Office of Rural Health

Veterans Rural Health Resource Centers

Veterans Rural Health Resource Centers (VRHRCs) are Office of Rural Health (ORH) field-based satellite offices that serve as hubs of rural health care research, innovation, and dissemination. Congressional mandate 38 USC § 7308 defines the VRHRCs’ mission to:

• Improve understanding of the challenges faced by Veterans living in rural areas
• Identify disparities in the availability of health care to Veterans living in rural areas
• Formulate practices or programs to enhance the delivery of health care to Veterans living in rural areas
• Develop special practices and products for the benefit of Veterans living in rural areas and for implementation of such practices and products in the Department system-wide

Located at host U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers in Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; Iowa City, Iowa; Gainesville, Florida; and White River Junction, Vermont. Resource Center functions include:

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• Administration and Operations: Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the Resource Center, providing operations and clinical leadership as well as administrative support.
• Studies: Responding to requests from ORH to prepare responses to inquires from VA and VHA leadership and Congressional committees regarding matters affecting Veterans living in rural areas.
• Innovations: Developing and pilot testing innovations in the delivery of care and services to rural Veterans, functioning as field-based "laboratories" for clinical and non-clinical pilot projects that address well-defined needs of Veterans living in rural communities.
• Mentored Implementation and Technical Assistance:
  - Disseminating ORH Rural Mentored Implementations that emerge from clinical and non-clinical pilot projects
    to targeted stakeholders, inside and outside VA.
  - Providing technical assistance and program consultation on programs, pilots, projects and issues affecting
    rural Veterans to internal VA and external stakeholders.

The geographically diverse VRHRCs conduct research and quality improvement studies to identify gaps in the delivery of care for rural Veterans. Their findings are used to develop and pilot innovative solutions. Each ORH VRHRC oversees a wide array of studies, cutting-edge pilot programs, and other initiatives focused on expanding rural Veterans’ access to care. Initiatives that show significant impact are implemented nationwide. Research and quality improvement projects conducted by ORH’s VRHRCs fall into a wide range of categories, including:

• Rural Veteran access to care
• Workforce recruitment, retention, and training
• Care coordination
• Operational adoption
• Practice infrastructure
• Health policy
• Rural health care disparities

• Finding innovative ways to combat the pain and opioid epidemics
• Preventing Veteran suicide
• Addressing health disparities in rural populations

• Studying and innovating in rural geriatric care, complex care, and chronic conditions
• Leveraging VA and other data sources to create tools for research and operations staff to identify needs and gaps in care for rural Veterans
• Identifying needs and developing innovative solutions to improve access for rural Veterans with mental health concerns

• Improving care coordination for dual use Veterans, including purchased care and dual Medicare/VA enrollees
• Using VA telemedicine and informatics tools to improve access to care
• Developing innovative interdisciplinary treatment models including collaborations with federally funded non-VA community providers
• Developing innovative mental health treatment delivery models for rural Veterans
• Assessing, understanding, and improving equitable delivery of services to rural Veterans of historically underserved populations across Center initiatives

• Improving independent living for rural Veterans
• Strengthening rural workforce recruitment, retention, and education
• Supporting rural policy analysis, strategic planning, rural geographic database design, and implementation in support of rural Veteran health care through development of the State of the Rural Veteran report

• Developing and evaluate initiatives focused on rural workforce development
• Conducting research on health care disparities affecting rural Veterans
• Evaluating challenges facing rural Veterans regarding mental health and mental health care
• Piloting and evaluating mental health and suicide prevention programs serving rural Veterans
• Developing training on evidence-based practices for rural VA clinicians

Learn more about VRHRC Rural Mentored Implementations (RMIs).

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