The Branch
A monthly update for NOSORH members and partners
June 2021
Save the Date! National Rural Health Day 2021
Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 18, and start making plans now to get involved in National Rural Health Day 2021! NOSORH is excited to launch a new and improved PowerofRural.org website and open nominations for Community Stars on June 14! Be thinking about the individuals/organizations in your state who make a big difference in rural health and nominate them to be a 2021 Community Star! Could you help us honor a star in ALL 50 states?
NOSORH Annual Meeting - Call for Speaker Proposals
The 2021 NOSORH Annual Meeting will take place on October 12-14, 2021 (meeting format TBD). NOSORH’s call for speaker proposals is now available. You’re invited to speak and present your work, research findings, projects and other topics to help State Offices of Rural Health address the needs of rural communities to prepare for the future. To learn more, please visit the web page at https://nosorh.org/call-for-speaker-proposals/. Proposals are due by July 9, 2021.
First Regional Meeting a Success!
NOSORH and FORHP thank everyone who attended both the Region B Pre-Meeting and the Regional Meeting. The Pre-Meeting highlighted all of the new funding for rural providers over the past year, specifically for RHCs and the brand new funding through the American Rescue Act. It also had the most participants of any Regional Meeting Pre-Meeting to date! The Regional Meeting saw presentation topics such as Rural EMS COVID Vaccination Efforts and Rural Hospital Bypass: Where are Rural Medicare Beneficiaries Going. These recordings and more can be found by clicking here.
New COVID-19 Funding & Resources - Providing a Little Something for Everyone
Many new COVID-19 funding programs and resources have been recently introduced. HRSA’s Expanding COVID-19 Response in Rural Communities through Rural Health Clinics web page introduces three current funding opportunities geared toward CMS-certified Rural Health Clinics (RHC):

Rural Health Policy Update
White House Releases FY 22 Budget
On May 28, the White House submitted its Fiscal Year 2022 (F.Y. 22) budget request to Congress. Broadly, the budget request includes $133.7 billion for HHS, which represents a 23.4 percent increase from the fiscal 2021 enacted level of $108.6 billion. In particular, the State Offices of Rural Health grant program (SORH) was requested at the congressionally authorized level of $12,500,000 for F.Y. 22, the same amount that Congress enacted for F.Y. 21. NOSORH has asked Congress to increase funding to $15 million for F.Y. 22. The White House request for the Read More
Vulnerable Rural Hospital Assistance Program Now Open for Applicants
Applications are now open for the 2021-2022 cohort of the Vulnerable Rural Hospital Assistance Program (VRHAP). The Center for Optimizing Rural Health (CORH) works with up to 30 hospitals per year through the year-long VRHAP program. Selected hospitals receive free technical assistance – guidance, resources, and recommendations – from a team of rural hospital experts, interactive sessions with peer hospitals, and learning opportunities tailored to topics that can benefit their hospital. Read More
Featured Community Star
Each month, NOSORH features the work of an innovative SORH or community leader who inspires collaboration, communication, education and/or innovation. The model efforts provided in these stories may be helpful to your rural community.
David Walker
George E. Weems Memorial Hospital
Apalachicola, FL

You might think that the story of a Critical Access Hospital in rural Florida with a history of eight Chief Executive Officers rotating through in the last 14 years may not end well. For the coastal community where George E. Weems Memorial Hospital sits, David Walker represents an opportunity to create new chapters for an organization that could have easily been written off.

When asked about his connection with his State Office of Rural Health, Walker noted, “We have benefited greatly from working with the Florida Department of Health's Rural Health Office. They have provided technical support to our organization clinically and financially. They are a great asset to our small rural hospital, and the rural health insight has been invaluable to us.”

June
9-10
Region D - SORH Regional Partnership Meeting
June
23-24
Region A - SORH Regional Partnership Meeting
June
30
(2:00 ET)
TruServe Monthly Training
October
12-14
NOSORH Annual Meeting
Save the date for this year's membership meeting!
#PowerofRural