Kentucky Office of Rural Health

12/30/2025

Interested in learning about the objectives and activities Kentucky will focus on relating to the recently awarded CMS Rural Health Transformation Program?

Stay up to date via ruralhealthplan.ky.gov

12/29/2025

📢 Kentucky Rural Health Update

Today, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that all 50 states, including Kentucky, will receive awards under the new Rural Health Transformation Program — a $50 billion federal initiative aimed at strengthening care in rural communities nationwide.

This investment is designed to support efforts such as expanding access to preventive and primary care, building and sustaining the rural health workforce, modernizing facilities and technology, and advancing innovative care models tailored to local needs.

Kentucky’s share of the first-year funding will help our communities continue to improve access, quality, and coordination of health care for rural residents.

We look forward to working with partners across the state to make the most of this opportunity for rural patients, providers, and families.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

12/23/2025

The Kentucky Office of Rural Health will be closed Wednesday, December 24, 2025, through Friday, January 2, 2026, for the holidays, and will resume normal business on Monday, January 5, 2026. We hope you have a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season!

12/19/2025

🎉 Join us in congratulating Janice Vance, Rural Project Manager at the Kentucky Office of Rural Health, as she marks three years of service with our team!

Janice leads KORH’s workforce and loan repayment efforts, supporting rural communities across the Commonwealth through programs like the Kentucky State Loan Repayment Program (KSLRP), Kentucky’s National Health Service Corps (NHSC), and the Kentucky 3RNet Consortium. Her work plays a vital role in strengthening and sustaining Kentucky’s rural healthcare workforce.

With nearly 20 years of experience in Human Resources at ARH and 14 years earlier in her career at the UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health, Janice brings a deep understanding of both rural health systems and workforce needs to her role at KORH.

ℹ️ Have questions about healthcare workforce opportunities or loan repayment programs in Kentucky? Reach out to Janice at janice.vance@uky.edu
or send us a message here on Facebook.

12/17/2025

⁉️🎧 Have you checked out The Bridge Podcast 🎙 from the Kentucky Office of Rural Health?

The Bridge Podcast bridges the gaps between living in, understanding, and improving rural health across the Commonwealth for 🩺 health care professionals, 📑 policymakers, and those passionate about improving ❤️ health care access in rural areas!

Go to ➡➡ thebridge.buzzsprout.com ⬅️⬅️ to listen and 🔔make sure to subscribe on your favorite streaming platform!

12/16/2025

🌟 The National Health Service Corps continues to make a real difference—supporting providers while expanding access to care in communities that need it most!

In Kentucky, the Kentucky Office of Rural Health is proud to help administer NHSC opportunities across the Commonwealth, connecting health care professionals with loan repayment support while strengthening care in rural and underserved areas.

If you’re a provider looking to serve Kentucky communities, or an organization interested in becoming an approved site, this program can be a game-changer!

Learn more about NHSC opportunities in Kentucky and how KORH can help you get started.

Kentucky clinicians—with nearly 100 openings, our virtual job board, the Health Workforce Connector, won’t leave you out in the cold. 🥶

Search through these opportunities across more than 700 NHSC-approved sites in your state to find work right in your community: https://ow.ly/ofse50Xv8UV

12/15/2025

🤔🤔Interested in staying up-to-date on current rural health 📰news? Take a minute⏰ to sign up for updates from across the Commonwealth, including:

✨KORH Weekly Update
🏥RHC Monthly Newsletter and updates
🚑EMS Table Talks Newsletter

Stay in the know on current headlines, upcoming trainings/events, funding opportunities, and more! ‼️ Don’t miss out—sign up at ➡️➡️ https://bit.ly/49TaZTo 🏥✉️

Sign up to stay up-to-date with the Kentucky Office of Rural Health and stay on top of rural health related news in Kentucky and nationwide. With monthly newsletters focused on EMS, RHCs, and CAHs, AND a Weekly Update for all things rural health, including training and event announcements, links to....

12/12/2025

🎉 Join us in congratulating the Kentucky Office of Rural Health’s Rural Project Manager Scott Helle on seven years with KORH!

With nearly three decades of EMS experience, Scott brings deep knowledge and passion to every project he touches—from advancing the Kentucky EMS Leadership Academy to supporting the Kentucky Resuscitation Academy. His career in EMS began behind the wheel of an ambulance and grew into years of hands-on patient care after earning his EMT license in 1997. That real-world experience continues to shape the insight and leadership he brings to Kentucky’s rural EMS community today.

ℹ️ Looking for information or support related to rural EMS in the Commonwealth? You can reach Scott at scott.helle@uky.edu or send us a message here on Facebook!

12/11/2025

‼🤔🤯Interested in what we're doing at KORH? Follow us on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/company/kentucky-office-of-rural-health to see what else we're up to!

12/10/2025

🤝 KORH Rural Project Manager for Workforce and Loan Repayment Janice Vance represented the Kentucky Office of Rural Health at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education Healthcare Workforce Collaborative 2025 this week at the Campbell House in Lexington—another meaningful step in supporting and strengthening Kentucky’s health care workforce! Janice was also joined by UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health Rural Project Manager Sierra Williams.

Throughout the day, Janice connected with partners from across the Commonwealth, including Kimberly Moser, Kentucky State Representative - 64, to discuss opportunities to expand Kentucky’s health care pipeline and ensure providers have the support they need to serve communities statewide. 🏥

12/09/2025

🚑Stay in the loop year-round with our EMS Table Talk monthly newsletter! 🔍 Discover the latest events, policy updates, and information tailored just for YOU.

Don’t miss out—subscribe today! 🚨📬

✔️✔️Sign up at bit.ly/KORHlistservs

🏥✉️

12/05/2025

📣 Kentucky Office of Rural Health Selects New Class of EMS Professionals for 6th Annual Leadership Academy 📣

A new cohort of emergency medical services (EMS) professionals has been selected for the sixth annual Kentucky EMS Leadership Academy.

The academy, hosted by the Kentucky Office of Rural Health (KORH), is designed to provide emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and EMS administrators with the knowledge and skills necessary to take on significant roles and responsibilities in their agencies, and to address crises both large and small. This year, the Academy accepted 16 participants for the 2026 class.

“Bringing a new cohort into the Kentucky EMS Leadership Academy shows the depth of dedication within Kentucky’s EMS workforce,” said KORH Director Matt Coleman. “From our smallest towns to our largest cities, strong leadership is vital, and this program helps prepare the individuals who will guide emergency care across every corner of the state.”

Academy programming—a mix of face-to-face and webinar-based sessions—kicks off in January 2026 and runs through June. Sessions will cover a range of topics, including budgeting and finance, conflict resolution, compliance, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, employee engagement, and more.

During additional virtual sessions, participants will meet with a veteran EMS administrator to receive one-on-one mentoring.

Academy graduates will receive a scholarship, provided by the Kentucky Ambulance Providers Association, to cover the registration fee to attend the 2026 Kentucky EMS Conference and Expo. In addition, graduates will also receive continuing education credits.

The sixth class of academy participants includes:

🚑 Johnny Carpenter, Chief, Frankfort Fire & EMS
🚑 Dallas Chesser, Major, Louisville Metro EMS
🚑 Walter Craig, Advanced EMT, Lifeguard EMS of Eastern Kentucky
🚑 Elizabeth Martell Fischer, Lieutenant of Education & Quality Assurance, Louisville Metro EMS
🚑 Caleb Franklin, Shift Supervisor, Murray-Calloway County EMS
🚑 Jacob Hart, Captain, Greenup County Ambulance Authority
🚑 Ashley Harvey, Critical Care Paramedic, Adair County Ambulance Service
🚑 Ray Hennequant, EMS Training Officer, Anchorage Middletown Fire & EMS
🚑 David Herlensky, Captain/Paramedic CCP-C, Georgetown-Scott County EMS
🚑 James E. Mudd, Paramedic/FTO, Anchorage Middletown Fire & EMS
🚑 Matt Oliver, Flight Paramedic/Base Clinical Lead, Air Evac 10 – Hopkinsville
🚑 Michael S. Ratliff, EMS Chief/EMA Director, Carroll County EMS
🚑 Leigh Riddle, EMS Program Coordinator, Owensboro Health
🚑 Jarrod Sanders, Paramedic, Edmonson County Ambulance Service
🚑 Jason Taylor III, EMS Major, Paris-Bourbon County EMS
🚑 Karen Wells, Deputy Chief of Operations, Patriot EMS

The Kentucky Office of Rural Health (KORH), established in 1991, is a federal-state partnership authorized by federal legislation. The UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health, located in Hazard, serves as the federally-designated Kentucky Office of Rural Health. KORH works directly with clinicians, clinic and hospital administrators, policymakers and other stakeholders to improve the accessibility of health care services for the Commonwealth’s rural and underserved residents. The office connects communities and health care organizations to local, state and federal resources while working toward long-term solutions to financial, quality improvement and workforce challenges.