Rural Project Examples Addressing Healthcare needs and services

Updated/reviewed June 2024

Need: To create a safe space for youth and young adults, ages 14 to 25, in rural eastern Kentucky.
Intervention: The Sapling Center provides independent living skills education and offers a wide array of services as well as fun activities in a supportive environment.
Results: The 5 Sapling Center locations serve 50-75 teens and young adults every day.

Updated/reviewed April 2024

Need: To increase access and quality of care for patients in rural Maine.
Intervention: Community hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers in Maine formed the Community Care Partnership of Maine Accountable Care Organization (CCPM ACO).
Results: CCPM serves about 120,000 patients in Maine. In addition, it has implemented shared savings arrangements/contracts with different Medicare Advantage and other private health payers.

Updated/reviewed April 2024

Need: To prevent hospital readmissions and improve the recovery process for older adults in rural southern Ohio.
Intervention: Hospital2Home identifies individuals who have an elevated risk of hospital readmission and provides vouchers for services like personal care and home-delivered meals.
Results: In each of the seven years the program has been in operation, over 85% of participants have avoided readmission in the first two months after hospital discharge.

Updated/reviewed April 2024

Need: To connect patients to resources in order to reduce use of emergency services, emergency department visits, and hospital readmissions.
Intervention: Patients receive support (by in-person visit, phone call, or telehealth visit) from a paramedic, community health nurse, peer recovery specialist, and pharmacist.
Results: Between July 2016 and March 2024, the program made 1,098 patient contacts and continued to see a reduction in emergency department and inpatient visits and costs.

Updated/reviewed April 2024

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.

Added March 2024

Need: Enhanced support for people with substance use disorders leaving jail and reentering communities in rural northeastern Kentucky.
Intervention: A reentry program that uses peer support specialists to teach cognitive life skills, obtain essential identification documents, and help people create and follow personalized case plans before and after their release.
Results: More than 420 people have been served by First Day Forward, with recidivism rates significantly lower among people who successfully completed the program.

Updated/reviewed March 2024

Need: Affordable, dependable alternative to bridge the transportation gap between rural Missouri residents and their ability to connect with healthcare providers.
Intervention: Creation of HealthTran, a sustainable multi-service non-emergency transportation platform model based on the Community Mobility Management framework.
Results: After national recognition of its initial grant-funded pilot success, HealthTran has further evolved into a sustainable and replicable rural health-centric transportation membership model. Linking patients to appointments with healthcare providers, the model continues to expand further into rural Missouri, with some additional scaling in urban areas.

Updated/reviewed March 2024

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 February 2024

Need: To reduce farm injuries and improve EMS and fire/rescue's response to these injuries in rural Louisiana and Mississippi.
Intervention: AGRIMEDIC is a two-day training for first responders.
Results: 810 first responders have received training.

Added February 2024

Need: To support pregnant or new parents in rural Massachusetts affected by substance use or on medication for opioid use.
Intervention: This program offers a medical and behavioral health home, providing trauma-informed support before, during, and after childbirth.
Results: Six months after enrollment, there was a 20% increase in the number of participants who felt socially connected and a 5% increase in abstinence from all substances.

Rural Project Examples: Healthcare needs and services