Project Summary
The primary focus of this project is to explore the need to establish a provider-based Rural Health Clinic in a small, rural community and provide a strategic solution to needs identified. A rural area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area that encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area which is defined as areas with greater than 2,500 people. https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/urban-rural.html
Living in a rural area has many challenges, one of which is convenient access to quality healthcare. Lack of accessible healthcare in rural communities has a negative impact not only on the quality of life and health for the residents, but it also puts a dramatically increased burden on the Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Department to provide non-emergency services to residents who do not have access to a more appropriate level of care, such as an outpatient clinic.
By establishing a non-physician staffed clinic that is easily accessible by residents, the quality of life would dramatically increase due to timely delivery of health care services. Additionally, this approach would shift the burden from the emergency department as the first line of medical treatment, which would improve cost value for the resident, community as well as the Regional Medical Center.
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