Resources

Department of Family Medicine & Rural Health

American Academy of Family Physicians AAFP's Vision is to transform health care to achieve optimal health for everyone

Florida Academy of Family Physicians The Florida Academy of Family Physicians (FAFP) is Florida's medical specialty association composed of more than 4,000 family medicine physicians, resident physicians and medical students from across the state.

Florida Public Health Association The mission of the Florida Public Health Association is to advance public health by advocacy, education, and networking

Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
The Society was founded in 1967 to respond to the needs of family medicine educators. From a small beginning of 105 founding members, we have grown to a membership of nearly 5,000 teachers of family medicine.
These teachers include medical school professors, preceptors, residency program faculty, residency program directors and all involved in family medicine education.

World Organization of Family Doctors The World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) is a not-for-profit organization and was founded in 1972 by member organizations in 18 countries. WONCA now has 132 Member Organizations in 110 countries and territories with membership of about 500,000 family doctors and more than 90 percent of the world’s population. This includes eight organizations in collaborative relations with WONCA. There are some 21 members in the Academic membership category, which consists of Academic Departments of Family Medicine. Over 800 individual general practitioners and family physicians have chosen to join WONCA in their own right. 

Rural Health, Research, and Policy

Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research seeks to improve the health of individuals, families, and populations by understanding the problems, issues and alternatives in the design and delivery of health care services.

Center for Rural Health Research & Policy The Center for Rural Health Research and Policy was established in December 2002 with a gift endowment from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida. The center is dedicated to the advancement of quality health services and research in Florida's rural communities.

Florida Association of Community Health Centers Since 1981, the Florida Association of Community Health Centers, Inc. (FACHC) has been the leading state advocate for community-based health care programs. Focusing on Florida's Federally Qualified Community Health Centers, the Association plays a vital role in educating federal, state and local policymakers about issues relating to health care and the role of the health centers.

Florida's Office of Rural Health All 50 states have a State Office of Rural Health (SORH). These offices vary in size, scope, organization, and in services and resources they provide. Most are organized within the state health departments, but some are located in universities or not-for-profit organizations. The general purpose of each SORH is to help their individual rural communities build health care delivery systems. While funding levels and sources also vary, every state receives a portion of their funding from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy through the SORH Grant program, begun in 1991. With this grant a SORH is expected to:

• Collect and disseminate information
• Coordinate rural health resources and activities state-wide
• Provide technical assistance
• Encourage recruitment and retention of health professionals
• Strengthen state, local, and federal partnerships

Health Resources and Services Administration The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) coordinates activities related to rural health care within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Since its establishment, FORHP has supported innovative efforts to address the unique environmental and institutional circumstances that contribute to the financial instability of rural hospitals, issues surrounding workforce recruitment and retention, and barriers to achieving health equity in rural areas. 

Rural Health Information Hub Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) is a national rural health and human services information portal. RHIhub helps rural communities and other rural stakeholders access the full range of available programs, funding, and research that can enable them to provide quality health and human services to rural residents. A product of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Rural Initiative, the Rural Health Information Hub Center was established in December 2002.

National Rural Health Association The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) is a national nonprofit membership organization with more than 21,000 members. The association's mission is to provide leadership on rural health issues. NRHA membership consists of a diverse collection of individuals and organizations, all of whom share the common bond of an interest in rural health.

The Rural Blog A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, from the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based at the University of Kentucky. Links are current at time of posting, but may later require registration or subscription, expire or go behind pay walls.

Rural Health Research Gateway The Office of Rural Health Policy funds research activities at rural health research centers and analysis initiatives, as well as research conducted by individual investigators at other institutions.

Rural Health Resource Center The National Rural Health Resource Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustaining and improving health care in rural communities. As the nation's leading technical assistance and knowledge center in rural health, The Center focuses on five core areas:

• Performance Improvement
• Health Information Technology
• Recruitment & Retention
• Community Health Assessments
• Networking

Rural Policy Research Institute The RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis conducts original research in the topical areas of access to health care services, Medicare policies, development of rural delivery systems (including effects of national policy), and public health. The mission of the Center is to provide timely analysis to federal and state health policy makers, based on the best available research.

Organizations

The National Area Health Education Center Organization - (NAO) The NAO is the national organization that supports and advances the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) network in improving the health of individuals and communities by transforming health care through education