Developing a Plan for the Future of Rural Healthcare in North Carolina
Home to the second-largest rural population in the United States, North Carolina has a compelling interest in preserving and strengthening healthcare delivery in all of its 78 rural counties. With that in mind, in 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly asked the Rural Healthcare Initiative, Inc. (RHI), an independent nonprofit, to study “effective models of sustainable healthcare for North Carolina rural communities.”
From there, the Rural Healthcare Sustainability Project was born. Over the course of 18 months, RHI developed a fully independent, data-driven study to show what healthcare services and facilities are sustainable under local market conditions in rural regions across the state.
The end result? A comprehensive analysis of and blueprint for North Carolina rural healthcare that is:
Driven by the experiences and insights of residents living and working in rural communities.
Developed through partnership and thoughtful conversation with healthcare providers and community leaders across the state.
Additive and complementary to existing healthcare and social resources provided by local organizations, associations and institutions that support rural communities.
Anchored in the diverse healthcare needs of rural residents, both now and in the future, that have been forecasted based on existing workforce and facilities.
Based on large-scale data analyses to understand the patterns, trends, and relationships of a dynamic rural healthcare environment.
Flexible and customizable for different communities– not a one-size-fits-all approach.