What is the Rural Assistance Center?
A product of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Rural Initiative, the Rural Assistance Center (RAC) was established in December 2002 as a rural health and human services "information portal." RAC helps rural communities and other rural stakeholders access the full range of available programs, funding, and research that can enable them to provide quality health and human services to rural residents.
Who Uses the Rural Assistance Center?
RAC users include anyone seeking to maintain and improve the access, quality, and financial viability of rural health and human service delivery systems. For example:
- Local providers of health and human services
- Community-based organizations
- Local government officials or representatives of their national organizations
- Rural community advocates
- State government offices
- State and national organizations dedicated to improving rural health and human services
- Private foundation representatives
- Researchers
- Congressional offices
- Others interested in rural health and human services issues
RAC Services
RAC offers many services to help inform decisions affecting rural health and human services.
All services are provided free of charge.
Web-Based Services
Electronic Mailing Lists
Users can subscribe to receive e-mail updates on:
- Latest funding opportunities
- Recent news
- New documents and tools
- Upcoming events
Customized Assistance
RAC maintains a clearinghouse of rural health and human services resources. Our information specialists provide free customized assistance including:
- Identify potential funding opportunities
- Locate appropriate federal or state agency contacts
- Find and print electronic documents
- Locate statistics, data sources and maps
- Connect you to organizations, experts, and
colleagues
By putting callers with rural concerns in contact with appropriate U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contacts, the Rural Assistance Center also serves as a single point of entry into the Department.
Spread the Word
The Rural Assistance Center (RAC) is seeking your help to spread the word about our services to people and organizations in your community. Ideas for sharing information about RAC include distribution of RAC promotional items, articles about RAC in your organization’s newsletter, and a variety of other methods.
Rural Assistance Center Partners
RAC is a collaboration of the University of North Dakota Center for
Rural Health (UND-CRH), the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI),
and the federal Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) at the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, and is located at the University of North
Dakota. Funding comes from ORHP and stems from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Rural Initiative, which seeks to create a more integrative
framework for the Department's rural portfolio-a portfolio including
some 225 programs.
The Center for Rural Health
The Center for Rural Health, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences serves as the lead organization for the Rural Assistance Center (RAC) initiative. Locating the administrative base for RAC in the Great Plains state of North Dakota, enables the project to capitalize on the Center for Rural Health's first hand experience with rural health issues, including challenges and innovations in rural health care.
The Center was established in 1980 to serve the people of North Dakota, the Plains, and the nation by researching rural health issues, analyzing health policy, strengthening local capacity in the health arena, developing community-based health care alternatives, and providing leadership in the field of rural health. The Center is North Dakota's federally designated State Office of Rural Health and connects the School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the university to rural communities and their health institutions to facilitate developing and maintaining rural health delivery systems.
The Center focuses on four core areas:
- education and information dissemination,
- program development and community assistance,
- research, and
- policy analysis.
For more information, call (701) 777-3848 or visit the Center on the web at http://ruralhealth.und.edu.
The Rural Policy Research Institute
The Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) is a multi-state interdisciplinary research consortium, sponsored by Iowa State University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Nebraska. RUPRI's mission is to provide objective analysis and facilitate public dialogue concerning the impacts of public policy on rural people and places.
Since its founding in 1991, RUPRI has developed a uniquely collaborative research approach, delivering ongoing, timely, and decision-relevant policy analysis to policy makers on all levels. Collaborative research relationships exist with numerous institutions, organizations and individual scientists worldwide.
Two RUPRI projects play a significant role in RAC:
- The RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis provides legislative analysis and advice to national policy makers as they debate issues related to rural health care access, provision, and financing.
- The RUPRI Community Information Resource
Center addresses spatial and temporal dimensions of issues impacting
rural America by incorporating Internet-based geographic information
systems, remote sensing technologies, and other data visualization
and analytic tools. The Center's principle goal is to rapidly transform
data and static reports into interactive visualization and analytic
tools for use in public policy decision support.
For more information, call (573) 882-0316 or visit RUPRI on the web at http://www.rupri.org.
The Office of Rural Health Policy
The Rural Assistance Center is supported by funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration's Office of Rural Health Policy. The Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) promotes better health care service in rural America. Established in August 1987 by the Administration, ORHP was subsequently authorized by Congress in December 1987 and located in the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Congress charged ORHP with informing and advising HHS on matters affecting rural hospitals and health care, coordinating activities within the Department that relate to rural health care, and maintaining a national information clearinghouse.
ORHP works with government at the federal, state and local levels, and with the private sector--associations, foundations, providers and community leaders--to seek solutions to rural health care problems.
For more information, call (301) 443-0835 or visit ORHP on the web at http://www.ruralhealth.hrsa.gov.
Other RAC Projects
The USA-Mexico
Border Health web site was developed
to provide assistance on funding and information resources to U.S. – Mexico
Border health grantees and interested parties. Specifically, the project
has been established to assist individuals with locating and competing
for funding opportunities in order to address health care needs in their
communities. The Health Resources and Services Administration’s
Border Health Project is managed through the Office of Rural Health Policy
(ORHP).
The Delta Resource Project was established to assist ORHP's Delta States Rural Development Network grantees with locating and competing for funding opportunities in order to address health care needs in their communities. The Delta region is defined as 209 rural counties in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.
