Rural Health and Primary Care

**Mission** Promoting access to quality health care for citizens living in all of Maine’s rural and underserved areas. **Our Priorities:** - Increase resources and reduce costs for health care statewide with a focus on rural areas; - Facilitate communication among stakeholders on rural health issues; - Increase access to primary, mental and dental health care services for underserved populations; and - Reduce geographic, financial, transportation and other barriers that prevent access to health care services. **What We Do** To fulfill our mission and to serve health care providers and consumers of Maine who live and work in rural areas we: - Administer the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility and Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grants to support small rural hospitals; - Provide technical assistance to health care providers, stakeholders and health care facilities including Critical Access Hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers and Look-Alikes (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics; - Provide educational opportunities for health care professionals; - Identify geographic areas and populations that are medically underserved and in need of additional health care professionals or health care services and recommend those areas for federal designation; - Administer a number of workforce programs including the State Loan Repayment Program, the Rural Medical Access Program, the Primary Care Tax Credit Program and the J-1 Visa Waiver Program for internationally trained physicians; - Administer 3RNet recruitment and retention resource; - Promote National Health Service Corps and provide assistance for those wishing to apply; - Convene conferences and participate in work groups that are addressing rural health issues; - Network with associations and initiate partnerships to implement initatives that improve health care services in rural and underserved areas; and - Curate a library of rural health related resources. - Staff the Oral Health Program and conduct the School Oral Health Program