State Office of Rural Health (SORH)

The Center for Rural Health is designated as the North Dakota State Office of Rural Health, a federal-state partnership that helps rural communities build their healthcare services through collaborations and initiatives with a wide range of partners across the state.

SORH Grant Program Is In Its 25th Year

Federally funded since 1991, the SORH grant program is in its 25th year. This video was created by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health to promote the many successes of the SORH program.

What We Do For You

As the State Office of Rural Health, the Center:

• Supports and contributes to work related to: Hospitals and Facilities, Health Workforce, Working with Communities, Policy, and Educating and Informing
• Facilitates the annual Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health.
• Administers and coordinates the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program in collaboration with the North Dakota Department of Health, North Dakota Hospital Association, and the Quality Health Associates of North Dakota (formerly North Dakota Healthcare Review), which is our state's CMS-contracted QIO (Quality Improvement Organization).
• Administers the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Rural Health Grant Program and Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP).
• Provides grant development assistance to communities working on federal, state, and foundation proposals.
• Serves as convener of the North Dakota Health Information Technology Advisory Committee.
• Helps keep rural health organizations informed about resources and opportunities through support of the Center for Rural Health monthly electronic newsletter.
• Collaborates with partner organizations such as the North Dakota Department of Health, Human Services; North Dakota Health Information Network; North Dakota Hospital Association; North Dakota Long Term Care Association; Mental Health America of North Dakota; North Dakota Medical Association; North Dakota Nursing Association; North Dakota Public Health Association; Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas; Quality Health Associates of North Dakota; and other University of North Dakota Departments.

Most Recent Publications

• Key Points: Rural Health and Health Reform in North Dakota
  Summarizes the main themes for healthcare and health reform in rural North Dakota. Themes include access to care, health workforce, population health, and Accountable Care Organization Improvement Models importance to North Dakota.
  Author(s): Gibbens, B.
  Date: March 2017
  Type: Resource
• Adjacent Border Analysis for Direct Patient Care Physicians
  Examines physicians located in states that border North Dakota that are treating North Dakota patients.
  Author(s): Hart, G., Peterson, M., Ahmed, A.
  Publication: North Dakota Health Workforce Fact Sheet Series, Number 25
  Date: January 2017
  Type: Fact Sheet
• Where Did North Dakota Primary Care Physicians Do Their Residency and Where Have Physicians Who Completed a Residency in North Dakota Gone?
  Examines where physicians practicing in North Dakota completed their residencies, compared to where physicians who completed residencies in North Dakota are currently practicing.
  Author(s): Hart, G., Peterson, M., Ahmed, A.
  Publication: North Dakota Health Workforce Fact Sheet Series, Number 24
  Date: January 2017
  Type: Fact Sheet
• Where did North Dakota Primary Care Physicians Graduate from Medical School and Where Have North Dakota Medical School Graduates Gone?
  Examines where physicians practicing in North Dakota attended medical school and where North Dakota medical school students currently practice.
  Author(s): Hart, G., Peterson, M., Ahmed, A.
  Publication: North Dakota Health Workforce Fact Sheet Series, Number 23
  Date: September 2016
  Type: Fact Sheet
• Community Showcases Welcome Future Physicians
  New physician recruitment events showcase rural North Dakota communities and healthcare facilities to the future healthcare workforce.
  Author(s): Kusler, S.
  Publication: North Dakota Medicine, 41(2), 18-19
  Date: July 2016
  Type: Magazine

Most Recent Presentations

• Nobody Knew Healthcare Could be so Complicated
  Presented by Gibbens, B. on Mar 30, 2017 at the Northwood Deaconess Health Center Annual Meeting, Northwood, North Dakota
• The Role of Policy in Rural Health
  Presented by Gibbens, B. on Mar 01, 2017 at the University of Mary, Advanced Nursing Education - Common and Chronic Healthcare Management 589, Bismarck, North Dakota
• Background for Congressman Kevin Cramer’s Healthcare Reform Roundtable
  Presented by Gibbens, B. on Feb 22, 2017 at the Healthcare Reform Roundtable, Bismarck, North Dakota
• Understanding Rural Health in a Time of Policy and Health System Change and Reform
  Presented by Gibbens, B. on Feb 13, 2017 at the University of Mary, Advanced Nursing Education - Common and Chronic Healthcare Management 589, Bismarck, North Dakota
• The Grant Writing Basics - An Overview
  Presented by Gibbens, B. on Feb 03, 2017 at the UND College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines, N513 Core Concepts II, Grand Forks, North Dakota