State Office of Rural Health

The Kentucky Office of Rural Health is organizationally assigned and physically housed in the University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health, located in Hazard, a rural community in the Appalachian Mountains of southeastern Kentucky. The mission of the Kentucky Office of Rural Health (KORH) is to support the health and well-being of Kentuckians by promoting access to rural health services. The KORH assists clinicians, administrators and consumers find ways to improve communications, finances and access to quality health care while insuring that funding agencies and policy makers are made aware of the needs of rural communities. The KORH is committed to working with partners who share the same activities and values. The office collaborates with public and private entities statewide, and at the regional and national levels, to help increase rural access to heath care. The core functions of the KORH are: 1) Collection and dissemination of information; 2) Coordination of rural health resources & activities statewide; 3) Provision of technical assistance; 4) Encourage recruitment and retention of health professionals in rural areas and 5) Participate in strengthening State, local and Federal partnerships. In 2003, the KORH reorganized to consolidate and provide administrative oversight for several programs. The Kentucky Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Kentucky State Loan Repayment Program, Small Hospital Improvement Program and the Kentucky Rural Health Association are under the auspice of the KORH. Kentucky is a state that has a significantly higher than average proportion of the population that is subject to chronic illness and death and has a higher than average percentage of the uninsured. Based on RUCC classifications (Rural Urban Continuum Codes), 35 of Kentucky’s 120 counties are metropolitan and 85 are non-metropolitan; 44 percent of Kentuckian’s live in rural counties compared to 17 percent for the United States. Kentucky has the highest percent of adults in the nation with barriers to healthcare.