RHIhub This Week - March 4, 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.
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Building Resilient Families ProjectBuilding Resilient Families Project was a five-year initiative to help FQHCs and home visiting programs in rural Yuba County, California, reduce smoking rates. |
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Recovery Café CamdenThe Recovery Café Camden in rural New York provides shared meals, small-group discussions, hobby building, and connection to resources to support people living with substance use, trauma, and other challenges. |
Recently Added to the Online Library |
Mar 2, 2026 -- Summarizes remarks from Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) administrators at the 2026 National Rural Health Association Policy Institute. Discusses workforce, healthcare delivery, administration priorities, the Rural Health Transformation Program, and more. Source: HRSA eNews Life in a Small, Mountain Town Can Be Lonely. A Food Pantry Is Trying to Help Mar 2, 2026 -- Highlights the role a rural Colorado food pantry plays in fostering social connection. Notes sustainability challenges for grant operated organizations. Source: KUNC Virtual Crisis Care Helps Rural Communities Access Mental Health Resources in Emergencies Mar 2, 2026 -- Highlights a virtual emergency mental health program in rural South Dakota. The program connects law enforcement responding to mental health crises with behavioral health clinicians and offers the person in crisis access to resources available in their community. Following successful implementation in South Dakota, Wyoming is piloting a similar program. Source: The Daily Yonder Bridging the Gap: How the University of Utah's StrokeNet Is Delivering Breakthroughs to the Mountain West Feb 27, 2026 -- Highlights the Utah Stroke Trials Network, a National Institutes of Health research network increasing access to stroke treatment research trials for rural and frontier communities in Utah, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and Washington. Source: University of Utah Health News Thompson, Tokuda, Alford, and Cuellar Lead Effort to Help Protect Critical Access Hospitals Feb 26, 2026 -- Announces a bipartisan bill that would create a new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hospital designation called an "In Character" Critical Access Hospital. The new designation would ensure hospitals already designated as CAHs do not lose their designation and directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide administration for the designation. Source: Office of Representative Glenn Thompson Federal RegisterCMS: Request for Information (RFI) Related to Comprehensive Regulations To Uncover Suspicious Healthcare (CRUSH)Feb 27, 2026 -- Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking stakeholder feedback on potential regulatory changes that may be included in a proposed rule regarding the Comprehensive Regulations to Uncover Suspicious Healthcare (CRUSH) initiative and to inform other programmatic changes that could be implemented to make CMS more effective in addressing fraud. Includes specific questions and topics of interest to CMS, including modifications to program integrity requirements, preventing fraudulent billing in Medicare Advantage, reducing fraudulent Medicare Parts A and B claim submissions, using artificial intelligence in MA coding oversight and billing, and more. Comments are by March 30, 2026. Source: Federal Register HRSA: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program Application, Implementation, and Evaluation, OMB Number 0906-NEW Feb 26, 2026 -- Notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) seeking comments on a proposed information collection request titled "340B Rebate Model Pilot Program Application, Implementation, and Evaluation, OMB No. 0906-XXXX." This information collection request includes the collection of proposed rebate model plans from qualifying drug manufacturers, the ongoing collection of sales data from drug manufacturers for program evaluation and 340B Program integrity and compliance monitoring, and the collection of data submitted by covered entities to manufacturers to request a rebate in connection with a potential 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program. Comments are due by April 27, 2026. Source: Federal Register HRSA: Request for Information: 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program Extension Feb 26, 2026 -- The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is allowing an additional 30 days for comments on the February 17, 2026, request for information regarding the potential use of rebates to effectuate the ceiling price under the 340B Program. Comments are now due by April 20, 2026. Source: Federal Register |
Funding for tribal governments and tribal nonprofit organizations in the areas of education, community services, healthy/resilient communities, and preserving cultural traditions. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Mar 15, 2026 Sponsor: Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program (REDL and REDG) Loans and grants to assist in the economic development of rural areas, including funds for healthcare facilities and equipment, telecommunications networks, and job creation projects. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Mar 31, 2026 Sponsors: U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA Rural Development United WE Rural Research Fellowship A 12-month interdisciplinary fellowship designed to generate original research that may lead to improved economic opportunity and quality of life in rural America. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Apr 6, 2026 Sponsors: Patterson Family Foundation, United WE Cybersecurity Technical Assistance Program for the Water Sector Technical assistance for drinking water and wastewater systems and state agencies to enhance resilience against cyber attacks. Geographic coverage: Nationwide and U.S. territories Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
Reviews the 24 pre-rulemaking quality measures the Battelle's Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) considered during the 2025-2026 Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review (PRMR) cycle. Discusses measures for clinician, hospital, and post-acute care/long-term care programs. Includes rural references and considerations throughout. Sponsoring organization: Partnership for Quality Measurement Date: 02/2026 Analyzing Demographics Within Rural Populations: Considerations for Rural Public Health Research A tip sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discussing best practices for using demographic data in rural public health research. Discusses when to disaggregate data, common demographic variables for discovering meaningful variation, practical considerations, and limitations. Sponsoring organization: CDC Office of Rural Health Date: 02/2026 Association Between Social Determinants of Health and Cardiovascular Risk in Pregnant Women, United States Examines the relationship between cardiovascular health (CVH) in pregnant women and the social determinants of health (SDOH). Utilizes 2016-2020 Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System (PRAMS) survey data and analyzes CVH risk according to patient demographics, health behaviors, social determinants, rural residence, and more. Author(s): Shazia Shaukat, Jennifer Horney, Xiaopeng Ji, Christine Hoch, Lauren Covington Location: Preventing Chronic Disease, 23 Date: 02/2026 Common Cancers in Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Counties Provides data on cancer incidence and mortality by metropolitan or non-metropolitan dwelling using U.S. Cancer Statistics data. Includes comparisons of lung and bronchus, colon and rectum, female breast, and prostate cancer by rural or urban status. Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Empowering Rural Communities: Overcoming Barriers to Substance Use Treatment Webinar recording discusses the ways rural communities can overcome barriers to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and uptake. Explores substance use data for rural communities and outlines common barriers, such as travel times and distance to care, provider shortages, and concerns about stigma and patient confidentiality. Highlights strategies for rural communities to leverage their community bonds and faith communities to address SUD, and details models for expanding treatment and patient support in rural areas. Additional links: Webinar Slides Sponsoring organization: Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network Date: 02/2026 From Closure to Comeback: A Rural ICU Is Reborn A podcast episode examining how rural hospitals can utilize technology and partnerships to provide local healthcare access to residents. Provides a discussion between CEOs of hospitals focusing on the reopening of an intensive care unit (ICU) at a Critical Access Hospital (CAH). Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association Date: 03/2026 From Expansion to Expiration: Federal Policy Waivers and Telehealth Utilization in US Primary Care (2016–2024) Examines the impact of COVID-19 federal policy waivers on the long-term sustainability of telehealth access. Provides a scoping review of 2016-2024 articles focused on telehealth utilization for primary care, the removal of geographic restrictions in telehealth policy, and the subsequent impact on healthcare access for rural areas. Author(s): Abhilasha Bellapu, John Geracitano, Jamie Conklin, Saif Khairat Location: Advances in Health Information Science and Practice, 2(1), eRCTG8117 Date: 02/2026 From Mapping to Mobilizing: Leveraging Local Assets to Create Sustainable Solutions for Shared Challenges Summarizes the community asset mapping process, an model for understanding community strengths and needs and supporting collaboration and informed decision-making. Provides a step-by-step approach for community asset mapping in rural areas. Sponsoring organization: Rural Communities Opioid Response Program - Technical Assistance Date: 02/2026 March 2026 MedPAC Meeting Transcript Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) March 2026 meeting. Covers research and proposals related to the Medicare ground ambulance data collection system, access to hospice and certain complex palliative services for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease and beneficiaries with cancer, provider participation in Medicare Advantage (MA) networks, MA encounter data in risk adjustment, the complexity of Medicare enrollment decisions for beneficiaries, and Medicare Part B premium payment basics. Includes rural references and considerations throughout. Additional links: Mandated Report:Assessment of the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Date: 03/2026 Multicounty Outbreak of Salmonella Agbeni Linked to Ice in a Cooler at a County Fair — Illinois, August 2024 Reports on a salmonella outbreak in Illinois that originated at a rural county fair. Describes how the outbreak was identified by the county sheriff during jury screening due to many in the jury pool being ill. Mentions the use of AI for hypothesis generation as a useful approach in this rural setting for situational awareness and early case finding. Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Location: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 75(7), 93-97 Date: 02/2026 NACH Facts and Figures: 2025 Edition Provides an overview of hospice and palliative care in the United States. Includes information and data on patient characteristics, access to care, reimbursement, barriers and facilitators to care, quality of care, and more. Includes data on geographic locations of hospice services and patients. Sponsoring organization: National Alliance for Care at Home Date: 02/2026 Reporting and Performance of Maternity-Related Quality Measures in Critical Access Hospitals Describes the characteristics of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) with and without labor and delivery services. Examines CAH quality reporting and performance on five key measures related to maternity care and birth outcomes. Explores relationships between maternity care quality performance and CAH characteristics such as system affiliation, volume, and location. Identifies quality measures related to maternity and birth outcomes that are most feasible and relevant for CAHs and rural hospitals. Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team Date: 02/2026 Rural Health Value Virtual Summit: Designing Rural Value-Based Care for the Future Summarizes a June 2025 summit of rural value-based care (VBC) thought leaders regarding the current state and future opportunities of rural VBC and payment. Describes summit participants' experiences related to the adoption of VBC initiatives. Identifies strategies to accelerate rural healthcare provider participation and success in VBC and value-based payment. Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value Date: 02/2026 Using Rural-Urban Variables: Considerations for Rural Public Health Research A tip sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discussing best practices for using rural and urban variables in public health studies. Discusses rural definitions, differences in rural communities, including rural communities in interpretation, and more. Sponsoring organization: CDC Office of Rural Health Date: 02/2026 Value-Based Payments Are Catching On, but Rural and Small Practices Lag Describes the current rates of primary care physician (PCP) participation in value-based payment. Includes data on the percent of primary care physicians in rural and small practices that reported receiving revenue from value-based payment in 2025. Discusses barriers and potential solutions to increasing PCP participation in value-based payment. Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund Date: 03/2026 Willingness of Older Adults to Travel for Medical Care Presents results from a survey of 2650 adults aged 65 years and older on their willingness to travel for primary care, specialty care, and one-time diagnostic appointments. See Table 3 for metro-nonmetro data comparisons, among other demographic data breakdowns. Author(s): Jeremy Burke, Tabasa Ozawa, Ying Liu, Wei Ye, Soeren Mattke Location: JAMA Network Open, 9(2), e2560280 Date: 02/2026 |
Deadline: Apr 1, 2026 ADvancing States Event Dates: Aug 23 - 27, 2026 Baltimore, MD Conference Website |
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