Kentucky Office of Rural Health

03/25/2026

📣 A new funding opportunity is now open for Kentucky Health Departments!

💵 Through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), funding is available to support 🦷 Public Health Dental Hygiene (PHDH) teams working to expand access to care in rural communities.

If your health department is looking to launch or grow dental hygiene services, this opportunity supports preventive care for children, adults, and long-term care residents, along with teledentistry and care coordination.

💲 Estimated awards: ~$470,000 (Year 1)

📅 Deadline to apply: April 10, 2026
➡ Apply here: https://ruralhealthplan.ky.gov/Pages/Request_For_Applications.aspx

Funding begins July 1, 2026, with a focus on improving oral health outcomes in underserved rural areas across Kentucky.

Kentucky RHTP is investing in expanding preventive dental care across rural communities. Local health departments are invited to apply for funding to place public health dental hygiene teams where they’re needed most.

03/24/2026

🏥 🚑 ED transfers are high-stakes—and strong communication matters.

Join the Kentucky Office of Rural Health and Convergence for:
Mastering the EDTC Measure: A Kentucky CAH Learning Collaborative

📅 April 30, 2026
⏰ 12:00 p.m. CT / 1:00 p.m. ET
🔗 Register here: https://bit.ly/3NmRzRc
💡 Cost: Free
⚠️ Space is limited

For Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), achieving 100% compliance with the Emergency Department Transfer Communication (EDTC) measure can be challenging due to its “all-or-none” scoring.

The first meeting of this four-part learning collaborative will bring together Kentucky CAHs to strengthen ED transfer communication and improve care coordination. During this collaborative, participants will:

• Learn the EDTC quality measure and its requirements
• Share challenges and successful strategies with peers across Kentucky
• Explore ways to improve communication during ED transfers
• Identify opportunities to enhance patient safety and care coordination

You’ll also have the chance to connect with peers across the state and collaborate on real-world solutions.

Recommended audience: CAH leadership, quality improvement staff, emergency department leaders, and staff involved in transfer coordination.

📩 Questions? Contact Medina Tipton at medina.tipton@uky.edu

4-Part Learning Collaborative for Kentucky CAHs to work together to improve the Emergency Department Transfer Communication process

03/24/2026

🚨Time's running out!🚨

The Kentucky Office of Rural Health, in partnership with the Resuscitation Academy, will be hosting a one-day, free workshop (Monday, April 13) providing evidence-based training to improve out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation outcomes. Topics include: the science of CPR, telephone CPR, rapid dispatch, high-performance CPR, cardiac arrest data collection, and implementing best practices.

✅ Register NOW: https://bit.ly/kyra2026

🚩 And don't miss the opportunity for the optional second day of training (Tuesday, April 14), which allows attendees to participate in a High-Performance CPR Train the Trainer Workshop, designed to provide instruction, coaching, and feedback to professionals who want to teach.

🚑 911 Center Directors, Medical Directors, EMS Chiefs, Quality Improvement Managers, and Training Officers are all encouraged to attend!

ℹ Contact Rural Project Manager Scott Helle at scott.helle@uky.edu for more info!

03/23/2026

📊 Rural Health Clinic Leaders: Your Cost Report Data Can Do More!

The Kentucky Office of Rural Health (KORH) and Stroudwater Associates are hosting a free webinar to introduce a new Rural Health Clinic Dashboard to help clinics turn cost report data into actionable insights.

📅 Date: March 30, 2026
⏰ Time: 2:00 p.m. CT / 3:00 p.m. ET
💡 Cost: Free to attend
🔗 Register here: bit.ly/4rxSMmn

During this session, you’ll learn how to:
• Review three years of trend data
• Compare your clinic to national benchmarks (25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles)
• Analyze key metrics such as Cost per FTE, Productivity, All-Inclusive Rate, Vaccination Costs, and Annual Visits per FTE
• Identify opportunities for improvement

Stroudwater advisory experts will provide a high-level walkthrough of the dashboard and explain how to interpret and apply your results. After the webinar, clinics can request their customized dashboard through the Stroudwater portal. 🔔 KORH will also sponsor five RHCs for in-depth access to their reports and additional guidance from Stroudwater!

This program is sponsored by KORH and funded through the Flex Grant.

Recommended audience: CEOs, CFOs, clinic managers, and staff involved in cost report preparation.

ℹ️ For more info, contact Medina Tipton at medina.tipton@uky.edu.

03/23/2026

THIS WEEK! 🏦 What’s happening in Frankfort? Join the Kentucky Office of Rural Health and the Kentucky Rural Health Association on Friday, March 27, at 11 a.m. ET for a timely webinar covering proposed state-level legislation currently under consideration during the Kentucky General Assembly session, and what it could mean for rural hospitals, clinics, EMS, and communities across the Commonwealth.

👉 Register here: https://bit.ly/4bIe4tr

03/20/2026

📣 Health care providers! Don’t miss your opportunity for student loan repayment support through the National Health Service Corps!

💲 Eligible clinicians can receive up to $100,000 in student loan repayment through one of NHSC’s three loan repayment programs.

➡ Learn more and apply here: www.bit.ly/4j38uDK

📧 Questions? Contact Janice Vance at janice.vance@uky.edu
to find out which option is right for you.

🔔 Important: Be sure to sign up for email updates from NHSC here: nhsc.hrsa.gov/subscribe-to-emails. Email is the best place to find out about NHSC announcements of application openings, important deadlines, and new program updates!

03/20/2026

🚑 We're helping to build Kentucky’s next generation of EMS leaders! This week, the Kentucky Office of Rural Health's Kentucky EMS Leadership Academy met in Bowling Green, KY, at the National Corvette Museum for a session focused on strengthening leadership across the Commonwealth. Featuring Rob Lawrence of the California Ambulance Association, the session highlighted communication, leadership strategy, and the future of EMS.

Interested in learning more about the Academy? Contact Scott Helle at scott.helle@uky.edu

03/20/2026

🏦 What’s happening in Frankfort? Join the Kentucky Office of Rural Health and the Kentucky Rural Health Association on Friday, March 27, at 11 a.m. ET for a timely webinar covering proposed state-level legislation currently under consideration during the Kentucky General Assembly session, and what it could mean for rural hospitals, clinics, EMS, and communities across the Commonwealth.

👉 Register here: https://bit.ly/4bIe4tr

03/19/2026

🏥 🚑 ED transfers are high-stakes—and strong communication matters.

Join the Kentucky Office of Rural Health and Stroudwater Associates for:
Mastering the EDTC Measure: A Kentucky CAH Learning Collaborative

📅 April 30, 2026
⏰ 12:00 p.m. CT / 1:00 p.m. ET
🔗 Register here: https://bit.ly/3NmRzRc
💡 Cost: Free
⚠️ Space is limited

For Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), achieving 100% compliance with the Emergency Department Transfer Communication (EDTC) measure can be challenging due to its “all-or-none” scoring.

The first meeting of this four-part learning collaborative will bring together Kentucky CAHs to strengthen ED transfer communication and improve care coordination. During this collaborative, participants will:

• Learn the EDTC quality measure and its requirements
• Share challenges and successful strategies with peers across Kentucky
• Explore ways to improve communication during ED transfers
• Identify opportunities to enhance patient safety and care coordination

You’ll also have the chance to connect with peers across the state and collaborate on real-world solutions.

Recommended audience: CAH leadership, quality improvement staff, emergency department leaders, and staff involved in transfer coordination.

📩 Questions? Contact Medina Tipton at medina.tipton@uky.edu

4-Part Learning Collaborative for Kentucky CAHs to work together to improve the Emergency Department Transfer Communication process