Former high school athlete Tyrone (Ty) Patillo of Aliquippa, PA, has community service in his blood. His father was the first minority firefighter in the community. Ty continues the family tradition of giving back. His dedication to helping his hometown led him to look for solutions to make healthy food options more accessible in the area.

Autumn Vogel of the Keystone Development Center (KDC) shares a similar passion for public service and community work. As the co-op developer with KDC, she loves to help communities use the power of co-ops to solve local problems.

Now, with the help of USDA Rural Development (RD), Autumn and Ty will be partnering together to help realize his vision of more equitable food access for the community, with the formation of the Aliquippa Food Co-op. Ty has already been working with the KDC to learn about co-ops, draft plans, and form a steering committee. With a $150,000 Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) grant in hand, KDC will help Ty and the steering committee move into the organizing and pre-construction phase.

In 1991, Ty and teammates such as NFL Hall-of-Famer Ty Law, led the Aliquippa High School football team to their first state championship. Ty used football as a path to success. His performance led him to play at Division 1 – The University of Akron in Ohio and then generated a successful career in real estate development.

Ty describes his community of more than 9,000 residents as being close knit – where everybody knows everybody. In communities like Aliquippa, cooperation can make or break a community. With family still living in Aliquippa, Ty became aware of the low-access food areas that exist in several parts of Beaver County – including his hometown.

After several ideas to address this issue fell through, Ty decided to combine the need for healthy foods and a close-knit community into a regional solution. He began the plan to develop a food co-op.

“This gives me an opportunity with this food co-op to get involved and really create something that the community can own,” Ty said.

None of this would be possible without local, state, and federal partnerships, and of course local champions like Ty Patillo. On Nov. 1, 2024, USDA RD announced the HFFI investment to aid the Aliquippa Food Co-op.

“Many low-income communities in Pennsylvania lack adequate, affordable access to healthy food,” Pennsylvania State Director Bob Morgan for USDA RD said. “USDA is proud to partner with KDC to ensure that these funds and resources reach the communities where they are needed most, so people can find nutritious food options anywhere they live.”

This announcement was part of USDA’s comprehensive set of efforts, bolstered by funding made available through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), to create more and better markets that benefit both producers and American consumers.

Without partnerships such as those with KDC, it would be difficult to reach the communities that need these investments the most.

Autumn has been a co-op developer with KDC for about five years. Autumn posits that her passion for public service and community work began during her childhood and college education at Allegheny College.

“Many of us look at the world around us and wish that it could be a little different,” she said. “I have a belief in people’s ability to work together for the place that they are in for a shared wealth, prosperity, and well-being.”

“Co-ops have been a really good way for me to see people coming together, to make decisions together, to work for things they can share and have,” she said. “They can address needs together that they could not address on their own. It is a really powerful model.”

Since 2021, USDA has invested more than $1.56 million in its partnership with KDC through programs such as the Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG), Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant (SDGG), Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG), and HFFI programs.

“Our [KDC’s] history is bound up in USDA funding,” Autumn said. “We wouldn’t really exist without that partnership. It is the bulk of funding that our center gets, and I know that is true for other centers as well.”

The Aliquippa Food Co-op is an inspiring group and KDC is in a supporting role, she said.

“They are so committed to that place, and they really do have a vision for the co-op and what it could mean for the area,” Autumn said.

Ty learned how to run, organize, and launch a successful cooperative in one of KDC’s co-op academies and graduated from the program in 2023. He left the program with the message that you can’t run a co-op by yourself, so he established a steering team and plan with the help of KDC. KDC was then able to provide further technical assistance to Ty and the steering committee thanks to funding support from NCBA-CLUSA’s Strengthening Co-op Capacity for Historically Underserved Farmers program.

The Healthy Food Financing Initiative was a little more flexible of a program for KDC because it allows co-development centers like KDC to support urban organizations. Because Aliquippa is located close to Pittsburgh, it is considered an urban community through federal regulations.

Ty and his food co-op steering committee have selected a site for the future co-op. They also conducted a feasibility study into the site’s potential performance and the local market. The co-op sees supporting local food entrepreneurs and farmers as core to its mission.

Now that the outreach and community engagement has begun, they plan to open the food co-op in the next three years and anticipate the co-op will serve about 30,000 people in a four-mile radius.

“Getting local food into this market is critical,” Autumn said. With partnerships such as these in Aliquippa, access to affordable healthy food will be possible.

The Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program (Outreach) is open and accepting applications for the program’s 4-year period of performance (May 1, 2025-April 30, 2029).  HRSA will make up to 50 awards to support rural communities to expand the delivery of health care services. These awards include:

• An estimated 40 awards, each up to $250,000 per year, under the program’s regular track to support healthcare needs identified by the rural community applicant;
• Up to 10 awards, each up to $300,000 per year, under the program’s special track to address the underlying factors that drive rural health disparities related to heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury/substance use, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, and maternal health.

Eligible applicants include all domestic public and private, nonprofit, and for-profit entities with demonstrated experience serving, or the capacity to serve, rural underserved populations.  Applicants are also required to propose projects that serve exclusively HRSA-designated rural areas and be a part of a network comprised of three or more organizations with at least two-thirds or 66% percent network organizations physically located in a HRSA-designated rural area.

Successful Outreach Program awardees will: 1) expand the delivery of health care services to include new and enhanced services exclusively in rural communities; 2) use innovative, evidence-based and promising practice models to inform their approach to addressing needs specific to their community; 3) demonstrate health outcomes;  and 4) plan for sustainability after grant funding ends.

A technical assistance webinar via Zoom will be held for applicants on Wednesday, Dec 11 at 2:00 pm Eastern.   

Examples of previously funded projects under this program are available at this link.  Applicants may also benefit from the availability of Evidence-Based Toolkits for Rural Community Health which are informed by previous program investments by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy and the Rural Health Information Hub.

For more information about this funding opportunity, contact the Program Coordinator, Mew Pongsiri, at RuralOutreachProgram@hrsa.gov.

The application deadline is January 27, 2025.

Helpful links

• Notice of Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov
• Profiles of current and past Outreach Program grantees
• Evidence-Based Toolkits for Rural Community Health

In recognition of National Rural Health Day 2024 which took place on Nov. 21, the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health (PORH) announced that sixteen of Pennsylvania’s rural hospitals have been recognized as winners of the 2024 Performance Leadership Award.

Compiled by The Chartis Center for Rural Health, the Performance Leadership Awards recognize top quartile performance (i.e., 75^th percentile or above) among rural hospitals in quality, outcomes, and patient perspective.

The Performance Leadership Awards are based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX®, a comprehensive and objective framework for assessing how rural hospitals perform. INDEX benchmarks are relied on by rural hospitals, health systems with rural footprints, hospital associations, and state offices of rural health to measure performance across multiple areas impacting hospital operations and finance.

Pennsylvania’s critical access and other small rural hospitals were recognized for the following awards:

Awards for quality

• Barnes-Kasson County Hospital, Susquehanna, PA
• Conemaugh Meyersdale Medical Center, Meyersdale, PA
• Fulton County Medical Center, McConnellsburg, PA
• Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital, Jersey Shore, PA

Awards for outcomes

• Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg, PA
• Geisinger Lewistown Hospital, Lewistown, PA
• Penn Highlands Brookville, Brookville, PA
• Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street, Pottsville, PA
• UPMC Bedford, Everett, PA
• UPMC Horizon, Greenville, PA
• UPMC Northwest, Seneca, PA
• UPMC Somerset, Somerset, PA
• Wayne Memorial Hospital, Honesdale, PA
• WellSpan Waynesboro Hospital, Waynesboro, PA

Awards for patient perspective

• Conemaugh Meyersdale Medical Center, Meyersdale, PA
• Conemaugh Miners Medical Center, Hastings, PA
• LECOM Corry Memorial Hospital, Corry, PA

“Our rural hospitals play a crucial role in enhancing health care quality, patient experience, and overall outcomes, while navigating the complexities of modern health care systems,” said Sandee Kyler, PORH rural health systems manager and deputy director. “The Leadership Awards recognize the exceptional efforts and innovations these hospitals demonstrate in meeting high standards of care. Through their dedication, rural hospitals are driving positive change and achieving remarkable success, despite the challenges they face. This recognition celebrates their unwavering commitment to improving patient care and shaping the future of health care in rural communities.”

“The prestigious awards for quality care and patient outcomes to these small rural hospitals speak volumes about their dedication to excellent care and we are fortunate to have them as health care providers throughout the Commonwealth,” said Lannette Fetzer, PORH quality improvement coordinator. “I am so proud of their tremendous accomplishments and congratulate them all.”

“The Performance Leadership Awards capture the commitment, diligence and innovation with which America’s rural hospitals approach the delivery of care within their communities,” said Troy Brown, Network Consultant, The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “It’s a tremendous honor to be able to recognize the efforts of this year’s award winners and celebrate their achievements.”

The Chartis Center for Rural Health provides services in strategic, clinical, financial, and digital and technology transformation. Other agency brands include Greeley, Healthscape Advisors, and Jarrard. The agency also addresses critical industry priorities like health equity, practitioner burnout, and rural health. More information is available at chartis.com.

PORH was established in 1991 to enhance the health status of rural Pennsylvanians and strengthen the delivery and quality of care in the communities in which they live. Each year, the organization presents awards to recognize rural health programs and individuals who have made substantial contributions to rural health in Pennsylvania. To learn more about the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, visit porh.psu.edu.

For more details about the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX, contact Billy Balfour at wbalfour@chartis.com.

The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) has announced the 2025-2026 ASPPH/USDA Rural Health Fellowship opportunity for recent graduates.

The ASPPH/USDA Rural Health Fellowship opportunity launched in 2023. The USDA Rural Health Liaison has been successful in securing two additional years since (2024-2025, and now 2025-2026). The new one-year fellowship will begin in June 2025.

By participating in the ASPPH/USDA Rural Health Fellowship Program, the selected fellow will have the opportunity to:

• contribute to USDA programs related to rural health
• lead the development of tools to better understand and access USDA programs that can be used by federal and non-federal partners
• prepare and implement rural health initiatives or strategies with USDA programs and federal and non-federal partners; and
• build and maintain relationships across USDA and between USDA and partners

The Fellowship will be based in Washington, DC, but hybrid/remote candidates will be considered. The position is a full-time training opportunity for one year (estimated June 2025 – June 2026), with the possibility of a one-year extension. Detailed program information and all application instructions can be accessed on the ASPPH application website.

To be eligible for this program, applicants must have received their Masters or Doctorate degree prior to the beginning of the fellowship (no later than June 2025) or within the last five years (no earlier than May 2020). Graduate degrees must come from an ASPPH member graduate school or program of public health accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). All applicants must be US citizens or hold a visa permitting permanent residence (“Green Card”) in the US to be eligible for the fellowship program.

Application deadline is 11:59 PM ET Thursday, January 9, 2025.

If you have questions, please send a message to rural.health@usda.gov

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Dr. Basil Gooden today announced that USDA is launching a new pilot program in 23 states, American Samoa and Puerto Rico to make it easier for rural homeowners to repair and rehabilitate their homes.

The pilot will help USDA’s Single Family Housing Home Repair Loans and Grants program better meet industry standards, while continuing to protect homeowners from fraud. It removes regulatory barriers to make it easier and faster for contractors to complete needed home repairs for rural homeowners.

To learn more, read the full Stakeholder Announcement.

A feature article in The Rural Monitor shares the 30-year history of the RUPRI Health Panel, a nonpartisan policy analysis group.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) announced that the 2025 monthly facility payment amount for REHs will be $285,625.90.  Congress created REHs to preserve access to emergency and outpatient services in rural areas.  Each REH receives the same Additional Facility Payment amount, and this payment is intended to support the operation and maintenance of the facility and furnishing of services. FORHP funds the Rural Health Redesign Center to provide 1:1 technical assistance to help hospitals and communities make informed decisions about converting to this model of care.

This brief from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center shares results from key informant interviews with representatives of rural Triads (multi-sectoral community-based partnerships that address elder abuse) to illuminate rural-specific dimensions of this issue.

Open-access commentary from JAMA Network examines trends in the rural-urban distribution of clinicians through the federal National Health Service Corps, proposing that the persistent gap should be addressed with policies more purposefully tailored to rural areas.  The authors reference new data about the number and distribution of NHSC clinicians reported in cross-sectional study also published in JAMA Network this week.