Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare needs and services
2026 Medicare Annual Wellness Visits: Strategies for Rural Health Clinic Success
Recording of a September 22, 2026, webinar discussing Medicare Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Discusses the history of AWVs; why AWVs are important for patients, RHCs, and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs); billing AWVs in RHCs; and more.
Additional links: Annual Wellness Visit Form, Annual Wellness Visit Prep List, Annual Wellness Visits Packet, Call Us First Handout, Presentation Slides
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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Recording of a September 22, 2026, webinar discussing Medicare Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Discusses the history of AWVs; why AWVs are important for patients, RHCs, and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs); billing AWVs in RHCs; and more.
Additional links: Annual Wellness Visit Form, Annual Wellness Visit Prep List, Annual Wellness Visits Packet, Call Us First Handout, Presentation Slides
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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Veterans Health Care: Information on Eligibility for and Use of Dental Benefits
Provides an overview of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) dental benefits and eligibility. Describes the number and percentage of VHA-enrolled veterans who were eligible for VA dental benefits between 2020 and 2025. Presents data by demographic characteristics, including age and rural residence. Explores the potential effect of expanding eligibility for VA dental benefits to all veterans with a heart disease diagnosis. Appendix I discusses VHA's use of teledentistry between 2020 and 2025, including the number and percentage of VHA facilities, by facility type and rurality, that provided at least one dental visit by teledentistry.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Provides an overview of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) dental benefits and eligibility. Describes the number and percentage of VHA-enrolled veterans who were eligible for VA dental benefits between 2020 and 2025. Presents data by demographic characteristics, including age and rural residence. Explores the potential effect of expanding eligibility for VA dental benefits to all veterans with a heart disease diagnosis. Appendix I discusses VHA's use of teledentistry between 2020 and 2025, including the number and percentage of VHA facilities, by facility type and rurality, that provided at least one dental visit by teledentistry.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Building a Robust Primary Care Workforce: Diffusing Lessons Across States
Blog post examining primary care workforce shortages in rural and underserved areas. Describes efforts by Missouri, North Carolina, and Wisconsin to develop and implement state-level graduate medical education strategies to increase their primary care workforce.
Author(s): Erin Fraher, Andreas Stomby
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Blog post examining primary care workforce shortages in rural and underserved areas. Describes efforts by Missouri, North Carolina, and Wisconsin to develop and implement state-level graduate medical education strategies to increase their primary care workforce.
Author(s): Erin Fraher, Andreas Stomby
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Supporting Agricultural Workers, and Their Mental Health
Short video discusses mental health struggles in the agricultural community and explores the story of a ranching family that lost a loved one to suicide. Details the Farm State of Mind campaign, which offers peer support and counseling.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Pew
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Short video discusses mental health struggles in the agricultural community and explores the story of a ranching family that lost a loved one to suicide. Details the Farm State of Mind campaign, which offers peer support and counseling.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Pew
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A Community-Focused Rural Academic Health Department Model in North Carolina: Elevating Community Engagement, Rural Public Health Practice and Research
Examines the collaboration among a rural district health department, the local community in north-central North Carolina, and academic partnerships. Discusses the development of a rural academic health department (RAHD) and its work related to public health research and interventions in rural areas.
Author(s): Carmen D. Samuel-Hodge, Lisa Macon Harrison, Wendy Smith, et al.
Citation: Frontiers in Public Health, 14
Date: 09/2026
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Examines the collaboration among a rural district health department, the local community in north-central North Carolina, and academic partnerships. Discusses the development of a rural academic health department (RAHD) and its work related to public health research and interventions in rural areas.
Author(s): Carmen D. Samuel-Hodge, Lisa Macon Harrison, Wendy Smith, et al.
Citation: Frontiers in Public Health, 14
Date: 09/2026
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Geographic Disparities in Access to Broadband, Ambulance Services, and Health Care and Implications for Telehealth
Explores the degree to which populated areas, including rural areas, lack the sufficient broadband infrastructure needed to support telehealth services, referred to as broadband deserts. Presents data on the number and percentage of rural residents who live in broadband deserts. Describes the intersection of broadband deserts with areas with limited access to prehospital ambulance services (ambulance deserts) and hospitals and clinics (healthcare deserts) by state.
Author(s): Celia Jewell, Heidi O'Connor, Thomas E. Griffin, et al.
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 7(9), e263290
Date: 09/2026
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Explores the degree to which populated areas, including rural areas, lack the sufficient broadband infrastructure needed to support telehealth services, referred to as broadband deserts. Presents data on the number and percentage of rural residents who live in broadband deserts. Describes the intersection of broadband deserts with areas with limited access to prehospital ambulance services (ambulance deserts) and hospitals and clinics (healthcare deserts) by state.
Author(s): Celia Jewell, Heidi O'Connor, Thomas E. Griffin, et al.
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 7(9), e263290
Date: 09/2026
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Transportation Walking Among US Adults With and Without Transportation Insecurity, 2022 National Health Interview Survey
Reports on a study describing transportation walking among adults with and without transportation insecurity, using data on 25,889 adults. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.
Author(s): Graycie Soto, Miriam E. Van Dyke, Jasmine Y. Nakayama, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 23
Date: 09/2026
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Reports on a study describing transportation walking among adults with and without transportation insecurity, using data on 25,889 adults. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.
Author(s): Graycie Soto, Miriam E. Van Dyke, Jasmine Y. Nakayama, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 23
Date: 09/2026
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Rural Hospitals: Policy and Infrastructure Opportunities in the Rural Health Transformation Program
Describes state Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) initiatives and investments intended to support rural hospital stability. Covers policies to stabilize rural hospitals through operational modernization, shared services, and targeted technical assistance; regionalization and hub-and-spoke care models; care delivery transformation; maternal and perinatal healthcare access; health information technology advances and interoperability; and more.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Describes state Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) initiatives and investments intended to support rural hospital stability. Covers policies to stabilize rural hospitals through operational modernization, shared services, and targeted technical assistance; regionalization and hub-and-spoke care models; care delivery transformation; maternal and perinatal healthcare access; health information technology advances and interoperability; and more.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Rural–Urban and Appalachian Disparities in Geographic Access to Colonoscopy and Screening Prevalence Across the Contiguous US
Results of a study comparing access to colonoscopy providers. Features statistics on diagnostic/therapeutic procedures and screening procedures, with breakdowns by rural and urban areas and Appalachian and non-Appalachian areas and by type of colonoscopy provider.
Author(s): Sima Namin, R. Eric Heidel, Martin Whiteside, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 23
Date: 09/2026
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Results of a study comparing access to colonoscopy providers. Features statistics on diagnostic/therapeutic procedures and screening procedures, with breakdowns by rural and urban areas and Appalachian and non-Appalachian areas and by type of colonoscopy provider.
Author(s): Sima Namin, R. Eric Heidel, Martin Whiteside, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 23
Date: 09/2026
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An Academic-Community Partnership Model for the Virtual Dental Home
Describes the University of California San Francisco (UCSF)-Smile Keepers virtual dental home program, a collaboration which operated from 2021-2025 and offered school-based teledentistry services. Explores ways in which similar programs can help close access gaps for children in rural and underserved areas.
Author(s): Manwa Hegde, Katie Conklin, Rachel Howard, et al.
Citation: Journal of the California Dental Association, 54(1), 2719416
Date: 09/2026
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Describes the University of California San Francisco (UCSF)-Smile Keepers virtual dental home program, a collaboration which operated from 2021-2025 and offered school-based teledentistry services. Explores ways in which similar programs can help close access gaps for children in rural and underserved areas.
Author(s): Manwa Hegde, Katie Conklin, Rachel Howard, et al.
Citation: Journal of the California Dental Association, 54(1), 2719416
Date: 09/2026
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