Honoring the commitment to health in rural communities.

Please visit Oregon Rural Health Excellence Award to learn more.

Please visit our HERO page for more information.

FY25 funding for EMS Scholarships and Student Barrier Removal has concluded for this cycle and reopens on Sept. 1, 2026, for the next program cycle.

ORH is pleased to announce another successful round of scholarship funding for the FY25 cycle. We received 24 education applications and were able to award 17 students, ranging from EMT to paramedic level. Awards were spread throughout various regions of rural Oregon. 

The student barrier removal fund has also reached its budget limit. The program assisted 10 students this cycle with a variety of class-related expenses, such as:

•    Mileage and lodging to attend course testing;
•    Test fees;
•    Required course textbooks; and
•    Computer for remote course classwork.

ORH provides education scholarships and student barrier removal assistance to rural and remote EMS agencies and individuals through the Medicare Rural Hospital Flex EMS Supplement Grant from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. 

These programs offer education assistance to those who are or plan to serve in an EMS provider role (i.e., EMT, AEMT, EMI-I or paramedic) in rural and/or remote Oregon. The scholarship cannot be used to reimburse completed courses that occurred prior to the application date and is not intended to fund prerequisite courses.

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

Scholarship applications are considered when submitted on a rolling basis until the funding limit is reached. The award cap is $6,000. 

Similar to the scholarship program, there is also limited support for removing student barriers. Awards are determined based on the student’s needs, and the award cap is $1,000. This assistance provides students in the ORH scholarship program with a way to overcome obstacles that could prevent them from successfully completing their EMS education. 

The education scholarship and the student barrier removal program will both reopen on Sept. 1, 2026, for the FY26 funding cycle. Details will be posted here prior to that date to allow for application preparation. 

Thank you to the agencies and students who participated and helped us serve rural Oregon communities!
 

ORH will cover the training and certification fees for up to four students per year to be enrolled in an online accelerated community paramedic program. Students must be affiliated with an EMS agency. Mobile integrated health and community paramedicine are growing fields in the health care industry. As a certified community paramedic (CP-C), you can assist your local community in this exciting and important work.

To apply for these funds, please review this PDF list of the online application questions. After reviewing, click here when you are prepared to complete the scholarship application. 

To apply for these funds, contact Joan Field | fieldj@ohsu.edu.

ORH supports those who perform ambulance billing for their agency in several ways. Focused educational EMS billing webinars have begun (see the link below), and there is now an Ambulance Billers Peer Network! ORH will look to this network group for guidance about what training and resources would be most helpful as we bring subject matter experts to you for focused and relevant training. Information shared within a peer support network can be invaluable as participants assist one another with best practices and everyday challenges, big or small.

EDUCATION:

May 29 - Patient Care Report Documentation for EMS Billing

ORH invites you to watch the first webinar in the Billing series. (Click here for webinar recording, and click here for webinar slides)  This virtual training was presented by experienced billing educator Krista Cuthbert, Director of Revenue Cycles for the Metro West Family of Companies. She explains how to help your providers make their charting more complete and detailed to improve billing reimbursement and compliance. This is the first in a series of webinars specifically targeted to assist EMS and ambulance billing and coding staff.

Upcoming webinars will be listed here as they are scheduled. You can also find previous recordings by scrolling down to the EMS Webinars section below.

SUPPORT:

ORH Ambulance Billers Peer Network

Join a focused EMS billing and coding network for a collaborative connection to stay updated on ambulance billing training and other EMS billing and coding resources. Get support from your peers for billing questions or tricky situations. Facing a new billing challenge? More experienced peers might have the answer. New to the field? Your fresh perspective might shed new light.

 The network will also help ORH identify which programs and topics will be most effective to assist EMS billing and coding professionals in their work.

To join the Ambulance Biller Peer Network, click here to fill out a brief contact form.

For for any additional information, contact Joan Field, Rural EMS Program Coordinator |  fieldj@ohsu.edu

ORH is pleased to announce a scholarship opportunity to assist rural Oregon EMS agency staff in attending Responder Life's 2026 NW Peer Support Conference. The conference will be held Jan. 21 and 22, 2026 at the Salem Convention Center.  

Four scholarships are available to individuals affiliated with a rural EMS agency, which must be located in a designated rural area, as determined by the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer tool.  

Scholarships include the conference registration fee (a $300 value) and a stipend for lodging and mileage ($680). Scholarship funds are limited, and applications will be reviewed and considered in the order submitted.  

If you are selected to receive a scholarship, you will be given a discount code to use for conference registration. To apply, click here.  

Thank you! If you have any questions, please contact Joan Field | fieldj@ohsu.edu
 

In collaboration with Oregon Health Authority EMS and Trauma Systems (OHA EMS/TS) and Healthcare Services Solutions (formerly the Idaho Simulation Network), ORH sponsors simulated trauma events for Critical Access Hospitals and their EMS partners. Two to three events are awarded each year to a rotating list of hospitals/partner EMS agencies.

The following documents provide details about what simulation-based training events entail and explain anticipated planning and staff involvement required by facilities that participate: 

• Overview of Simulation-Based Team Training 
• Suggested Composition of Simulated Event Planning Team 
• Simulation Event Planning and Logistics Guide

Please note: Small Hospital Improvement Program-eligible hospitals may also select a simulation as part of their annual SHIP award. Contact Stephanie Sayegh | sayegh@ohsu.edu for more information.

Please visit our tax credit page for more information about an annual $250 personal income tax credit that is available for eligible rural EMS Providers who volunteer their services within eligible Oregon communities. .

In 2019, ORH conducted listening sessions with rural and remote EMS agencies. Access the full report here. 

Patient Care Report Documentation for EMS Billing

This webinar, presented by experienced billing educator Krista Cuthbert, Director of Revenue Cycles for the Metro West Family of Companies, will assist providers in understanding how to make their charting complete and detailed to improve billing reimbursement and compliance.

Slides | Recording

• Oregon EMS Association — an association representing all levels of prehospital EMS care providers in Oregon
• Oregon Volunteer Firefighters Association — provides support and representation for volunteer emergency responders in Oregon
• OHA EMS and Trauma Systems — Oregon state agency that develops and regulates systems for quality emergency medical care in Oregon
• Legal Authority of the EMS & Trauma Program
• EMS Providers and EMS Supervising Physicians Scope of Practice: OAR 847-035 [0001]
• Regulation of Ambulance Services and Emergency Medical Services Providers: ORS 682

• OHA EMST Program Education and Training Resources

CARES is a web-based system to track information about OHCA where resuscitation is attempted by an emergency responder. The registry contains demographic, therapeutic and outcome measures, and data are used to help communities benchmark and improve their performance for OHCA. ORH provided support in 2018 for Oregon EMS agencies to continue reporting data to the registry.

Recent ORH-supported EMS-focus research and quality improvement work includes:

• A review of EMS agency protocols for Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA), ST-segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) & Stroke in Oregon that assessed the inclusion of current evidence-based practices.
• Research on the development of standardization for Oregon Ambulance Service Area (ASA) plans and identification of an accessible online platform for submission of the plans.
• An investigation of EMS treatment disparities for trauma and pain, including a rural breakout.

• National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO)
• National EMS Information System (NEMSIS)
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of EMS
• National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians
• Rural Health Information Hub

• Rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Trauma
• Community Paramedicine

• Rural Trauma Care
• Disparities in Access to Trauma Care in the United States: A Population-Based Analysis
• The Evidence for Community Paramedicine in Rural Areas: State and Local Findings and the Role of the State Flex program
• Rural and Frontier Emergency Medical Services Agenda for the Future