New York 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
Sickness Prevention Achieved through Regional Collaboration (SPARC, Inc.®)
Updated/reviewed July 2022
Updated/reviewed July 2022
- Need: Population-based rates of adult vaccinations and cancer screenings are low. Delivery rates are lower still in low-income and minority communities.
- Intervention: SPARC was established to develop and test new community-wide strategies to increase the delivery of clinical preventive services.
- Results: Across the United States in both rural and urban communities, SPARC programs, which broaden the delivery of potentially life-saving preventive services, have been successfully launched, improving residents' health.
Effective Examples
University of Vermont Medical Center's Nursing Home Telepsychiatry Service
Updated/reviewed September 2021
Updated/reviewed September 2021
- Need: To improve the health status and access for rural nursing home patients in need of mental health services.
- Intervention: The University of Vermont Medical Center provides telepsychiatry care and education to nursing homes in communities that face shortages of mental health professionals.
- Results: These telepsychiatry consultations have eased the burden on nursing home residents by saving travel time, distance, and money it takes to travel to the nearest tertiary facility.

Updated/reviewed May 2020
- Need: Meeting the health needs of geriatric patients in rural Livingston County, New York.
- Intervention: The Help for Seniors program was developed and using its 'vodcasts,' local EMTs were trained in geriatric screening methods and health needs treatment.
- Results: In addition to developing a successful model for educating EMS personnel, the program screened over 1200 individuals and identified various risks among the geriatric population.
Other Project Examples
Schoharie County ACEs Team
Updated/reviewed December 2022
Updated/reviewed December 2022
- Need: Agencies in Schoharie County, New York were seeing a widespread trend of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in children and families they served.
- Intervention: The Schoharie ACEs Team was formed as a way to educate rural communities about ACEs, the brain science behind it, and ways to build resiliency.
- Results: The ACEs Team has put on 4 half-day educational conferences, 2 virtual conferences, and 10 trainings for various groups across the region, trained 3 school districts on trauma-informed care, and provided resources for families exposed to trauma.
Clinic for Special Children
Updated/reviewed July 2022
Updated/reviewed July 2022
- Need: To provide healthcare for the genetically vulnerable children and adults of the rural, uninsured Amish and Mennonite communities in southern Pennsylvania.
- Intervention: A clinic that serves as a comprehensive medical practice for children and adults (primarily from the Amish and Mennonite communities) with rare, inherited, or complex disorders.
- Results: In 2021, about 1,200 active patients with more than 400 unique genetic mutations were treated at the Clinic for Special Children.
Seneca Strong's Certified Addiction Recovery Coaches
Updated/reviewed July 2022
Updated/reviewed July 2022
- Need: Like many Native American populations, the Seneca Nation of Indians has experienced disproportionate rates of opioid, alcohol, and substance misuse.
- Intervention: The Seneca Nation Government and Executives founded Seneca Strong, a cultural recovery peer advocate program, with the goal of reducing substance misuse across the Nation.
- Results: Seneca Strong has since grown in personnel and capacity to meet the needs of the Allegany and Cattaraugus territories of the Seneca Nation.
Health Profession Rural Summer Immersion Program
Updated/reviewed June 2022
Updated/reviewed June 2022
- Need: To expose medical and physician assistant students to rural healthcare practices and a rural lifestyle.
- Intervention: A two-week immersion program for second-year students to experience rural healthcare and rural life in Connecticut and New York.
- Results: In post-program evaluations from 2016 to 2018, 50% of students reported being very likely to practice in a rural setting, compared to just over 10% of students before the program.
Genesee and Orleans County Cross Jurisdictional Sharing Project (GO Health)
Updated/reviewed January 2019
Updated/reviewed January 2019
- Need: Two rural upstate New York counties struggled to provide necessary public health leadership and services amid a fluid environment with rising costs and funding limitations.
- Intervention: The Genesee County and Orleans County health departments began a cross jurisdictional sharing relationship that integrated select functions and services, beginning with sharing a director and deputy director.
- Results: By sharing personnel and functions, management personnel costs have been cut in half and both counties have saved over $1 million for the counties combined.
Last Updated: 12/20/2022