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 

• Alabama Medical Service Awards (ARMSA)
• Free Medical Placement Services
• Health Professional Shortage Area Designations
• J-1 Visa Waiver Program
• 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. 

Rural Health Information Hub (RHIHub)

RHIhub This Week is sent out weekly with links to resources on current news, funding opportunities, publications, the latest RHIhub toolkits, model programs, Rural Monitor articles, and more.

• Subscribe to RHIhub This Week

Rural Health Research Gateway

The Gateway provides publication and project information from 1997-present. This site can be used to find completed rural health research publications, information about the research centers and individual researchers, and current research center projects. 

• 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 more valuable resources, visit our Resources page.