practice-ready but also providing mobile services in nearby rural counties. Faculty and students explain their work in a state that's granted pharmacists provider status.
January 28, 2026
The health benefits associated with cycling are vast. But in some rural areas, potential cyclists can be discouraged by a lack of bike-friendly infrastructure or the absence of a local cycling community.
July 24, 2024
For decades, community health workers (CHWs) provided their services outside usual healthcare reimbursement models. In recent years, with research supporting CHWs as professionals effectively assisting patients with navigating health-related social determinants, federal and private payers are exploring reimbursement mechanisms. Four rural healthcare organizations share both the impact and the continued sustainability challenges — and successes — of their CHW programs.
September 6, 2023
In rural communities, where funding is often limited and mental health resources may be scarce, ensuring incarcerated people have access to needed care can be a challenge.
May 24, 2023
Pivoting from a universal question, "How'd you sleep?" clinical sleep experts, a federal public health agency representative, and Nebraska Extension discussed sleep's impact on rural health and public safety.
June 9, 2021
After their county ranked number seven in the nation for opioid related deaths, the community of Fayette County, Ohio created Pathways to Recovery, with programs designed to educate providers and law enforcement, prevent overdoses, reduce harm, and encourage recovery through the use of Peer Support Specialists.
December 18, 2019
Governance, organizational size, and other factors may impact rural local health departments' ability to take on voluntary accreditation. In addition to a brief review of these issues, accreditation officials, professional societies, and researchers share how they are working together to better understand these challenges in order to support public health departments desiring accreditation.
November 6, 2019
To help Ohio counties affected by the opioid crisis, Ohio University and the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) applied for FORHP's Rural Communities Opioid Response Program planning grant. Awarded separately, the partners formally braided the grants together, allowing the organizations to form a master consortium with five counties.
September 5, 2018
As more federal dollars are directed toward the opioid crisis, three communities use grant funds for treatment and recovery care coordination in court, prisons, and the homes of new moms.
August 9, 2017
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is number 3 on the cause of death list. In rural America, it's the sole major chronic disease with increasing death rates. In May 2017, the COPD National Action Plan, a "blueprint for a multi-faceted, unified fight against the disease" was released. Rural stakeholders share perspectives of just how rural Americans with COPD might benefit from the plan's rural touchpoints.
