HRSA hosted a variety of events throughout the week of November 16 to celebrate National Rural Health Day (NRHD) on November 19.
NRHD is HRSA’s opportunity to showcase the work and accomplishments across the agency in support of rural health and to applaud rural communities in their ongoing efforts to address the unique challenges of accessing and delivering health care services.
Events
Monday, November 16, 2020
Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Look at the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program
Presented by: HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB)
Learn how HAB’s rural health initiatives support the development of innovative models of care, improve access and retention in high quality care, expand the HIV workforce, enhance telemedicine, and deliver optimal care and treatment for people with HIV/AIDS.
Webinar Slides (PDF - 377 KB)
Rural Health Clinics Increase Access to COVID-19 Testing
Presented by: National Association of Rural Health Clinics, National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.
Rural Health Clinics have always been an important part of the rural safety net. Learn how Congressional recognition of these 4000 rural providers made COVID-19 testing available in rural areas.
Mortality in Rural Areas: Insights from National Research and Community-Based Initiatives
Presented by: CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and Rural Health Information Hub (RHI)
Highlights of recent and ongoing work by the NCHS. Learn more about differences in mortality, suicide, alcohol-induced deaths, motor vehicle traffic deaths, and drug overdose deaths in urban and rural populations.
Webinar Slides 
(PDF - 2.4 MB)
Webinar Transcript (PDF - 545 KB)
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Understanding the Ground: Social Determinants of Health in Rural Populations
Presented by: Jan Probst, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Rural and Minority Health Research Center
Learn about the key elements associated with health across rural populations, such as education, race, income, and health facility availability.
The Montana Telehealth Learning Community: Lessons Learned from Telehealth Summits and Applicability to Other Rural States
Presented by: HRSA's Office of Regional Operations (ORO)-Denver & Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
Explore lessons learned from the 2019 Montana Telehealth initiative. Address telehealth challenges in a rural state. Discuss application of telehealth in other rural states.
Topics:
- The collaboration between ASTHO, the HRSA Regional Office, and the Montana Department of Health
- Overview of the ASTHO learning community program
- Advancing telehealth reimbursement policies
- State telehealth governance structures
- Tele-behavioral health
- Multi-stakeholder capacity building
- A discussion of the changes that have occurred in telehealth during the pandemic
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Introducing Telehealth to Rural and Indigenous Communities: A Telehealth 101 Virtual Workshop for Tribes, Part 1
Presented by: ORO Denver, Kansas City, and Dallas
Learn about the business case for telehealth as an efficient way to enhance access to care.
Topics:
- Introduction to telehealth
- Building a telehealth business plan
- Telehealth standards, guidelines, and evaluation
- Telehealth technology and facility design
- Policy trends and considerations
- Funding to support telehealth efforts
- Successful tribal telehealth programs (medication assisted treatment, prenatal care, remote patient monitoring, Home Visiting programs)
Implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Activities in Critical Access Hospitals
Presented by: CDC and FORHP
Listen to a discussion about antibiotic stewardship activities to measure and improve antibiotic use in Critical Access Hospitals.
Virtual Job Fair for Rural Communities
Held on November 18
Presented by: HRSA's Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW)
HRSA virtual job fairs connect National Health Service Corps and Nurse Corps health care facilities with primary care trainees and practicing clinicians. In honor of National Rural Health Day, HRSA hosted the Virtual Job Fair for Rural Communities. Over 90 health care organizations were scheduled and presented more than 1,000 vacancies across the country, highlighting opportunities in rural areas.
Learn more about future HRSA virtual job fairs and sign up for updates.
National Rural Health Day, Thursday, November 19, 2020
NRHD Welcome Remarks Featuring HRSA Administrator Tom Engels and National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Chair Jeff Colyer
Listen to a commemoration by HHS leaders of the 10th annual National Rural Health Day by celebrating successes and reflecting on challenges faced by rural health systems over the past year.
HHS Secretary Azar's Welcoming Remarks
Rural Responds to COVID – 19
Presented by: FORHP
Three FORHP grant recipients talk about resiliency and innovation efforts during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Transcript (PDF - 334 KB)
Introducing Telehealth to Rural and Indigenous Communities: A Telehealth 101 Virtual Workshop for Tribes, Part 2
(Continued from Wednesday, November 18)
Presented by: ORO - Denver, Kansas City, and Dallas
Telehealth’s promising practices and lessons learned from the field were highlighted with focus on Maternal Health, Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs, Tele-Behavioral Health, as well as innovative approaches to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020 NIH Rural Health Seminar: Rural Health Challenges in the Era of COVID-19
Presented by: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Learn about the impact of COVID-19 on rural populations, systems and workforce issues, and community engagement to respond to the pandemic.
CMS Rural Open Door Forum
View agenda and call information (PDF - 24 KB)
Listen to the Rural Health Open Door Forum (ODF) address Rural Health Clinic (RHC), Critical Access Hospital (CAH) and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) issues, questions and concerns that occur in clinical practice pertaining to other CMS payment systems that also extend into these settings. This forum focused on the latest rural health efforts and National Rural Health Day activities from CMS.
View agenda and link to recording (PDF - 23 KB)
Surviving & Thriving: The Power of Rural is 100% Community
Presented by: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH)
Hear Katherine Ortega Courtney, Ph.D., and Dominic Cappello, authors of 100% Community: Ensuring 10 Vital Services for Surviving and Thriving discuss their groundbreaking research. They shared their roadmap for working together to create local systems of health, safety, education and economic stability in rural communities.
Understanding Addiction in Rural America
Presented by: FORHP
View “Understanding Addiction,” a 30-minute documentary on individuals struggling with opioid use disorder in rural Gunnison County, Colorado. Listen to an interactive discussion that followed the viewing with three subject matter experts, including the HRSA grantee who created the documentary.
Transcript (PDF - 260 KB)
Friday, November 20, 2020
Rural Oral Health Summit
Presented by: Zufall Community Health Center and the NJ State Office of Rural Health. HRSA's ORO-New York was on the planning committee.
Listen to the New Jersey’s second Rural Oral Health Care Summit address the integration of oral health in rural communities.
Topics covered:
- ED Referrals Models that work: Getting Patients into the right Care at the Right Time
- Leveraging Existing Resources to meet Rural Oral Health Needs
- Policy and Possibility in Rural Oral Health
- Achieving Good Dental Health: Managing children’s behavior in the office and beyond.
- Giving It Your Best Shot: Keeping Patients Protected Through Vaccination
- Indoor Air Quality: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Working Environments
- Home Care Tips for Children with Special Health Care Needs: What Everyone Should know
Highlights from the Society for Education and the Advancement of Research in Connected Health (SEARCH) Conference
Presented by: Telehealth Resource Centers (TRC)
Watch two recorded sessions:
- The Rural Health Landscape – Kathy Wibberly (moderator) Alan Morgan (speaker).
- Identifying Gaps and Opportunities in Research - Dr. Elizabeth Krupinski (moderator/speaker), Dr. Curtis Lowery (speaker) and David Fletcher (speaker).
What is National Rural Health Day?
In 2010, the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) created National Rural Health Day (NRHD) on the third Thursday of November, to applaud rural communities in their ongoing efforts to address the unique challenges of accessing and delivering health care services. Ever since, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) has supported this annual event, showcasing the work that is done across HRSA on behalf of rural health.
