As we close out the year, we extend our deepest gratitude for your partnership with our office and your support of our work. The dedication and resilience you bring to rural communities every day, and your commitment to improving rural health outcomes, continues to inspire us and make a profound impact across the nation.
The year has been filled with changes and moments that remind us why this work is so important and why sustaining valued partnerships is essential to improving the health and well-being of rural communities. Your support enabled CDC’s Office of Rural Health (ORH) to achieve several milestones this year.
Rural Public Health Leadership
- We published our research on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) among Medicare Fee-for-Service and Advantage beneficiaries in rural America, examining rates by U.S. region, sex, and race. This research highlighted the need for tailored interventions to address the growing burden of ADRD in rural areas.
- We worked with CDC’s editorial staff of Preventing Chronic Disease on a collection that underscores the growing recognition of rural public health as an important area of study, creating better understanding of rural health in both healthcare and public health contexts.
Strategic Engagement and Partnership
- We met with many of you at this year’s National Rural Health Association (NRHA) Conference and the CDC Experience at our headquarters in Atlanta, GA—both inspiring and invigorating. We enjoyed having these opportunities to meet and talk with everyone.
- Working with partners, we connected rural clinical experts with CDC’s Measles response. This led to implementation of community-driven strategies that enhanced local preparedness and response capacity. It also established communication channels that will help sustain response efforts.
- We expanded engagement with rural local health departments and enhanced program evaluation activities of health department successes through our partnership with NORC at The University of Chicago (NORC). Together, these activities provided important lessons that will inform future rural programming and guide ORH’s technical assistance.
- We collaborated with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) to engage state health officials in deepening their understanding of complex, rural public health challenges. This pilot project served as a platform for peer-to-peer sharing of promising practices and provided an opportunity for state-level health leaders and ASTHO to build relationships and identify challenges related to rural health.
Cross-Agency Coordination
- We led a group of “rural champions” from across the agency and identified 86 strategic rural health activities. This work established a baseline to track implementation of CDC’s Rural Public Health Strategic Plan. These rural initiatives include emerging and infectious disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, emergency preparedness and response, and maintaining the nation’s public health infrastructure.
- We advanced rural public health at CDC by providing more than 20 presentations and consultations and strengthened cross-agency communication and coordination. We equipped initiatives focused on emergency preparedness, nonprofit capacity building, and substance abuse prevention with resources to address challenges and best practices to better serve local, rural communities.
Capacity Building
- We are excited to share the release of the new Rural Public Health Training Plan, which has been in development since 2024. The plan consists of six foundational courses designed to strengthen understanding of rural public health systems and deepen knowledge of the experiences of rural communities. Please share this resource with your networks.
- All courses are now available on CDC TRAIN and offer free Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to support workforce development. We extend our sincere appreciation to Cornell University, NORC, and Population Health Innovation Lab (PHIL) for their partnership in bringing this resource to life. Additional courses are currently in development and will be released at a future date, so please stay tuned.
In closing, thank you for your unwavering partnership as we all work toward healthier, more vibrant rural communities. Over the past year, we saw a notable increase in downloads of the Rural Public Health Strategic Plan, reflecting the reach and impact made possible through strong relationships. We look forward to connecting more with you in 2026. If you have any questions or partnership ideas, contact us at ruralhealth@cdc.gov.