2023 National Center for Health Statistics Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for Counties

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has recently updated its Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for Counties. This update reflects changes in population, development, and community characteristics over the past decade. Below the map, you will find a table listing the 11 counties in Oklahoma that changed classification between 2013 and 2023.

Click the image to open the map as a PDF document.

County	2023 Classification	2013 Classification
Creek County	Large fringe metro	Medium metro
Garfield County	Small metro	Micropolitan
Le Flore County	Noncore	Medium metro
Okmulgee County	Large fringe metro	Medium metro
Osage County	Large fringe metro	Medium metro
Pawnee County	Large fringe metro	Medium metro
Rogers County	Large fringe metro	Medium metro
Sequoyah County	Small metro	Medium metro
Tulsa County	Large central metro	Medium metro
Wagoner County	Large fringe metro	Medium metro
Washita County	Micropolitan	Noncore

2024 Health Equity Webinar Series Part 5: Implementation & Evaluation

Lindsay Corcoran of Wintergreen joins Lara Brooks from the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health for the final installment of the 2024 Health Equity Webinar Series. In this session, Lindsay addresses the importance of sustaining key activities and measuring success and outcomes. The video runs for approximately 43 minutes.

How to Conduct a Successful Community Health Needs Assessment

Kim Hunwardsen from Eide Bailly joins Lara Brooks to discuss strategies for hospitals to complete community health needs assessments (CHNAs) that comply with federal regulations. Her presentation emphasizes the importance of gathering comprehensive data, engaging community stakeholders, and aligning the assessment process with the requirements set by the IRS and other federal guidelines. The video runs for approximately 60 minutes.

2024 Health Equity Webinar Series Part 4: Community Collaboration

Lindsay Corcoran of Stroudwater Associates joins Lara Brooks from the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health for the fourth installment of the 2024 Health Equity Webinar Series. In this session, Lindsay discusses the importance of community collaboration and overcoming partnership barriers. The video runs for approximately 54 minutes. This is the fourth of five webinars in the series.

2024 Health Equity Webinar Series Part 3: Data Collection and Analysis

Lindsay Corcoran of Stroudwater Associates, joins Lara Brooks from the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health for the third installment of the 2024 Health Equity Webinar Series. In this session, Lindsay highlights the importance of health data and offers an overview of best practices in data collection. The video runs for approximately 58 minutes. This is the third of five webinars in the series.

2024 Health Equity Webinar Series Part 2: Strategy

Lindsay Corcoran of Stroudwater Associates, joins Lara Brooks from the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health for the second installment of the 2024 Health Equity Webinar Series. Lindsay discusses the importance of integrating health equity into an organization’s strategy and explores approaches to prioritize health equity as a strategic objective. The video is approximately 58 minutes long. This is the second installment of a five-part webinar series.

2024 Health Equity Webinar Series Part 1: Overview

Lindsay Corcoran of Stroudwater Associates, joins Lara Brooks from the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health for the first installment of the 2024 Health Equity Webinar Series. Lindsay presents a general overview of health equity, social determinants of health, and new CMS health equity measures for rural providers. The video lasts approximately 43 minutes.

This is the 1st installment of a 5 part webinar series.

Physician Practice Location Choices After Teaching Health Center (THC) Residency Training

The OSU Center of Rural Health presented a research poster at the 2023 National Rural Health Association Health Equity Conference held in San Diego, California. The research poster examines the practice characteristics of recent graduates from Teaching Health Center (THC) Graduate Medical Education Programs. You can click on the image below to open the poster in a PDF format.

Medically Underserved Areas & Populations in Oklahoma, March 2023

Click the image below to open the map as a PDF document.

2022-2023 Swing Bed Webinar Series Part 2: Swing Bed Conditions of Participation

Lindsay Corcoran of Stroudwater Associates joins Lara Brooks from the #Oklahoma Office of Rural Health for the 2nd installment of our 2022-23 Swing Bed Webinar Series. Lindsay provides a general overview of the regulatory requirements associated with critical access hospital swing bed programs. The video lasts approximately 60 minutes. This is the 2nd installment of a 4 part webinar series.

Best Practice Checklist: CAH Financial & Operational Performance

Gregory Wolf, MBA and Jonathan Pantenburg, MHA of Wintergreen, join Lara Brooks, MS from the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health and present a series of best practices critical access hospital leadership can follow to help navigate the current regulatory environment and competitive landscape. The recording lasts approximately 54 minutes.

This is the 1st webinar in a 9-part series geared towards rural hospital CEOs and CFOs.

Technical Assistance for Rural Emergency Hospital Consideration

Janice Walters, Rural Emergency Hospital Project Officer with the Rural Health Redesign Center, joins Lara Brooks, MS from the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health to provide an overview of the technical assistance services offered by the Center. This webinar is geared toward hospitals and communities seeking information about converting an existing facility to the new Rural Emergency Hospital payment model. The recording lasts approximately 47 minutes.

Oklahoma Health Care Authority Quality Improvement Fluoride Varnish Project

Denise Easter, MSN, RN from the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, joins Laura Brooks of the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health to discuss the agency’s pediatric fluoride varnish quality improvement project. Denise provides information about the goals of the project and how providers can participate in this crucial oral health initiative. The recording lasts approximately 16 minutes.

Rural Emergency Hospital Session 2: Impact on Hospitals

Jonathan Pantenburg, MHA of Wintergreen joins Lara Brooks, MS from the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health and reviews the newly issued rules covering the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) reimbursement model established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The recording lasts approximately 51-minutes.

This is the 2nd of a 3-part webinar series.

2022 National Rural Health Day Photo Contest Entries

Explore our story map of the photos submitted to our 2022 National Rural Health Day Photo Contest! 
 

Human papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Disparities by Rurality and Race/Ethnicity

OSU Center of Rural Health faculty and staff collaborated with colleagues from the OSU Center for Health Sciences, the Sexual Health Research Lab at Purdue University, and Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, for a research poster presentation at the 2022 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo in Boston, Massachusetts. Their poster looked at the disparity of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake among teens across racial/ethnic lines and rurality.

Click the image below to open the poster as a PDF document.

Rural Emergency Hospital Session 1: Laying the Foundation

Jonathan Pantenburg, MHA and Gregory Wolf, MBA of Wintergreen join Lara Brooks, MS from the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health to provide an overview of the Rural Emergency Hospital program recently established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The recording lasts approximately 56-minutes.

Economic Trends & Issues in Rural Oklahoma, 2022

Mike Woods, Ph.D. and Brian Whitacre, Ph.D. from the Oklahoma State University Department of Agriculture Economics join Lara Brooks, MS from the #Oklahoma Office of Rural Health to provide a wide-ranging discussion about the current economic trends and issues in rural Oklahoma. The video lasts approximately 45-minutes.

CAH Financial & Operational Best Practices

Jonathan Pantenburg, MHA of Stroudwater Associates joins Lara Brooks, MS of the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health, and provides a wide-ranging discussion about rural hospital operations with an emphasis on critical access hospitals (CAH). The recording lasts approximately 55-minutes.

This is 1st webinar in an 8 part series geared towards rural hospital CEOs and CFOs.

Swing Bed 101

Lindsay Corcoran, MHA of Stroudwater Associates joins Lara Brooks, MS from the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health and provides a high-level overview of swing beds and swing bed policy. This webinar was hosted by the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health on December 9, 2021. The video lasts approximately 1-hour.