Get ready to celebrate National Rural Health Day (NRHD) on Thursday, November 21! This day is the perfect opportunity to highlight the #PowerOfRural and recognize the incredible efforts of rural communities, healthcare providers, and advocates nationwide. Make your celebration a success by visiting PowerOfRural.org, where you'll find everything you need. The Promotional Toolkit is packed with free resources like the new NRHD logo, social media graphics, activity sheets, a press release template, PowerPoint templates, posters, and more!

We also want to hear from you! Let us know how you plan to celebrate NRHD in your community or organization. Share your events, activities, or creative ideas with us at info@powerofrural.org—we might feature your plans in our upcoming communications!

Head to the Power of Rural Shop soon to get your NRHD gear in time for the big day!

Stay connected by following @NOSORH on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn for the latest NRHD updates. When sharing your posts, use the hashtags #PowerofRural and #NationalRuralHealthDay (and tag @NOSORH)!

Questions? Reach out at info@powerofrural.org.

Each year, the Key Messages & Data Points resource is shared to inform various stakeholders about the realities of rural through stories and data. While the facts and figures do not tell the whole story, they are essential to understand when developing policies and programs that affect the health and well-being of rural communities.

The rural-focused data in this resource is organized around the three key messages of National Rural Health Day:

1) Rural America offers a beautiful and challenging landscape, requiring unique approaches.

2) Rural America is a great place for mission-minded health professionals to provide individualized care.

3) Rural America is fueling an innovative rural health infrastructure.

We extend our gratitude to the researchers and contributors whose work has been instrumental in curating the rural health data in this document.

NOSORH cordially invites all rural health stakeholders to a unique learning experience where you can enhance your grant writing skills, turn rurality to your advantage, learn to connect with funders, and more!

The Rural Health Grant Writing Institute was developed to meet the unique needs of rural grant writers like you! Each session outlines one of the basic building blocks or strategies for successful program funding. The 9-session Institute runs from October 21 to December 16, 2024. Virtual learning sessions will occur on Mondays from 3:00 to 4:30 pm ET. Learn more and register by October 11!

Update provided by Andrew Coats, NOSORH Legislative Liaison

NOSORH had a big September working the halls of Congress! On September 25, the Rural Community Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Authorization Act was introduced. The strong bipartisan bill (H.R. 9842) was introduced by Reps. Miller (R-WV), Sewell (D-AL), Carter (R-GA), Kuster (D-NH). Here is the bill text. NOSORH plans to get a companion bill introduced in the Senate by November. The goal is to get the RCORP authorization bill through Congress by the end of 2024.

Work continues with members in the House and Senate to introduce a bipartisan-bicameral bill reauthorizing the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex). Sponsors in the House and Senate have been working to finalize the legislative text and are planning to Read More

The RME Collaborative invites you to attend the Rural Health Clinical Congress Fall 2024 on Saturday, November 23! This free, multi-topic, interactive CME/CE conference is designed for clinicians serving patients from rural and underserved areas! The live broadcast starts at 9:00 am ET and offers a unique opportunity to earn FREE CME/CE credits, including pharmacology credits for nurses.

Visit rhcc2024.com to register and view accreditation information. For questions, please contact RME Collaborative at cme@ruralhealthcme.com or 800-913-9370. 

The Rural Telementoring Training Center (RTTC) invites you to their 3rd annual Rural Telementoring UnConference on Wednesday, October 16, 2024. The UnConference is a FREE virtual event featuring an array of brief presentations on rural health and telementoring, followed by group discussion, idea generation, and collaboration. Unlike traditional conferences, an UnConference provides a structure that facilitates sharing experiences, idea generation, and partnership building in pursuit of shared goals. This year’s theme is Enhancing Rural Resilience: The intersection of climate, behavioral health, and workforce. Register now!   

Digital transformation is crucial for the long-term viability of rural healthcare organizations. Data is a vital asset for helping your organization further its digital transformation and use the latest innovations to improve care, operations and financial performance. This article from our partners at Wipfli explores how rural healthcare organizations can use data to prepare for technology disruption and discover new ways to increase revenue and patient satisfaction. Read Full Article

The Weitzman Institute, through HRSA’s Telehealth Technology-Enabled Learning Program, is excited to announce that registration is now open for the free, 10-month Weitzman ECHO Complex Integrated Pediatrics. The Pediatrics ECHO is a free continuing education program designed to connect rural medical and behavioral health providers to a community of peers and multidisciplinary subject-matter experts to address adolescent and pediatric patients’ complex health needs and reduce provider isolation. The curriculum will cover topics related to pediatric care in primary care and school-based settings, including RSV, substance use, anxiety, obesity, vaccines, and neurodiversity-affirming care. The ECHO begins Wednesday, October 9, and registration will remain open throughout the series. Learn more or register now.