June 12, 2024
While loneliness and social isolation are often viewed as individual problems or even personal failings, there is growing awareness of the structural factors contributing to widespread disconnection. Amid a national "loneliness epidemic," some rural leaders are finding ways to help their neighbors connect.
May 15, 2024
Thrive Allen County, a Kansas nonprofit, brings grant money into its community and helps other entities build capacity through grant writing, technical assistance, and other services. Since 2019, the nonprofit has brought over $28 million into its rural community and its work has led to hiking and biking trails, a state park, new grocery stores, and much more.
April 24, 2024
A growing number of rural hospital leaders are beginning to view their infrastructure, purchasing, and investment strategies as crucial extensions of their efforts to improve community health — and, in the long term, bolster their bottom line.
March 27, 2024
Strategic collaboration allows rural organizations to combine resources and expertise to improve care and patient outcomes. Southern Illinois Healthcare, the Iowa Primary Care Association, and Minnesota's Winona Community HUB share how strategic collaboration has helped them conduct community health needs assessments, provide technical assistance to community health centers, connect patients to food and housing, and much more.
February 21, 2024
CommHIT, a nonprofit based at the Kennedy Space Center, has worked at the intersection of rural health and technology for over a decade. Now, as an awardee of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network (RPHWTN) grant program, the organization is assisting Florida partners with workforce development initiatives and technology-related training programs.
January 24, 2024
Produce prescription programs have gained popularity in recent years as a model for addressing food insecurity and diet-related disease. While such programs are still uncommon in rural areas, those that do exist report wide-ranging impacts on participants and local food systems.
December 13, 2023
As the pandemic receded, many rural healthcare providers began to feel the acute effects of another crisis impacting communities across the country: a severe local housing shortage. In response, some organizations are forming unique partnerships and implementing creative solutions.
November 15, 2023
Leveraging federal Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) funding to strengthen and expand their community's substance use services, a Berkshire County, Massachusetts coalition decreased stigma and built sustainable recovery services.
February 22, 2023
A community consortium in McKinley County brings together a range of local organizations and entities to take a holistic approach to recovery.
November 16, 2022
Palliative care, designed to treat the symptoms of a serious illness at any stage of diagnosis, is associated with better outcomes like higher patient satisfaction. Despite these benefits, many people in rural communities cannot access these services or don't know what palliative care is. The South Dakota Palliative Care Network is working to increase knowledge of palliative care among rural healthcare professionals, nursing students, and community members.
