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2026 Community and Public Health Conference

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 22:09:24 GMT

Reimagining Health Care in Pennsylvania – Resilience in a Changing World
(Conference Registration)

April 28-30, 2026

DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Lancaster

2400 Willow Street Pike

Lancaster, PA 17601

Reimagining Health Care in Pennsylvania – Resilience in a Changing World

Sponsored by:
Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health
Pennsylvania Public Health Association
Pennsylvania Rural Health Association
Penn State College of Medicine’s Public Health Program
Society for Public Health Education - Pennsylvania Chapter
Northeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center

Pennsylvania Rural Health Association Town Hall Events

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 22:17:47 GMT

The Pennsylvania Rural Health Association will be holding a series of Town Hall Events across the state to present the 2025-2030 Pennsylvania Rural Health Plan, and solicit feedback from the rural health community. Please keep an eye out for upcoming dates in your region!

Currently scheduled :

2026 Pennsylvania Community and Public Health Conference

April 28-3, 2026

DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Lancaster

Northeastern PA Rural Health Summit

May 29, 2026

King's College, Wilkes-Barre, PA

Perinatal Behavioral Health: A Continuing Education Series

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 18:58:26 GMT

Perinatal Behavioral Health: A Continuing Education Series

Welcome to Perinatal Behavioral Health: A Continuing Education Speaker Series

Lack of access to behavioral health services during the perinatal period can be especially dangerous. Pregnant people and new parents are uniquely vulnerable to new onset and exacerbations of pre-existing mental health, substance use, and physical health conditions during and after pregnancy. Join us for a lunch and learn series to learn evidence-based strategies for managing mental health and substance use disorders in pregnant and postpartum patients.

Please visit https://education.paahec.org/product/perinatal-behavioral-health-a-continuing-educatio to view previously recorded sessions.

Rural Health Plan Press Release

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 12:40:06 GMT

Pennsylvania Releases 2025–2030 Rural Health Plan to Guide Equitable, Community-Driven Rural Improvements Across the Commonwealth

Patton, PA - The Pennsylvania Rural Health Association (PRHA) has released the 2025–2030 Pennsylvania Rural Health Plan , a comprehensive roadmap to improve the health and well-being of rural residents across the state. This is the first stand-alone rural health plan in Pennsylvania since 2000.

Developed with input from rural community leaders, health professionals, academic institutions, and policymakers, the Plan identifies key priorities and action steps to address the unique health challenges and opportunities in Pennsylvania’s 48 rural counties. It places a strong focus on access to care, behavioral health, oral health, maternal health, workforce development, broadband connectivity, and health equity.

“The Pennsylvania Rural Health Association is proud to launch this vital plan,” said Debra Youngfelt, PRHA President. “We encourage health systems, local leaders, advocates, and community members to use the Plan as a tool to shape a healthier future for our rural neighbors.”

The Plan builds on the momentum of previous rural health efforts and aligns with state and national public health priorities. It includes measurable objectives and strategies that stakeholders across sectors can use to guide planning, partnerships, and investment in rural Pennsylvania.

“This Plan is both a vision and a call to action,” said Lisa Davis, Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, who led the development of the plan. “It reflects the voices of rural Pennsylvanians and is designed to support collaborative, locally driven solutions that build stronger, healthier communities.”

A series of rural community-based town hall meetings are planned for Fall 2025 to unveil the plan and solicit feedback. Those will be announced as they are coordinated.

Access the 2025–2030 Pennsylvania Rural Health Plan on the PRHA website at www.paruralhealth.org/ . For more information, contact PRHA at paruralhealthassociation@gmail.com or 814-799-0850

The Pennsylvania Rural Health Association is dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of Pennsylvania's rural citizens and communities. Our diverse constituency is composed of individual and organizational members interested in providing leadership on rural health issues. Through the combined efforts of individuals, organizations, professionals, and community leaders, the Association is a collective voice for rural health issues and a conduit for information and resources.

PA Coalition for Oral Health Executive Director Helen Hawkey Receives National Distinguished Service Award

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:37:46 GMT

Helen Hawkey, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health , received the 2025 M. Dean Perkins Distinguished Service Award presented by the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) at the 2025 National Oral Health Conference last week. Helen was presented the award by Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health board member, Kelly Braun, Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health. The Distinguished Service Award is for a member, associate member, non-member, or organization who has made a significant contribution to ASTDD programs, initiatives, or dental public health.

PA Coalition for Oral Health (PCOH) serves as the dynamic leading voice to improve oral health across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PCOH promotes oral workforce development, advocates for community water fluoridation, and advances and advocates for oral health policy and infrastructure across all systems. By bringing together a diverse group of leaders from across the state from schools of public health, philanthropic organizations, businesses, dental organizations, health insurance firms, advocacy organizations, state agencies, and other champions, PCOH has built a powerful coalition of more than 1,000 individual and organizational stakeholders.

See below for an excerpt from her nomination:

"Helen Hawkey has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to advancing dental public health, leaving an indelible mark on the state and national level. Through tireless leadership, effective advocacy, and fostering unity between stakeholders and decision-makers, Helen has played a pivotal role in promoting the necessity of dental public health and ensuring its sustainability. Notably, she has made significant contributions in the areas of assessing the status of oral health in Pennsylvania, championing policy development that promotes access to dental care, and ensuring there is a solid infrastructure to carry out future work."

Click here to view the full list of all award recipients and nominations presented by ASTDD.

Mapping the Landscape of FQHC Sites in Pennsylvania from 2020 - 2025

Sun, 20 Apr 2025 16:55:48 GMT

What Are FQHCs and Why Do They Matter?

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are community-based outpatient clinics that provide comprehensive primary care services to individuals regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay³. Established under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act, FQHCs are designed to improve access to care in medically underserved areas and among vulnerable populations. In addition to primary and preventive care, FQHCs offer enabling services such as interpretation, transportation, and case management to address social and logistical barriers to care.

While the terms Community Health Center (CHC) and Federally Qualified Health Centre (FQHC) are often used interchangeably in literature, a CHC is a nonprofit clinic serving underserved areas, and most CHCs are FQHCs, but not all are; however, FQHC is a community health center that meets federal requirements to receive special funding and reimbursement.

To qualify as an FQHC, an organization must meet stringent federal requirements regarding service scope, quality standards, governance, and accessibility. A key feature is the requirement to operate under a governing board where a majority of members are patients; ensuring the center remains responsive to community needs. FQHCs receive federal grant funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and benefit from enhanced reimbursement under Medicaid and Medicare through the Prospective Payment System (PPS). This financial model is crucial to sustaining care delivery in high-need and low-resource communities.

What Are FQHC Look-Alikes?

FQHC Look-Alikes (LAL) are health centres that meet all federal requirements of a full FQHC but do not receive Section 330 grant funding. Despite this, they are eligible for PPS reimbursements, 340B drug pricing, and National Health Service Corps eligibility for their providers. These centres often function similarly to FQHCs in their community presence and structure, but must operate with fewer federal resources.

Do FQHC Look-alike become FQHC overtime? Health Resource and Service Administration (HRSA) data does not show FQHC Look alike becoming FQHC in the past 5 years (2020-2025). However, FQHC Look-Alikes do not automatically become FQHCs over time. While Look-Alikes are similar to FQHCs in many respects, they are not considered FQHCs and do not receive the same level of federal funding or other benefits. Look-Alikes can continue to operate as such and may choose to pursue FQHC certification or funding opportunities if they wish to receive additional benefits¹.

How Are FQHCs Organized?

Each FQHC is a health organization that may manage multiple service delivery sites under a single HRSA-assigned ID i.e. BPHC Assigned Number. These sites can include permanent health centres, school-based health centers, mobile vans, seasonal facilities, and more. In HRSA data, these are captured as individual service locations but are linked to one umbrella organization responsible for reporting and compliance.

FQHC Growth from 2020-2025

According to Health Resource and Service Administration (HRSA) data, the growth in active FQHC and LAL sites from January 2020 to January 2025, the total number of sites increased steadily from approximately 15,000 in 2020 to nearly 18,500 by 2025. Permanent sites saw the largest absolute growth; Mobile and seasonal sites, while smaller in number, also trended upward indicating an increased focus on flexible and targeted service delivery models.

The upward trajectory reflects expanded federal funding especially following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. But this national growth raises a key question: Where are these new sites being located and who is benefiting?

Visualizing FQHC Growth in Pennsylvania

To better understand how the FQHC & LAL landscape is shifting in Pennsylvania, we observe the following two maps:

Map 1: Net Change in FQHC and LAL Sites, 2020–2025

This map captures net site growth per county, defined as the number of active sites in 2025 minus those in 2020. According to the Center's definition, there are 48 rural counties and 19 urban counties in Pennsylvania⁶. As per map 1, the majority of FQHC growth occurred in urban counties like Lancaster, Philadelphia, Allegheny (Pittsburgh), Lehigh (Allentown) , and Lackawanna (Scranton). The Lancaster County leads the state in site expansion, with a net gain of over a dozen FQHC sites. Significant gains are also seen in Philadelphia, Scranton (Lackawanna County), Allentown (Lehigh County), and Pittsburgh (Allegheny County). As per this map, rural counties , particularly in northern and central PA (e.g., Elk , Warren, Centre ) have negative net change meaning they have lost FQHC sites from 2020. Most of these counties includes Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUP).

Map 2: Active FQHC Sites as of January 2025

Source: Health Resource and Service Administration (HRSA)

Each red dot on this map represents an active service site as of January 2025. The maps show that the urban areas are densely populated with active sites. Northcentral & north-western Pennsylvania remain under-covered, with large geographic gaps in care access.

Together, these maps illustrate a geographically uneven expansion of FQHC services. Urban and suburban counties are successfully scaling their FQHC networks possibly in response to population growth, increasing Medicaid enrolment, or targeted investments. Rural counties, in contrast, may be falling further behind, highlighting longstanding challenges in provider shortages, transportation access, and funding inequities.

This pattern mirrors national concerns. Rural FQHCs face greater operational instability due to workforce shortages, aging infrastructure, and rising demand². According to Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), 383,121 people live in areas of Pennsylvania that are officially recognized as experiencing a primary care provider shortage many of whom rely on FQHCs for access of care⁵.

This spatial exploration raises critical questions such as:

(1) How can we better support FQHC expansion in geographically isolated and low-resource rural counties?

(2) Should there be dedicated rural funding tracks, or expansion of mobile and telehealth services in these regions?

(3) Are FQHC Look-Alikes a scalable option for rural counties with limited infrastructure?

(4) Are the communities most in need receiving the investments they deserve?

Future research should examine how site growth correlates with local health outcomes including opioid treatment access, maternal health services, Medicaid utilization, etc. FQHCs are foundational to Pennsylvania’s health system, especially in closing access gaps for vulnerable populations. As we move forward, we must ensure that no community is left behind.

References:

1. Becoming an FQHC or FQHC Look-Alike—Frequently Asked Questions answered by our FQHC Experts! (2020, September 21). FQHC Associates. https://www.fqhc.org/blog/2020/9/15/becoming-an-fqhc-or-fqhc-look-alike-read-this-first

2. Community Health Centers’ Progress and Challenges in Meeting Patients’ Essential Primary Care Needs. (2024, August 8). https://doi.org/10.26099/wmta-a282

3. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and the Health Center Program Overview—Rural Health Information Hub. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2024, from https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/federally-qualified-health-centers

4. FQHCs and LALs by State. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://data.hrsa.gov/data/reports/datagrid?gridName=FQHCs

5. Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) | KFF. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/primary-care-health-professional-shortage-areas-hpsas/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D

6. Rural Urban Definitions—Center for Rural PA. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.rural.pa.gov/data/rural-urban-definitions

Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center Scholars Program

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 19:26:21 GMT

Are you a health professions student in Pennsylvania with an interest in providing care to the rural and underserved members of our state?

If your answer is YES , the PA AHEC Scholars program is right for you.If accepted, you will become part of a national program funded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.

The program creates regional, interprofessional teams that will discover ways to provide patient-centered and population-focused healthcare as they learn about and experience team-based care, social determinants of health, cultural competencies, behavioral health integration, practice transformation and various current and emerging health issues.

The Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center (PA AHEC) invites Pennsylvania health professions students interested in providing care in rural and underserved communities to apply for the PA AHEC Scholars Program.

For complete information and the application please go to: https://www.paahecscholars.org

Status Check VI: Pennsylvania Rural Health

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 19:26:21 GMT

The revised edition of PRHA's flagship publication, Status Check VI provides an update on Pennsylvania rural health care. The document raises awareness on the issues impacting the delivery of health care services in rural areas of the state, including rural emergency services, the rural elderly, migrant farm worker health needs, oral health issues, telehealth services, behavioral health, and more. The document is tailored to inform discussions among those who can make a difference in the health of, and health care for, rural residents. Status Check VI is a collaborative effort by representatives from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock University, and The Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health.