Rural Health Resources
North Carolina Resources
The North Carolina Office of Rural Health (ORH)
The Office of Rural Health (ORH) assists underserved communities by improving access, quality, and cost-effectiveness of health care. In-state fiscal year 2016, the office spent $28.3 million from state, federal, and philanthropic sources. ORH administers over 300 contracts designed to expand access to high-quality health care for rural and underserved populations allowing the office to return over 90% of its budget directly to NC communities. In addition, ORH provides in-depth technical assistance to North Carolina’s Safety Net system. In 1973, the North Carolina ORH became the first state office in the nation created to focus on the needs of rural and underserved communities. While we do not provide direct care, our programs support numerous health care safety net organizations throughout North Carolina.
North Carolina Medical Society
The oldest professional organization within the state, the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) began in 1849 when 25 physicians united to advance medical science and to raise the standards for their profession. Today, we are more than 12,000 strong and champion the same goals and ideals while representing the interests of physicians and protecting the quality of patient care.
SHEPS Center for Research – NC Rural Health Research Program
The North Carolina Rural Health Research Program (NC RHRP) at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research is built upon a 44-year history of rural health research at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and draws on the experience of a wide variety of scholars and researchers, analysts, managers, and health service providers associated with the Center. NC RHRP seeks to address problems in rural health care delivery through basic research, policy-relevant analyses, geographic and graphical presentation of data, and the dissemination of information to organizations and individuals who can use the information for a policy or administrative purposes to address complex social issues affecting rural populations.
Additional Resources
HRSA has opened this year’s 2021 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Students to Service (S2S) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) application cycle with new disciplines. Final-year nurse practitioner and certified nurse-midwife students are now also eligible. These students, along with current medical and dental students in their final year of school, can apply for awards of up to $120,000 in exchange for a three-year commitment to provide primary care services at NHSC-approved sites. Review the 2021 NHSC S2S LRP Application and Program Guidance for more information on how to apply by the deadline: 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 5.
National Rural Health Association
The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) is a national nonprofit membership organization with more than 21,000 members. The association’s mission is to provide leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education, and research. NRHA membership consists of a diverse collection of individuals and organizations, all of whom share the common bond of an interest in rural health.