Photo credit: Melissa Huntington

Rural Health Connect

Improving the health of rural communities

Photo: Timothy Smith

Pharmacy director wins Impact Award for innovations that support small town patients in Garfield County

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Primary Care and Rural Health is proud to present Timothy Smith with an Impact Award. Smith is the pharmacy director at Garfield Memorial Hospital. 

Post jobs on 3RNET to receive free promotion at

November 12 virtual career fair

Are you looking to fill a provider role? The Office of Primary Care and Rural Health (PCRH) and Southern Utah Area Health Education Center (SUAHEC) invite you to list open physician and advanced practice provider positions on 3RNET.org during October and early November.

PCRH and SUAHEC will promote these listed jobs to candidates across the nation during the 2nd Annual Rural and Underserved Virtual Career Fair on November 12, 2026. Current users can login to add listings, and new employers can register for free. 

Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports on urban-rural differences in youth substance use

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looks at a survey of high school students to learn about teen drug and alcohol use. This helps them create better health programs. Released on October 15 in a special CDC report, the study describes substance use among U.S. high school students. It also looks at differences based on gender, race, ethnicity, grade, and whether students live in city or country areas.

Screening for cancer in rural areas

New research backed by the National Institutes of Health shares important findings for preventing cancer and shaping health policies. Using government data, researchers at the University of Utah looked at how risks for colon, cervical, and breast cancer differ between country and city areas. They also studied how often people get health check-ups and how money troubles affect different neighborhoods.

Apply today for the National Health Services Corps

Students to Service Loan Repayment Program

Application open through November 19, 2026

Want up to $120,000 tax-free to help pay back your school loans? If you are in your final year of medical, physician assistant, nursing, or dental school, you can apply for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Students to Service Loan Repayment Program.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Rural Health: Public Success Stories from the Field webinar series

Utah's approach to rural hospital financial sustainability

Leaders from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Blue Mountain Hospital, and Uintah Basin Healthcare discuss how Utah helps rural hospitals stay open. They talk about using data and working together to solve problems and break down barriers between groups.

Rural Health Transformation Program updates

Year 1 RHTP obligations and update regarding Year 2

CMS Update: CMS is focusing on Year 1 goals so states do not lose their funds.

New Timeline: Year 2 award announcements are moved to October 30, 2026, due to this focus.

Main Goal: CMS is working to make sure every state has the support to succeed by the October 30 deadline.

The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), created by H.R. 1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act), represents a 5-year opportunity to catalyze system-wide change and address core health challenges in Utah’s rural communities.

Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information about the program and funding opportunities. If you have any questions or would like to join our contact list for updates, email us at ruralht@utah.gov.

The RHTP team wants to hear from you! Please share any questions or topics you have so they can be addressed in future webinars and conferences.

Examples of topics include:

• General RHTP questions
• Funding allocations, spending caps and timelines
• Subrecipient grants, invoicing and start-up challenges
• Workforce development and 5-year service commitments
• CMS annual reporting, metrics and data verification

Photo credit: Kayla Dent

Disclaimer: The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) may occasionally link to outside sources of information. Utah DHHS and state of Utah do not necessarily endorse the provider of the content and are not responsible for any content published on the external site.