Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response.

Rural Emergency Hospital Requirements: CMS Emergency Preparedness Final Rule
Provides a reference source for Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) requirements related to the final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), "Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid Participating Providers and Suppliers." Includes excerpts from the REH Conditions of Participation regarding emergency preparedness, as well as CMS interpretive guidelines for 17 other provider types. Covers the development of an emergency plan, related policies and procedures, communications, training, and more.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
view details
Ready or Not 2023: Protecting the Public's Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism
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.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Trust for America's Health
view details
Emergency Preparedness in Rural Communities
Policy position paper discussing emergency preparedness for rural communities. Covers fostering community involvement and a rural culture of readiness, communication, training of health professionals and community residents, community health workers, and research.
Author(s): Justin Kearley, Kate Hill, Joanie Perkins
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
view details
Future Planning for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Enterprise: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Proceedings of a Workshop
Summarizes discussions held during a May 2022 workshop to explore the nation's public health emergency (PHE) preparedness enterprise. Includes key components, success stories, and failure points, to identify opportunities for effective catastrophic disaster, pandemic, and other large scale PHEs planning at the federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels. Mentions disparities between urban and rural or tribal areas throughout.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Disasters and Emergencies
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
view details
2022 National Preparedness Report
Summarizes progress made and challenges that remain in building and sustaining capabilities needed to prevent and recover from threats and incidents that pose the greatest risk to the nation. Examines some of the disasters that occurred in 2021 and includes sections on risk areas, capability areas, management opportunities, and the research approach for the report. Mentions rural throughout.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Emergency Management Agency
view details
Access to Emergency Medical Services in Rural Communities: Policy Brief and Recommendations to the Secretary
Provides an overview of issues related to the provision of emergency medical services (EMS) in rural areas. Discusses rural EMS access, financing, and workforce challenges, as well as promising telehealth innovations. Outlines federal programs and resources that support EMS programs. Offers policy recommendations related to access to EMS, workforce, and reimbursement.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
view details
Tips for Disaster Responders: Understanding Historical Trauma and Resilience When Responding to an Event in Indian Country
Describes historical trauma and its impact on Native American populations, and offers guidance for behavioral health responders when engaged in disaster preparedness and response efforts for tribal communities.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
view details
Through Natural Disaster to Prosperity: Five Principles to Improve Health and Economic Outcomes for Rural Communities and Native Nations
Describes 5 principles related to natural disasters and community resilience, including conditions that affect disaster vulnerability, relationships among rural communities and natural systems, equity in disaster response, local capacity, and responsive funding. Offers rural and tribal case studies and perspectives from rural economic and community development practitioners.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Aspen Institute
view details
How FEMA Can Build Rural Resilience Through Disaster Preparedness
Explores the effectiveness of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program in rural and vulnerable communities. Discusses challenges related to rural emergency and disaster preparedness due to limited capacity and finances. Includes policy recommendations and suggestions to streamline federal grantmaking processes.
Author(s): Kevin Manuele, Mark Haggerty
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
view details
How To Improve Community Wildfire Defense Grants To Build Rural Resilience
Analyzes the impact of wildfires in northern New Mexico to plan for increased needs related to climate disasters in rural and vulnerable communities across the U.S. Discusses issues such as capacity in rural areas that create challenges when utilizing federal assistance. Provides suggestions for investments in built environment and collaborations across agencies to plan for grant funding that supports rural areas and increases rural resilience.
Author(s): Sofia Garcia George, Mark Haggerty
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
view details

Additional resources are available related to this guide. See the full list of resources by topic for:


Last Updated: 4/17/2024