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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Tribal Health – Models and Innovations

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

Other Project Examples

One Health Recovery Doulas

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed November 2025

  • Need: To support pregnant and parenting women with a history of substance use, mental health, or co-occurring disorders in rural areas of Montana.
  • Intervention: One Health, a consortium of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), developed a team of "recovery doulas" – individuals who are dual-certified as doulas and peer-support specialists. The One Health recovery doula program offers group and individual services to women and their partners from pregnancy through the first years of parenthood.
  • Results: A team of four recovery doulas (or doulas-in-training) employed by One Health offer services in 8 rural eastern Montana counties. One Health has also successfully trained and certified 35 Peer Recovery Doulas statewide through their Peer Recovery Doula certification curriculum.

St. Francis Mission Dental Clinic

Updated/reviewed October 2025

  • Need: To improve oral health among the residents of the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.
  • Intervention: St. Francis Mission founded a dental clinic, staffed by volunteers from across the country, to offer free oral healthcare to residents of the Rosebud Reservation.
  • Results: The clinic typically offered 20 one-week clinics every year and served 3,000 patients after transitioning to electronic records in 2021.

Portable Alternative Sanitation System (PASS)

Updated/reviewed December 2024

  • Need: To bring low-cost water and sanitation improvements to homes in tribal villages in Alaska without access to piped water or sewer systems.
  • Intervention: The Portable Alternative Sanitation System (PASS) treats hauled water, provides for handwashing with clean water, and disposes waste without traditional piping.
  • Results: Residents in the pilot project reported that PASS was cleaner and healthier than the self-haul method.