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.

Rural Health Data Commons

The Rural Health Data Commons was created with the intention of bringing the VRHP to life. The purposes of the Rural Health Data Commons are to amplify the understanding of priority metrics and provide opportunities for a variety of audiences to explore current data insights in their region, communities or neighborhoods. Currently, the Rural Health Data Commons features the Virginia State Office of Rural Health's seven priority metrics identified in the VRHP. These metrics aim to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the overall health and well-being of Virginia’s rural communities. 

The Rural Health Data Commons was made possible by the Social and Decision Analytics Division of the Biocomplexity Institute for the Virginia Department of Health.

VRHP Table of Contents

For your convenience, individual sections of the Virginia Rural Health Plan 2022-2026 are available to view and/or download, below.

Introduction Defining Rurality in Virginia Education as the Backbone in Rural Virginia Broadband Internet Supporting Rural Virginia Healthy Housing Transportation Nutrition and Food Security Healthy Moms and Babies Access to Health Care Services Behavioral Health, Substance Use Disorder and Recovery Healthy Minds and Bodies Natural and Built Environments Aging in Place and Addressing Social Isolation Elevating Rural Workforce Development and Employment Financial Proficiency: Leveraging Individualized Resources Acknowledgments Glossary of Acronyms and Abbreviations References

Rural Resource Toolkit

The Rural Virginia Initiative (RVI) was the result of legislation passed in the 2018 General Assembly Session that tasked the University of Virginia with leading a conversation on the challenges faced by residents of rural Virginia and to prepare a white paper to recommended solutions. Following initial recommendations, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, UVA-Wise, and Virginia State University convened a broad group of stakeholders from academia, government and the private sector to continue the dialogue. The Healthcare and Community Well-being Working Group sought to address health disparities in rural Virginia. The group collaborated with the Virginia State Office of Rural Health to develop a toolkit of community and academic resources to be included in the VRHP. The toolkit contains resources linked to each of the topic areas presented in the plan and the toolkit is accessible online at the VA-SORH website.