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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Idaho Models and Innovations

These stories feature model programs and successful rural projects that can serve as a source of ideas. Some of the projects or programs may no longer be active. Read about the criteria and evidence-base for programs included.

Evidence-Based Examples

Women to Women Online Support Network
Updated/reviewed November 2020
  • Need: Women living in rural areas with chronic illness often face little social support, leading to increased rates of depression and stress
  • Intervention: Women to Women offered rural women with chronic conditions social support networks via telecommunication
  • Results: WTW intervention participants experienced positive increases in self-esteem, social support, and empowerment over the control group

Promising Examples

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy The Health-able Communities Program
Updated/reviewed April 2021
  • Need: Expand healthcare access for the more remote residents of 3 frontier counties in north central Idaho.
  • Intervention: Consortium of healthcare providers and community agencies used a hybrid Community Health Worker model to augment traditional healthcare delivery services in order to offer a diverse set of healthcare offerings to frontier area residents.
  • Results: Increased healthcare access, especially for cancer and chronic disease screening, along with providing education on a diverse array of health topics.

Other Project Examples

funded by the Health Resources Services Administration Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST) Program
Updated/reviewed February 2023
  • Need: There is a shortage of rural physicians in the Northwestern United States.
  • Intervention: University of Washington medical students are receiving training through the TRUST program in rural, underserved communities across a five-state radius.
  • Results: Long-lasting connections have been formed among regional and underserved communities, medical students, and rural health professionals, producing more rural physicians as a result.
Pride in Idaho Care Neighborhoods
Added December 2022
  • Need: Patients who identify as LGBTQ+ in rural settings may face barriers to receiving appropriate care, including a knowledge gap among healthcare providers regarding HIV prevention, hormone replacement therapy, and other types of care.
  • Intervention: A partnership between a Critical Access Hospital, statewide residency program, nonprofit organization and other regional entities provides training, virtual consultations, and resources to rural providers across Idaho.
  • Results: Physicians experienced in gender-affirming care have performed virtual consultations for rural physicians and patients around the state, and the number of local providers trained in PrEP management has doubled.
The Hospital Cooperative Charge Comparative
Updated/reviewed September 2022
  • Need: To help hospitals in rural Idaho and Wyoming see how their prices compare to others in the region.
  • Intervention: The Hospital Cooperative (THC) completes an annual charge comparative, which lists the highest, lowest, average, and median price for a specific charge.
  • Results: THC has offered these reports since 2010.
The Hospital Cooperative Mobile MRI
Updated/reviewed September 2022
  • Need: Critical Access Hospitals in Idaho were not able to afford a fixed MRI system.
  • Intervention: The hospitals partnered to purchase a mobile MRI unit to travel among facilities.
  • Results: The MRI unit went into service in 2012, providing hundreds of scans per month and traveling among six member hospitals in rural Idaho.
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.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy 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.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy EMS Live@Nite
Updated/reviewed September 2019
  • Need: Distance, time, and cost make it difficult for EMS volunteers to attend continuing education and maintain certification.
  • Intervention: Inland Northwest Health Services delivers free online training to rural EMS providers via video teleconferencing.
  • Results: The EMS Live@Nite program provides free, monthly training to rural EMS providers in the northwestern part of the United States. The program is available through live video conferencing from certified locations in rural communities.

Last Updated: 2/6/2023