Rural Health Links

Table of Contents
National Rural Health Association
Health Associations & Organizations
National Resources
Legislative Resources
Funding Resources


National Rural Health Association

  • National Rural Health Association The NRHA is a national nonprofit membership organization with more than 18,000 members that provides leadership on rural health issues. The association’s mission is to improve the health and well being of rural Americans and to provide leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education, research and leadership. The NRHA membership is made up of a diverse collection of individuals and organizations, all of whom share the common bond of an interest in rural health.

Health Associations & Organizations

  • Institute of Rural Health- The mission of the IRH is to improve the health of rural communities in Idaho and the Intermountain Region, as well as throughout the nation and the world, through research, education, and service.
  • Idaho Bureau of Rural Health & Primary Care – The Idaho Bureau of Rural Health & Primary Care’s Mission is to promote access to quality health care for people in Idaho. The bureau supports its mission through a variety of programs, services, and activities.
  • Idaho Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP) - The Idaho Academy of Family Physicians is committed to quality health care, education, and advocacy on behalf of Idaho’s family physicians and their patients.
  • Idaho Academy of Physician Assistants (IAPA) - The Idaho Academy of Physician Assistants represents Physician Assistants in the state, promotes the Physician Assistant profession within the state, and furthers education of our members.
  • Idaho Association of Chiropractic Physicians (IACP) - The Idaho Association of Chiropractors is a professional, not-for-profit association comprised of individual members with varying philosophies and operates by democratic rule of the majority of its members, through officials elected by peers in their geographic areas. Its primary function is the protection and welfare of it individual members, regardless of philosophy, as well as the education of the public concerning the chiropractic profession.
  • Idaho Board of Medicine - The Idaho State Medical Board's primary responsibility and obligation is to protect patients through proper licensing and regulation of physicians and other health care professionals.
  • Idaho Dental Hygienists' Association (IDHA) - The Idaho Dental Hygienists' Association (IDHA) is the professional organization representing dental hygienists in the state of Idaho. The IDHA is a constituent of the American Dental Hygienists' Association. The mission of IDHA is to improve total health by increasing the public's awareness of and access to quality oral health care, promote the highest standards of dental hygiene education, licensure, and practice and represent and promote the interests of dental hygiene.
  • Idaho Department of Health and Welfare - Offer programs that deal with complex social, economic and individual issues. They range from Medicaid to Food Stamps, Child Protection to Disease Prevention. Last year, we helped almost 340,000 people in our state, one out of every four Idahoans.
  • Idaho Health - Idaho Department of Health and Welfare information site
  • Idaho Health Care Association (IHCA) - The mission of the Association is to assist its members to enhance the care and quality of life of all individuals served.
  • Idaho Home Health and Hospice (IHHH) - Our mission is to establish and maintain a regionally respected home care agency that provides the highest standard of quality home care by dependable, responsive, caring, trustworthy, skilled personnel and provide quality supportive care to individuals and their families dealing with life limiting illness allowing them to remain in their own homes with comfort and dignity.
  • Idaho Hospital Association (IHA) - While our primary focus is state and federal government relations and advocacy efforts on behalf of our members, IHA also provides other valuable membership services such as consultation on matters such as physician relations and hospital law, group unemployment compensation program, quality and patient safety, workforce development, education programs, data collection and interpretation, and other member services.
  • Idaho Medical Association (IMA) - Promoting the science and art of medicine, Protecting the public health, Enhancing the medical profession of the State of Idaho
  • Idaho Nurse's Association (INA) - To foster high standards of nursing practice, promote the professional educational advancement of nurses, and promote the welfare of nurses to the end that all people may have better nursing care.
  • Idaho Physical Therapy Association - the principle membership organization representing and promoting the profession of physical therapy in Idaho, is to further the profession’s role in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of movement dysfunctions and the enhancement of the physical health and functional abilities of members of the public through education, research, and evidenced-based practice.
  • Idaho Primary Care Association (IPCA) - The Primary Care Association (PCA) for the state of Idaho, representing Idaho's twelve Community Health Centers and three supporting members. PCAs serve as major links between Community Health Centers and their clinic sites, the Bureau of Primary Health Care (Department of Health and Human Services) and state and local governments. The mission of Idaho Primary Care Association is to advance the expansion of Federally Qualified Health Centers and to advocate for the health care needs of Idahoans, especially the underserved.
  • Idaho Psychological Association - IPA is dedicated to advancing psychology as a professional practice and a scientific endeavor. IPA aims to promote health and human welfare by encouraging the application of psychology in individual and family life, business, law, health care, and education. IPA works to increase public appreciation of psychology, to provide continuing education for psychologists, and to promote high standards of professional and ethical conduct in the field of psychology.
  • Idaho Speech, Language, Hearing Association (ISHA) – Serving Idaho since 1960, 275 members strong and still growing.
  • Idaho State Dental Association (ISDA) - The Idaho State Dental Association is the professional association of dentists committed to the public’s oral health through professional advancement, science and ethics: Leading a unified profession through initiatives in advocacy, education, and the development of standards.
  • Family Medicine Residency of Idaho – Family Medicine Residency of Idaho (FMRI) prepares broadly trained family physicians to practice in rural Idaho. 
  • Idaho Area Health Education Center- "Our mission is to improve access to educational and technical assistance resources for health care providers in the state of Idaho."
  • Northwest Regional Primary Care Association (NWRPCA) - Northwest Regional Primary Care Association (NWRPCA) is a non-profit membership association that works to ensure equal access to primary health care for all residents living in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
  • Qualis Health - An independent, private, nonprofit health care quality improvement organization. Headquartered in Seattle (Washington) with offices in Idaho and Alaska.
  • Idaho Public Health Association - The Idaho Public Health Association provides a forum for individuals and organizations to work collectively in order to assure conditions in which Idahoans will be healthy. Members can become involved in task groups related to policy, education, development and communication.
  • Idaho Society of Health-System Pharmacists- ISHP primarily supports and represents the interests of those pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who practice in hospitals, nursing homes, institutions, medical clinics and other such “health systems.” 
  • The Jason Foundation - a Nationally recognized, non profit organization that provides educational materials and resources about youth suicide at no cost to recipients.
  • Idaho Meth Project - Idaho Meth Project is a large-scale prevention program aimed at significantly reducing first-time meth use through public service messaging, public policy, and community outreach.
  • radar.boisestate.edu - The Idaho RADAR Center's mission is to provide free substance abuse prevention and addiction treatment resources to Idahoans. The center, a Boise State University program, is administered by the Institute for the Study of Addiction, a partnership between the College of Education and the College of Health Sciences. The center offers print materials and includes a video lending library of over 900 titles, functioning as a statewide information clearinghouse and resource referral center.

National Resources

  • American Academy of Family Physicians The American Academy of Family Physicians is the national association of family doctors. It was founded in 1947 to promote and maintain high quality standards for family doctors who are providing continuing comprehensive health care to the public.
  • American Association of Nurse Practitioners - The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), located in Washington, DC, is a national, non-profit membership organization whose mission is to ensure a solid policy and regulatory foundation that enables Nurse Practitioners to continue providing accessible, high quality healthcare to the nation.
  • American Medical Association - The American Medical Association helps doctors help patients by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional and public health issues.
  • American Occupational Therapy Association - The national professional association established in 1917 to represent the interests and concerns of occupational therapy practitioners and students of occupational therapy and to improve the quality of occupational therapy services.
  • Federal Office of Rural Health Policy - The Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) promotes better health care service in rural America by informing and advising the Department of Health and Human Services on matters affecting rural hospitals, and health care, co-ordinating activities within the department that relate to rural health care, and maintaining a national information clearinghouse.
  • National Association of County & City Health Officials, Rural Health - The goals of NACCHO’s rural health project are three-fold: to better understand the current local governmental public health infrastructure in rural communities, to identify the public health infrastructure and practice needs of rural communities, and to help meet those defined needs.
  • National Association of Rural Health Clinics - The only national organization dedicated exclusively to improving the delivery of quality, cost-effective health care in rural underserved areas through the Rural Health Clinics Program (RHC Program). NARHC works with Congress, federal agencies, and rural health allies to promote, expand, and protect the interests of clinics in the RHC Program.

Legislative Resources


Funding Resources

Idaho Rural Health Association * PO Box 2012 * Eagle, Idaho 83616 * idahorha@gmail.com

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