RHIhub This Week - February 25, 2026

As an information clearinghouse on rural health issues, RHIhub provides access to a wide range of resources on relevant topics. Inclusion on RHIhub does not imply endorsement of, or agreement with, the contents by RHIhub or the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Webinar Recording Looking Ahead: FY 2026 Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Preview In case you missed it, a recording and transcript of the Looking Ahead: FY 2026 Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Preview Webinar are now available!

Exploring Rural Health Podcast See All Episodes Community-Based Recruiting: Keeping Providers Close, with Joe Theine and Jen Gero An interview with Joe Theine, CEO of Southwest Health System, based in Cortez, Colorado, and Jen Gero, MD, SHS Chief Medical Officer. In this episode, we learn about community-based recruiting, and how it streamlines the path to robust health systems integrated into rural areas. Part 1 in a 3-part series from the December 2025 Health Innovation Potluck held in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Models and Innovations See All Models & Innovations

Active Aging for L.I.F.E. Active Aging for L.I.F.E. in rural Oklahoma offers programming on aging for high school and college students.

Promise Community Health Center Hypertension Control Program A Federally Qualified Health Center in rural Sioux Center, Iowa, provides team-based care for patients with hypertension.

Recent News See All Recent News Brown Water and Boil Notices: Small Towns Struggle with Failing Water Systems Feb 24, 2026 -- Describes the challenges small communities face with maintaining water systems with focus on two communities in Arkansas and Louisiana. Discusses funding, workforce, and aging infrastructure as barriers to consistently providing clean drinking water. Source: WWNO, NPR Mercer Simulation Devices Aim to Fill Need in Rural Medical Training Feb 24, 2026 -- Highlights two new 3D printed, low-cost simulation devices that may make training rural and other limited resource institutions more accessible. Discusses the high cost of simulation devices, how the devices were tested, and the involvement of engineering students in developing the devices. Source: The Den, Mercer University RAMP Pilot Study Supports Telehealth Mind-Body Program for Rural Veterans With Chronic Pain Feb 19, 2026 -- Summarizes recent research finding that multimodal, telehealth delivered mind-body and exercise interventions are effective for rural veterans experiencing chronic pain. Notes that the program could be easily accessed by rural veterans due to the use of nonclinicians. Describes planned modifications for future programs iterations. Source: NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory Federal Register HHS: Agency Information Collection Request. 60-Day Public Comment Request Feb 20, 2026 -- Notice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Minority Health (OMH) seeking comments on the reinstatement of an information collection titled "OMH Think Cultural Health." The Think Cultural Health (TCH) website is an initiative of HHS OMH that provides resources and tools to promote cultural and linguistic competency in health and healthcare. The information collected will be used to enable health and healthcare professionals to register for courses; obtain accredited continuing education credits; and help ensure that TCH offerings remain relevant, useful, and responsive to the needs of their target audiences. Comments are due by April 21, 2026. Source: Federal Register

Funding & Opportunities See All Funding T-Mobile Hometown Grant Grants to complete community projects in rural, small towns. Funding is intended for shovel-ready projects that would not otherwise be possible to implement through local government/municipal funding. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Mar 31, 2026 Sponsors: Main Street America, T-Mobile AHRQ Small Research Projects to Advance the Science of Primary Care (R01 and R03) Funding to support small research projects that advance the role and capacity of primary care to increase the value and quality of care and improve patient outcomes and population health. Rural populations are among the priority populations. Geographic coverage: Nationwide and U.S. territories Application Deadline: Mar 19, 2027 Sponsors: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Contingency Management Professional Certificate An online training on the efficacy and dissemination of contingency management as a model for treatment of stimulant, tobacco, and other substance use disorders. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: University of Vermont Microsoft Rural Health Resiliency Program Assistance to help rural hospitals and other rural facilities keep their health services safe and secure with affordable access to Microsoft security solutions, artificial intelligence, and building cybersecurity capacity. Geographic coverage: Nationwide and U.S. Territories Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Microsoft

Resources See All Resources 2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report Report highlights the rate of suicide among veterans and the VA's role in suicide prevention. Discusses the causes of veteran suicide and the steps the VA is taking for suicide prevention. Breaks down rates of suicide by sex, contact with the VHA, and rurality, among other factors. The 2025 report is split into two parts. The second part is added as an additional link. Additional links: National Suicide Data Appendix, Part 2: Report Findings Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Date: 2025 Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model Evaluation: Final Report Provides an overview of the Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model, which tested whether identifying and addressing core health-related social needs (HRSNs) of community-dwelling beneficiaries improves health outcomes, reduces healthcare costs, and reduces unnecessary healthcare utilization. Describes the AHC Model's impacts on key outcomes for Medicaid, FFS Medicare, and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries through December 2023 and final lessons learned. Additional links: Executive Summary, Findings at a Glance Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International Date: 02/2026 Catalog of Value-Based Initiatives for Rural Providers Summarizes rural-relevant, value-based programs currently or recently implemented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the CMS Innovation Center. Designed to help rural healthcare leaders identify HHS value-based programs that are suitable for rural participation. Contains descriptions of each demonstration and provides direct links to the corresponding agency web page. Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value Date: 02/2026 COVID-19 Antiviral Prescription Receipt Among Outpatients Aged ≥65 Years — United States, June 1, 2023–September 30, 2025 Reports on factors associated with receiving an antiviral prescription among adults aged 65 years or older diagnosed with COVID-19 in an outpatient setting. Includes data for urban and rural locations. Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Location: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 75(6), 69-76 Date: 02/2026 Delivering Quality: Maternity Care Innovation in Critical Access Hospitals Presents case studies of six Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) that are high performers on maternity care quality measures. Summarizes interviews with leaders from each CAH regarding the benefits of their Perinatal Quality Collaboratives, use of safety bundles, training activities, and other successes in providing maternity care. Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team Date: 02/2026 Encouraging Rural Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models Examines the financial constraints rural providers have in pivoting to value-based care and alternative payment models (APMs), including population-based total cost of care (PB-TCOC) models. Provides recommendations and supportive policies to increase rural participation in PB-TCOC models and discusses issues such as financial risk, use of benchmarks to meet spending goals, performance measurements, information technology and telehealth, and more. Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Date: 01/2026 Evaluation of the Making Care Primary Model Provides an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center's Making Care Primary (MCP) Model. Explores model participation, participants' early implementation experiences, and the model's chances for meeting model expansion criteria related to cost and quality. Additional links: Findings at a Glance Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Date: 02/2026 Hospice Care Chartbook 2025 Provides an overview of hospice care, including patient demographics, characteristics of live discharges, organizational trends, and Medicare spending for hospice services. Includes charts and graphs throughout, as well as state-by-state data. Slides 16 and 34 highlight the percentage of Medicare decedents that did and did not use hospice in 2024 and the number of hospices between 2019 and 2024 by rurality, respectively. Sponsoring organizations: KNG Health Consulting, National Alliance for Care at Home, Research Institute for Home Care Date: 12/2025 Methamphetamine Use, Mental Health Comorbidities, and Treatment in Rural and Urban Areas, 2016-2019 Examines the prevalence of methamphetamine use by level of rurality and U.S. region, with data on methamphetamine use and mental illness, suicide and suicidal ideation, concurrent alcohol use, treatment for methamphetamine use disorder, method of use, and other relating to methamphetamine use prevalence and associated risks. Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center Date: 02/2026 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Medicare Shared Savings Program Assigned Beneficiaries Among Original Medicare Enrollees Describes trends of Medicare beneficiaries assigned to Medicare Shared Savings Program (SSP) Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Presents data on metropolitan and nonmetropolitan SSP ACO assignment and Medicare Advantage enrollment between 2018 and 2024, as well as the percentage of original Medicare beneficiaries assigned to an ACO in 2024 by metropolitan status and state. Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis Date: 02/2026 Nonventilator Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia: Prevalence and Hospital and Patient Characteristics, 2019-2023 Presents statistics on inpatient hospital stays involving nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia (NVHAP) between 2019-2023. Examines data by patient and hospital characteristics, including patient age group, urban or rural location, Critical Access Hospital status, and hospital ownership status. Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Date: 02/2026 Personal Protective Equipment for Influenza A (H5N1) in High-Risk Farm Settings: Proceedings of a Workshop Summarizes discussions from a workshop on H5N1 in farm settings. Includes information on transmission, best practices for personal protective equipment (PPE), PPE innovation, outreach regarding PPE use, and research needs on effectiveness of PPE for H5N1. Additional links: Read Online Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Date: 2026 Rebuilding Georgia's Rural Pediatric Pipeline: Part One A podcast episode featuring stakeholders of a public-private partnership in Georgia focused on improving access to pediatric care in rural areas of the state. Discusses strategies such as addressing the rural healthcare provider pipeline, improving access to subspeciality collaboration, providing rural training opportunities for medical students, and more. Additional links: Rebuilding Georgia's Rural Pediatric Pipeline: Part Two Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association Date: 02/2026 Rural Health Transformation Program: State Focus on Community Health Workers Describes examples of state initiatives regarding community health workers (CHWs) outlined Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) applications from Arizona, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Includes results of a scan of CHW proposals for each state with a publicly available RHTP application. Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy Date: 02/2026 Rural Voices: You Can Do This Because You Are Small - Finding Capital for Affordable Rural Housing Discusses securing financial investments and capital to support affordable housing in rural communities. Sponsoring organization: Housing Assistance Council Date: 02/2026 Rural-Based Accountable Care Organizations Agreement Renewal Policy brief describing characteristics of Accountable Care Organizations participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). Compares trends in exits and entries into MSSP between rural and urban areas from 2013-2022. Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis Date: 02/2026 Rural-Urban Differences in Dental Care Utilization After a Public Health Emergency Explores COVID-19-specific impacts on dental care access and utilization among rural and urban populations. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by rural and urban status. Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center Date: 02/2026 TA Webinar: RHC Billing 101 Recording of a February 24, 2026, webinar providing an overview of traditional Medicare billing guidelines for Rural Health Clinics. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series. Additional links: Presentation Slides Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics Date: 02/2026 Telemedicine in Rural EMS: Expanding Capabilities and Scope Discusses the integration of telemedicine and emergency medical services (EMS) for improving rural health outcomes by connecting EMS with trauma specialists and expanding what is available as prehospital care. Describes the workforce, equipment, and infrastructure needs. Author(s): Andrew Dreiser Location: EMS World, 2026 Date: 02/2026 Usual Source of Care for Rural Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries in 2021 Explores Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries' usual source of care in 2021. Describes the types of facilities that serve as primary care providers for rural Medicare FFS beneficiaries. Compares the usual source of care for beneficiaries by demographic characteristics, including degree of rurality. Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program Date: 02/2026

Open Calls for Contributions See All Open Calls Call for Abstracts: 2026 2nd Annual Dartmouth Rural Health Symposium Deadline: Mar 2, 2026 Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice Event Dates: May 12 - 13, 2026 Hanover, NH Conference Website Call for Presenters: 2026 37th Annual Illinois Rural Health Association Educational Conference Deadline: Apr 3, 2026 Illinois Rural Health Association Event Dates: Jul 29 - 30, 2026 Champaign, IL Conference Website Call for Proposals: 2026 Annual Rural Health Voice Conference Deadline: May 1, 2026 Virginia Rural Health Association Event Dates: Nov 18 - 19, 2026 Danville, VA Conference Website

Upcoming Events See All Events Feb 26 Power of Communications #1: Navigating Conflict and Communication Issues with Teams and Partners in Rural Settings Virtual Feb 26, 12:00 p.m. Eastern Region V Public Health Training Center (RVPHTC) Mar 3-5 2026 California Area Indian Health Services Annual Tribal Consultation In-Person Mar 3 - 5 California Area Indian Health Service, Indian Health Service Pala, CA Mar 4 Reaching the Last Mile: Strategies for Serving Ultra-Rural Populations Virtual Mar 4, 3:00 p.m. Eastern No Kid Hungry Mar 5 Get It Off Your Chest, It's An Inside Job Virtual Mar 5, 2:00 p.m. Eastern The RCORP Rural Center of Excellence on SUD Recovery at the Fletcher Group Mar 9 Mental Health First Aid Training for Rural Communities Virtual Mar 9, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. Eastern West Chester University - Community Mental Health Services Mar 16 2025 AHA/ACC High Blood Pressure Guidelines for Rural Implementation Virtual Mar 16, 1:00 p.m. Central American Heart Association Mar 16 Mental Health First Aid Training for Rural Communities Virtual Mar 16, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. Eastern West Chester University - Community Mental Health Services Mar 16-18 2026 NARHC Spring Institute In-Person Mar 16 - 18 National Association of Rural Health Clinics Atlanta, GA Mar 25 From Symptoms to Referral: Navigating Lupus Care in Rural Practice Virtual Mar 25, 4:00 p.m. Eastern National AHEC Organization Mar 26 2026 Annual California State Rural Health Association Conference In-Person Mar 26 California State Rural Health Association Folsom, CA Mar 26-27 North Carolina Rural Summit 2026 In-Person Mar 26 - 27 NC Rural Center Raleigh, NC Mar 27 2026 Mississippi Workforce Development Conference In-Person Mar 27 Community Health Center Association of Mississippi, Mississippi State Department of Health Jackson, MS Mar 31 2026 Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN) Economic Summit In-Person Mar 31 Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network Springfield, IL Apr 13-16 2026 TORCH Spring Conference and Trade Show In-Person Apr 13 - 16 Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals Arlington, TX Apr 14 Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD): Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Medical Education Virtual Apr 14, 11:00 a.m. Central RuralGME.org Apr 14-16 2026 NCHN Annual Educational Conference In-Person Apr 14 - 16 National Cooperative of Health Networks Association Dallas, TX Apr 15 2026 Wisconsin Owns Wellbeing (WOW) Collaborative Regional Meeting - Southeastern In-Person Apr 15 Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, Wisconsin Association Of Free & Charitable Clinics (WAFCC), Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association Pewaukee, WI Apr 15-16 2026 Oregon Critical Access Hospital Quality Workshop In-Person Apr 15 - 16 Oregon Office of Rural Health Bend, OR Apr 15-17 2026 Colorado Rural Healthcare Conference In-Person Apr 15 - 17 Colorado Rural Health Center Broomfield, CO Apr 15-17 2026 Spring Agricultural Worker Health Symposium In-Person Apr 15 - 17 National Center for Farmworker Health New Orleans, LA Apr 17 2026 Georgia Rural Pediatric Continuing Education Conference In-Person Apr 17 Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center Macon, GA Apr 18 2026 Rural Oncology Conference In-Person Apr 18 Rural Oncology Institute Minneapolis, MN