Partners

The Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) is a national clearinghouse on rural health issues. Funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Grant U56RH05539, RHIhub provides access to current resources and tools related to rural health needs to help support healthcare and population health in rural areas.

The Rural Health Research Gateway is a website providing project and publication information from Rural Health Research Centers across the country. The Gateway is funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, and aims to provide users with research findings from Rural Health Research Centers as efficiently as possible.

The Rural Health Outreach Tracking and Evaluation is funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Contract HHSH250200900012C. The lead organization, the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, sub-contracts with the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center.

Evaluation activities are conducted within and across the six 330A Outreach Authority programs. Sample evaluation activities include the identification of common evaluation metrics across grant programs, evaluation of the network development planning grant program, and the use of evidence-based practices among grantees.

Each evaluation project yields recommendations for improving the program and ensuring that rural health resources are used most effectively at the community level.

The Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) is a consortium of researchers at the Universities of Minnesota, Southern Maine, and North Carolina – Chapel Hill. The FMT is funded by the Office of Rural Health Policy, Grant No. U27RH1080 to evaluate the impact of the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant Program in three areas:

• improving access to and the quality of health care services;
• improving the financial performance of CAHs; and
• engaging rural communities in health care system development.  

The University of Minnesota’s FMT projects focus on quality performance measures and reporting systems and quality improvement activities in Critical Access Hospitals.

Funded through the University of Minnesota Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute, the Rural Health Program aims to “positively impact, in clear and measurable ways, the health and well-being of people and communities across the state of Minnesota, and in rural communities across the country.” 

Specific initiatives of the Rural Health Program include:

• Project REACH (Rural Experts Advancing Community Health), which offers training and support to community leaders in rural Minnesota to address local public health challenges
• A Postdoctoral Program in rural health equity
• Greater engagement between University of Minnesota faculty, students, and staff doing rural-relevant work and local rural health leaders.
• Creating links between the national research and policy work at the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center with the expertise and challenges in rural communities across Minnesota

The University of Minnesota Consortium on Aging (UMN-CoA) is a meeting place of scientists and educators that strategizes to advance aging science, education, practice, and policy at the University and in the state of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center is a proud member of the UMN-CoA.