Rural Project Examples Addressing Healthcare needs and services

Recovery Kentucky

Updated/reviewed April 2025

Need: To provide housing and recovery services for rural Kentuckians dealing with substance use.
Intervention: Recovery Kentucky has 8 rural locations and provides apartments within a congregate living environment and an opportunity to begin recovery from substance use disorder in a structured, peer-led 12-step environment.
Results: The rural and urban centers serve up to 2,200 people annually. An independent university-led resident outcome evaluation showed significant improvements in clients' drug and alcohol use, housing and employment status, decrease in criminal justice improvement, and improved health and mental health.

Updated/reviewed April 2025

Need: Multiple organizations in rural east central Illinois needed a more efficient, centralized system for referring patients experiencing a behavioral health crisis to appropriate treatment services.
Intervention: The Regional Behavioral Health Network was established with a 24-hour toll-free crisis line, providing immediate access to trained crisis clinicians.
Results: Improved access to high quality behavioral healthcare for patients in rural east central Illinois.

Updated/reviewed April 2025

Need: To improve maternal health in northeastern New Mexico.
Intervention: The Rural OB Access & Maternal Service program provides obstetric and maternal fetal medicine telehealth, home telehealth kits, and free access to lactation consultants and family navigators.
Results: ROAMS has worked with 2,000 unique individuals since July 2021.

Updated/reviewed April 2025

Need: To expand access to psychiatric services throughout South Carolina, with a focus on underserved and rural communities.
Intervention: South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH) created the SCDMH Emergency Department and Community Telepsychiatry programs to expand telepsychiatry access for patients in emergency departments and in various settings across the state.
Results: The program has improved access, affordability, and provided quality care for patients with mental illness living in rural and underserved areas of South Carolina.

Updated/reviewed April 2025

Need: To provide increased educational opportunities for emergency care personnel in rural and frontier South Dakota.
Intervention: A technologically advanced training was created to enhance the delivery of emergency patient care.
Results: Hundreds of emergency medical services (EMS) staff and volunteers received training that in turn helped them in the field of emergency patient care.

Updated/reviewed April 2025

Need: To address shortages of nurse practitioners and mental health professionals in rural Minnesota.
Intervention: The University of Minnesota (UMN) School of Nursing implemented a 40-hour rural rotation for students in the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program.
Results: 29 students completed rural rotations in communities across the state; several students voiced a new openness to practicing in a rural area after participating in the program.

Updated/reviewed March 2025

Need: To connect people in need in Allegany County, Maryland, to health and human services and to items like hygiene products, food, and clothing.
Intervention: The Possibility Shop partners with health organizations, insurance navigators, food banks, and other agencies.
Results: In 2024, 15,246 service encounters occurred and 940 intakes to services were performed.

Updated/reviewed January 2025

Need: To promote mental health and prevent substance use disorders in rural Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska.
Intervention: Coast to Forest strengthens local capacity through training, technical assistance, education, and community partnerships.
Results: In its five years of operation, the project has trained over 800 individuals across the Pacific Northwest in Mental Health First Aid, developed 100 county-level resource guides, organized a series of Community Conversations in five rural Oregon counties, and more.

Added January 2025

Need: Rural cancer survivors report lower levels of physical activity and higher rates of psychosocial distress compared to their urban counterparts.
Intervention: Researchers collaborated with a rural-serving organization in northeast Texas to test a 3-month intervention which enhanced an existing exercise program with behavioral health education, yoga, and home-based exercise components.
Results: Program participants were twice as likely to report meeting physical activity recommendations at post-intervention than participants in a control group and reported significant reductions in psychosocial distress.

Updated/reviewed January 2025

Need: To connect isolated older adults and family caregivers in rural Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota to services and supports so they can age in place.
Intervention: The Rural Aging Action Network is a national collaborative of organizations that mobilize whole communities to address gaps in care for older adults and family caregivers.
Results: Since 2022, the collaborative has reached over 600 older adults and over 100 family caregivers living in rural communities.