State Office of Rural Health

The Virginia State Office of Rural Health (VA-SORH) was established in 1991 to create, fund and support quality and sustainable rural healthcare infrastructure.  VA-SORH is a designated, federally funded office by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP). The purpose and mission of VA-SORH is to address and rectify health disparities affecting the state’s rural residents.  For nearly 30 years, VA-SORH has provided funding that connects small rural communities with state and federal resources with the goal of developing long-term solutions to address the root causes of rural health disparities.

VA-SORH is dedicated to:

• Fostering collaboration and leveraging resources across and within various levels of government, communities, and non-profit organizations
• Collecting and disseminating information to stakeholders
• Providing technical assistance
• Assisting the coordination of rural health interests statewide through assessment and planning efforts
• Supporting efforts to improve recruitment and retention of health professionals in rural areas

The Virginia State Office of Rural Health is excited to announce the release of the Virginia Rural Health Plan 2022-2026 (VRHP). The goal of this working action plan is to showcase the resiliency and highlight the assets of the Commonwealth’s rural communities.

The scope of the VRHP has been advised by a series of community conversations and site visits that took place between the months of October 2019 through March 2020. The community conversations were held in rural communities throughout the Commonwealth. These conversations were held over a warm supper, where local leaders led the conversation with the intention of learning and fortifying the local/ regional health and wellness needs, opportunities, and community assets.

For more information and to download the Virginia Rural Health Plan, click here.

The Rural Virginia Initiative (RVI) Dashboard is a Rural Tool Kit of community and academic resources to be deployed as part of the State Rural Health Plan Update.