Health Care Taskforce
The Health Care Task Force of the National Rural Development Partnership (NRDP) is a national network of rural health care leaders and advocates who work through State Rural Development Councils (SRDCs) and with other rural constituents to create opportunities for creative partnerships to improve the health and well-being of America's rural citizens.
Health Care Taskforce Goals
- To identify issues and trends in health care that have an impact on rural America and to educate task force members about those issues and trends.
- To collect, compile, analyze, and disseminate information about rural health policy, innovative programming, and other important issues to SRDCs and other interested partners.
- To work to ensure the health care concerns of rural communities are communicated to national, state, and local leaders.
- To provide a forum for idea exchange and opportunities for creative partnerships between SRDCs and other partners (for example, state offices of rural health, state rural health associations, state hospital associations, and health professional schools) to improve the health and well-being of America's rural communities.
Taskforce Accomplishments
An updated Accomplishments section will be added soon.
Essential Rural Health Resources
For immediate information regarding rural health issues, the following resources may be helpful. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please contact Craig Williamson at 301-443-4784.
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The Rural Assistance Center (RAC) was established in 2002 to serve as an "information portal" for rural health and human services. The RAC offers information and funding guides on issues from bioterrorism to adult social services to microenterprise, as well as pertinent news announcements and a calendar of events. In addition, if there is an issue regarding rural health and human services that you are not familiar with and are unable to find information on, you can email the staff and they will get back to you soon with the information. The website address is www.raconline.org |
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The Office of Rural Health Policy, located in the Health Resources Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services is a policy office devoted entirely to rural health. The Office's website offers a great deal of information regarding health grants and funding for rural areas, including grants for small hospitals, rural health networks, and outreach grants that can be used for anything relevant to rural health. You can find which grants the office currently funds in your state as well as a variety of information on health policies. The website address is: https://ruralhealth.hrsa.gov |
NRHA |
The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) serves as the advocacy arm for rural health. It is a national membership organization, consisting of approximately 2000 members, whose mission is to improve the health and health care of rural Americans and to provide leadership on rural issues through advocacy, communications, education and research. Their website features policy information on rural health and also offers contact information for a variety of rural health partners, including the State Rural Health Associations. The website address for the NRHA is: www.nrharural.org |
 | The State Offices of Rural Health (SORH), funded by the Office of Rural Health Policy, are similar to the SRDCs in that they deal with state-specific rural issues. Many of the state offices are interested and active in rural development. They have formed a non-profit organization for the program entitled the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH). If you are interested in contacting the State Office in your state, please visit the NOSORH website: www.nrharural.org/nosorh/default.htm |
 | The Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) conducts policy-relevant research and facilitates public dialogue to assist policymakers in understanding the rural impacts of public policies and programs. Their website offers links to various research organizations around rural issues as well as information and resources. The address is www.rupri.org |
This webpage features PDF files of "Rural Populations and Health Care Providers: A Map Book". This book, through the use of maps, provides a visual picture of the geographic distribution of rural populations and the health care providers that serve them.
www.shepscenter.unc.edu/research_programs/rural_program/mapbook2003/
To subscribe to the Health Care Listserv, send a message to: NRDP
Rural Policy Fellow Phuong Luu (pluu@hrs.gov)
and Anjali Garg (agarg@hrs.gov) at
301-443-3992. In the body of the message, please include your name and email address.
Taskforce Conference Calls
The Health Care Task Force leader arranges telephone conferences every month that allow members to share new opportunities and information. The calls are loosely scheduled to be the third Wednesday of every month at 2:30 pm ET.
Upcoming Call Information to be posted soon
Date:
Topic:
Presenter:
Contact: Phuong Luu (pluu@hrs.gov)
and Anjali Garg (agarg@hrs.gov)
for more information
Past Health Care Taskforce calls and information:
-
Medicare's New
Part D Drug Benefit and CMS' Outreach to Rural Seniors- Thursday, April 21, 2005
- Strengthening Human Resources to Improve Rural Health Care Quality -
January 31, 2005 (see above)
-
Quality Through Collaboration: the Future of Rural Health - Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report
- December 6, 2004.(PDF
of IOM report)
- Definitions of "Rural" in the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) and the
Implications for Rural Patients and Providers-September 29, 2004 (Powerpoint
presentation)
- Rural Public Health Infrastructure (Powerpoint 1, Powerpoint 2)-Oct. 15, 2003
- Policy Response to State Budget Crises-Sept. 17, 2003
- Rural Healthy People 2010-June 18, 2003
- Public Health Preparedness-April 23, 2003
Contact Information
If you have any questions about the Health Care Taskforce, would like to
become a member, or would like to request materials, please contact Phuong Luu
(pluu@hrs.gov) and Anjali Garg
(agarg@hrs.gov) in the Office of Rural Health Policy at 301-443-3932
or by email.
NRDP Taskforces
