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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Emergency preparedness and response

Rural Disaster Behavioral Health: A Guide for Outreach Workers and Crisis Counselors
Provides recommendations to behavioral health professionals who are working with rural populations following a disaster. Offers an overview of rural populations in the United States, behavioral health impacts of disasters, strategies to effectively assist in a rural context, and disaster response recommendations and resources.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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PREVENT Pandemics Act (P.L. 117-328, Division FF, Title II)
Provides a section-by-section overview of the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act), enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Describes the Continuing Education Support for Health Professionals Serving in Rural and Underserved Communities Program, which supports specialty training for primary care providers, as well as other rural-relevant provisions.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Report: Understanding Disaster Resiliency Factors for Broadband Deployments
Highlights broadband infrastructure vulnerabilities at the census block level related to natural disasters. Discusses unserved and underserved areas as well as 2 rural focused case studies. Makes recommendations to policymakers for a more resilient broadband infrastructure. Includes the Broadband Climate Risk Mitigation Tool for county and census block data.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center on Rural Innovation
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Accessing Emergency Preparedness and Response Resources for Rural Communities
Webinar recording, part 3 of a 3-part series, discusses the perspectives of local, state, and federal agencies on rural emergency preparedness. Features presentations from representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Texas Department of State Health Services, and the City of Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Additional links: Audio Recording, Webinar Slides
Date: 07/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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The County Role of Public Health
Provides an overview on how county-level public health agencies are involved in preparedness and response as well as addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH) in their local communities. Covers the core functions of public health departments, their role in local and rural areas, and policy efforts to support local public health authorities.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Counties
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Engaging Community Health Workers/Youth Ambassadors to Improve Health Literacy: Proceedings of a Workshop – in Brief
Summarizes presentations and discussions from an April 2023 workshop on the use of community health workers and youth ambassadors to promote health literacy in their communities. Highlights lessons learned by Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19 and the National Infrastructure for Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 within Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities (NIMIC) grantees who implemented health literacy approaches in community health worker and youth ambassador programs. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Although IHS Allocated COVID-19 Testing Funds to Meet Community Needs, It Did Not Ensure That the Funds Were Always Used in Accordance with Federal Requirements
Presents results of an audit of Indian Health Service (IHS) funds for COVID-19 testing. Examines if 10 IHS Direct, Tribal, and Urban Indian Organizations (UIO) in the Great Plains Area Office allocated COVID-19 testing funds to meet community needs, the effectiveness of the funding allocation, and if the funding was used in accordance with federal requirements. Outlines recommendations to IHS, as well as IHS comments and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General's response.
Additional links: Report in Brief
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Evaluation of the Vermont All-Payer Accountable Care Organization Model: Third Evaluation Report
Evaluates the first four and a half performance years of the Vermont All-Payer Accountable Care Organization Model (VTAPM), which aims to assess whether scaling an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) across all payers in the state can reduce program expenditures while preserving or improving care quality. Discusses the implementation of the model, provider engagement, efforts to address population health goals; characteristics of participating hospitals, practitioners, and beneficiaries; and the model's impacts on Medicare spending, utilization, and quality of care. Describes trends in substance use disorder diagnosis and treatment for Medicaid members. Outlines challenges and lessons learned, as well as areas for future research.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance, Technical Appendices
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Targeted Provider Relief Funds Allocated to Hospitals Had Some Differences with Respect to the Ethnicity and Race of Populations Served
Examines how early Provider Relief Fund Targeted Distributions (Targeted PRF) in 2020 correlated with the racial, ethnic, and economic characteristics of the communities providers serve. Analyzes the Targeted PRF allocations to hospitals and explores if there are statistically significant correlations between PRF per person and the racial, ethnic, and economic composition of the census tracts. Covers four Targeted PRF allocations to COVID-19 High Impact Area Hospitals, Safety Net Hospitals, Rural Hospitals, and Indian Health Service and Tribal Hospitals. Identifies and describes trends in the allotment to rural hospitals.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Emergency Preparedness and Response Efforts in Critical Access Hospitals
Webinar recording, part 2 of a 3-part series, discusses emergency preparedness planning, response, and recovery for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Features presentations from representatives of NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, Estes Park Health, and the McKenzie Health System.
Additional links: Audio Recording, Webinar Slides
Date: 06/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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