The Oregon Office of Rural Health (ORH), in partnership with the Oregon Mobile Integrated Healthcare Coalition (ORMIHC), was awarded a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program to expand mobile integrated health (MIH) services in rural Oregon. 

MIH, also commonly referred to as community paramedicine (CP), is a care delivery model that brings resources to patients in a home or community-based setting, often using specially trained EMTs, paramedics, nurses, medical assistants (MAs) and community health workers (CHWs) to support patients with chronic disease management, preventative care and wraparound health-related services. The approach can be particularly helpful for rural communities in preventing hospital readmissions and reducing strain on EMS systems.

This four-year grant will support the development of resources for rural communities statewide that are interested in creating or expanding MIH programs, including an MIH toolkit and individual technical assistance. ORH and ORMIHC will also work closely with partners in Wheeler County to establish a new pilot MIH program. 

Community paramedicine education scholarships are available! With funds from this grant, ORH is pleased to offer scholarships for up to four students per year (through 2029) to enroll in an online accelerated community paramedic program. Scholarship applications are considered on a rolling basis until the funding limit is reached. 

To be eligible for a community paramedic training scholarship:

• The student must be affiliated with an EMS agency; and
• The affiliated EMS agency or the student must be located in a designated rural area, based on the following standardized tool: Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer.

To apply, please complete this form.

For more information about current and upcoming MIH resources, visit the ORH MIH webpage or email Melissa Varnum.