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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Project Examples: Specialty care

Promising Examples

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed April 2020

  • Need: Allow rural cancer patients in a region inclusive of 26 counties in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota to have access to tertiary-level chemotherapy regimens in rural infusion centers.
  • Intervention: With telehealth-based oversight from a tertiary care oncology team, 3 rural infusion teams were trained to coordinate cancer treatment plans and administer complex chemotherapy regimens.
  • Results: Almost 130 patients were transitioned to receive chemotherapy in a rural infusion center, translating to over 1,000 infusion visits and saving patients/families nearly 65,000 trip miles, 1,800 travel hours and $71,000.

Other Project Examples

Updated/reviewed March 2023

  • Need: Transportation to medical appointments for children and expectant mothers living in rural Alabama.
  • Intervention: Kid One Transport provides rides to medical appointments for clients who otherwise have no other means of transportation.
  • Results: The program has transported 442,439 children and expectant mothers to and from medical appointments. Children have recovered from life-threatening illnesses and are experiencing a higher quality of life.

Added December 2022

  • Need: Patients who identify as LGBTQ+ in rural settings may face barriers to receiving appropriate care, including a knowledge gap among healthcare providers regarding HIV prevention, hormone replacement therapy, and other types of care.
  • Intervention: A partnership between a Critical Access Hospital, statewide residency program, nonprofit organization and other regional entities provides training, virtual consultations, and resources to rural providers across Idaho.
  • Results: Physicians experienced in gender-affirming care have performed virtual consultations for rural physicians and patients around the state, and the number of local providers trained in PrEP management has doubled.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Added March 2019

  • Need: Pediatric behavioral health services in Delta County, Colorado.
  • Intervention: Multi-organizational and community-wide effort to increase healthcare access for underserved children and to integrate behavioral health care into the area's primary care clinics.
  • Results: Sustainable increases in access to pediatric behavioral health services.

For examples from other sources, see: