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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Networking and collaboration

Beyond Borders: Benefits and Challenges of Leading a Multi-County Health Department
Discusses the impact of consolidating small jurisdictions of local health departments to create multi-county health departments that serve at least 50,000 people, in effort to build economies of scale and better improve population health. Includes an interview with Becky Johnson, administrator of the SEK Multi-County Health Department (SEKMCHD) in southeast Kansas, that provides insight on the benefits of multi-county health departments and strategies to overcome obstacles and sustain services.
Author(s): Kevin Kovach
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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Rural Health Leaders Overcoming Challenges with Alan Morgan, Kathy Kuepers and Steve Tenhouse
Podcast episode featuring two Critical Access Hospital (CAH) executives discussing factors that influence a rural health organization's growth and vitality, replacement facility projects, and building trust and stakeholder engagement. Also highlights a national partnership addressing rural hospital cybersecurity involving the White House, Google, Microsoft, the American Hospital Association, and the National Rural Health Association.
Date: 06/2024
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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New Frontiers for Funding: An Introduction to Grantmaking in Rural Aging
Offers guidance on offering grant funds for rural aging work, discussing scale of funding, rural assets, sustainability, and partnership building. Highlights rural aging issues including health, cultural sensitivities, transportation, broadband, housing and institutional care, and social isolation.
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Grantmakers In Aging
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Loneliness and Social Isolation Are Common in Rural America. Is "Social Infrastructure" the Solution?
Discusses structural factors that contribute to social isolation in rural areas. Features programs in Minnesota, Nebraska, and Alaska that are finding ways to build connection into rural communities.
Author(s): Brendan Stermer
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Effort Required and Lessons Learned from Recruiting Health Plans and Rural Primary Care Practices for a Cancer Screening Outreach Study
Explores factors influencing recruitment and enrollment of primary care practices for SMARTER CRC, a rural colorectal cancer (CRC) screening trial in Oregon. Discusses outreach strategies, relationship-building, messaging, reasons for participation among clinical practices and Medicare health plans, and more. Highlights rural-specific factors throughout.
Author(s): Brittany Badicke, Jennifer Coury, Emily Myers, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 15
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
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Facilitators and Barriers to Adopting or Expanding Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Provision in Rural Colorado Jails: a Qualitative Analysis
Reports findings of interviews with representatives of 7 rural Colorado jails on facilitators and barriers of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) adoption and expansion. Discusses factors including attitudes toward MOUD, collaborative partnerships, physical space, distance to services, provider availability, staff, and more.
Author(s): Heidi L. McNeely, Terri L. Schreiber, William L. Swann, Claudia R. Amura
Citation: Health and Justice, 12, 26
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
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Unlocking Potential: A Call to Action: Collaborative Strategies for Rural Health and Economic Prosperities
Reports results of discussions with economic and community development practitioners in rural and Indigenous communities on the relationship between development, racial equity, and health equity. Identifies strategies related to program implementation and evaluation, cooperation, goal setting, communication, and more.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Aspen Institute
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Funding Rural Futures: A Call to Action: Four Principles for Equitable, Flexible Grantmaking
Discusses best practices for funders seeking to address persistent poverty in rural communities and tribal nations, utilizing feedback from economic and community development practitioners working in persistent poverty areas. Summarizes discussion results and provides perspectives from participants on topics including grant planning and administration, project- and trust-based philanthropy, partnerships and relationship-building, and funding outcomes.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Aspen Institute
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Building a Sustainable Rural Health Workforce for the 21st Century: A Report of the 2024 Rural Health Workforce Summit
Summarizes a May 2024 summit of national rural health workforce experts to discuss strategies for increasing the supply of rural health workforce. Presents 3 principles related to rural community culture, innovation, and payment structure to inform 4 core strategies for building and maintaining the workforce. Strategies cover workforce roles, partnerships and networking, technology to improve access to care, and educational pathways.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Rural Partners Network Annual Report 2023: Building Rural Prosperity
Reports on the 2023 activities of the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Partners Network, a group working across federal agencies to ensure that rural people have access to federal resources and a hand in determining how those resources are deployed in their communities. Features selected community networks and discusses projects related to medical care, community development, and more. Provides an overview of the Rural Partners Network's history and investments in rural areas.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Rural Development
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