Veterans Rural Health Resource Centers

Veterans Rural Health Resource Centers (VRHRCs) are Office of Rural Health (ORH) field-based satellite offices that serve as hubs of rural health care research, innovation, and dissemination. Congressional mandate 38 USC § 7308 defines VRHRCs’ mission to:

• Improve understanding of the challenges faced by Veterans living in rural areas
• Identify disparities in the availability of health care to Veterans living in rural areas
• Formulate practices or programs to enhance the delivery of health care to Veterans living in rural areas
• Develop special practices and products for the benefit of Veterans living in rural areas and for implementation of such practices and products in the Department system-wide

Located at host VA medical centers in Iowa City, Iowa; Salt Lake City, Utah; White River Junction, Vermont; Gainesville, Florida; and Portland, Oregon, VRHRCs functions include:

• Administration and Operations: Oversee the day-to-day operation of the VRHRC, providing operations and clinical leadership as well as administrative support
• Studies: Respond to requests from ORH to prepare longer-term studies of matters affecting Veterans living in rural areas of the United States
• Innovations: Develop and pilot test innovations in the delivery of care and services to rural Veterans, functioning as field-based "laboratories" for clinical and non-clinical pilot projects that address well-defined needs of Veterans living in rural communities
• Promising Practices Dissemination and Technical Assistance:
• Disseminate ORH Rural Promising Practices through mentored implementation to targeted stakeholders, inside and outside VA, that emerge from clinical and non-clinical pilot projects
• Provide technical assistance and program consultation on programs, pilots, projects and issues affecting rural Veterans to internal VA and external stakeholders

Each VRHRC has a specific rural focus:

• Iowa City:
• Improve care coordination for dual use Veterans, including those who use Community Care Programs
• Use VA Telemedicine and Informatics tools to improve access to care
• Develop innovative interdisciplinary treatment models to improve the quality and efficiency of care
• Develop innovative mental health treatment delivery models for rural Veterans
• Salt Lake City:
• Analyze data to identify patterns and characteristics of rural populations associated with suicide and suicide-related behavior
• Identify primary care provider recruitment and retention techniques to address rural provider shortages
• Create educational videos to support rural caregivers of Veterans with dementia
• Study and innovate in rural geriatric care, complex care and chronic conditions
• White River Junction:
• Conduct research on health care disparities affecting rural Veterans
• Pilot and evaluate care coordination programs serving rural Veterans
• Develop training on evidence based practices for rural VA providers
• Serve as a field resource for ORH program evaluation
• Gainesville:
• Improve independent living for rural Veterans
• Strengthen rural workforce recruitment, retention and education
• Support rural policy analysis, strategic planning, rural geographic database design, and implementation in support of rural Veteran health care through geospatial solutions (Disclaimer: This link directs to an internal VA site. You must have access to the VA network to view this page)
• Portland:
• Increase rural Veterans' access to care
• Find innovative ways to combat the pain or opioids epidemic
• Prevent Veteran suicide

VRHRC Leadership

Carolyn Turvey, PhD, Clinical Director Iowa City, Iowa VRHRC (Iowa City VA Health Care System)

Samantha Solimeo, PhD, MPH, Operations​​ Director Iowa City, Iowa VRHRC (Iowa City VA Health Care System)

Byron Bair, MD, Clinical Director Salt Lake City, Utah VRHRC (VA Salt Lake City Health Care System)

Bradley Watts, MD, Clinical Director White River Junction, Vermont VRHRC (White River Junction VA Medical Center)

Matthew Vincenti, PhD, Operations Director White River Junction, Vermont VRHRC (White River Junction VA Medical Center)

Keith Myers, DPT, Clinical Director Gainesville, Florida VRHRC (Malcom Randall VA Medical Center)

Sergio Romero, PhD, Operations Director Gainesville, Florida VRHRC (Malcom Randall VA Medical Center)

Travis Lovejoy, PhD, MPH, Clinical Director Portland, Oregon VRHRC (Portland VA Medical Center)

Sarah Ono, PhD, Operations Director Portland, Oregon VRHRC (Portland VA Medical Center)

Learn more about VRHRC leadership here.