Arizona Tribune - Rural Health Transformation Requires More Than Funding - It Requires a Proven Care Model

SIOUX FALLS, SD / ACCESS Newswire / August 18, 2026 / Rural America does not lack dedicated healthcare professionals. It lacks enough of them.

Across the country, rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals are being asked to provide increasingly complex care with smaller clinical teams, fewer specialists and greater distances separating patients from higher levels of care.

The federal Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) creates a historic opportunity to change that. But Avel eCare, a national leader in virtual healthcare delivery for more than 30 years, says funding alone will not transform rural healthcare. The impact will depend on what states and healthcare organizations build with it.

"Technology alone does not solve a workforce shortage," Mandy Bell, Senior Vice President of Product Innovation at Avel eCare said. "Rural communities need sustainable access to clinical expertise, and the clinicians already serving those communities need additional resources around them. That is what a fully developed Virtual Health System can provide."

Rural Healthcare's Access and Workforce Challenge

The disparities facing rural communities are well documented. According to the Rural Health Information Hub, rural health disparities are driven in part by geographic distance, healthcare workforce shortages, infrastructure limitations and reduced access to specialists and subspecialists. By 2019, the age-adjusted death rate in rural areas was 20% higher than in urban areas.

Workforce data illustrates the challenge. A 2024 report from the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center found rural counties had just 55.6 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents compared with 93.6 in urban counties, with rural workforce shortages extending across numerous healthcare professions.

The result is a simple but difficult reality: the patient still arrives, whether or not the specialist is onsite.

Extending the Rural Healthcare Workforce

Avel eCare's Virtual Health System was built for that reality.

Unlike consumer telehealth models that primarily connect a clinician directly to a patient, Avel's model connects clinicians to clinicians. The local physician, nurse, pharmacist, paramedic or other healthcare professional remains a critical partner in the patient's care. Avel surrounds that local team with additional clinical expertise and support.

That can mean a board-certified emergency physician helping a rural team manage a critical patient, a pharmacist reviewing medications and potential drug interactions, an Avel clinician coordinating transport to a higher level of care, an emergency team supporting EMTs from the back of a moving ambulance, or a behavioral health professional assisting a local team during a mental health crisis.

Avel's hospital partners describe the model as an additional resource, not a replacement for local expertise.

"It is just another layer, another resource," said Leticia Rodriguez, CEO of Ward Memorial Hospital, a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital. "It's just another set of eyes to either confirm that you're on the right track, or maybe they see something that you didn't see, and it's just better quality care for our patients."

Turning RHTP Funding Into Lasting Infrastructure

The Rural Health Transformation Program is providing $50 billion over five years to strengthen rural healthcare nationwide, with priorities that include expanding access, strengthening the workforce, modernizing technology and supporting sustainable care models.

Those dollars give states an opportunity to do more than purchase technology. They can build clinical infrastructure that continues to strengthen rural care long after the initial investment.

Avel has spent more than three decades developing that infrastructure, integrating experienced clinicians, technology, workflows and quality standards into a Virtual Health System designed to work alongside local healthcare teams.

That model is already supporting rural communities across the country, from hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals to ambulances in the field. In Nebraska, for example, Avel's virtual EMS program has connected rural EMS professionals with board-certified emergency physicians, experienced paramedics and nurses. In program surveys, EMS personnel rated the value of the service 4.7 out of 5, while 72% said they believed the program would help with recruitment.

Rural transformation will require more than funding. It will require a sustainable way to bring more clinical expertise to the communities that need it.

For states and healthcare organizations deciding how to invest RHTP dollars, Avel eCare offers a proven Virtual Health System designed to do exactly that.

About Avel eCare

Founded in 1993 as the nation's first virtual hospital, Avel eCare provides virtual emergency, EMS, critical care, pharmacy, clinic, senior care and behavioral health services to healthcare partners across the U.S. Through its Virtual Health System, Avel connects experienced clinicians with local healthcare teams to expand access, strengthen the healthcare workforce and support high-quality care closer to home.

Contact:
Jessica Gaikowski, Director of Marketing & Communications
[email protected] | 605.606.0150

SOURCE: Avel eCare

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M.White--AT