Rural Health

The Office of Primary Care and Rural Health facilitates and participates in activities to improve access to health care services for all rural Alabamians with special concern for children, the elderly, minorities and other medically underserved vulnerable populations.

We serve the following populations:

• Communities
• County Health Departments
• Critical Access Hospitals
• Federally Qualified Health Centers
• Mental Health Centers
• Physician Practices
• Rural Health Clinics
• Small Rural Hospitals

Office of Primary Care and Rural Health Programs 

• Free Medical Placement Services
• Health Professional Shortage Area Designations
• J-1 Visa
• Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (FLEX)
• National Health Service Corps Scholarship and Loan Repayment for Health Professionals
• Small Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP)
• Telehealth Resources

Important Rural Health Resources

The following resources are funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to provide timely information on rural health issues, best practices, and other useful information. 

• Subscribe to RHIhub This Week to receive current news, funding opportunities, publications, and the latest RHIhub toolkits, model programs, Rural Monitor articles, and more.
• Subscribe to Gateway's listserv to receive an email when a new research product is released, or when there is a free rural health webinar.

For other valuable resources, visit our Resources page.