MRHA Membership

Direct Support to Rural Communities

• A website devoted to sharing information on rural issues, solutions to challenges, and opportunities for rural Maryland.
• E-newsletters on rural health events, programs, members, and policy concerns.
• Support of growing the rural health workforce through events like HealthSpell, two spelling events on the Eastern Shore and one in Western Maryland, that support scholarships to rural students and advocacy for policies and programs that will solve the dire shortage of healthcare workers in our rural areas. MRHA retains scholarship funds for these rural students as they begin to enter higher education.
• Support to nine rural communities applying to be Health Enterprise Zones through MAERDAF funds that led to two rural designated zones and over 2M state funds annually to these rural communities

Networking

• Participation in MRHA committees and opportunity to share knowledge and experience with peers.
• Networking opportunities with other rural health professionals throughout the state.
• Discounts on registration fees for MRHA annual conference and associate membership in the National Rural Health Association (NRHA).

Advocacy

• Legislative alerts on issues of state and federal concerns, and instructions for call to action on legislation impacting rural areas.
• Growing presence in Annapolis educating on the importance of improving the health of rural communities with an annual published legislative agenda and tracking of introduced legislation impacting rural health. MRHA has been instrumental in:
• Helping to Ensure the Health Enterprise Zone (HEZ) Program recognized the growing disparity in health due to geographic isolation as part of the intent of the Maryland Health Improvement and Disparities Reduction Act of 2012.
• Reinstatement of funding for the Rural Maryland Council (RMC) and Maryland Agriculture Educational and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF) Grant Program in 2012 through a supplemental budget and in 2013 permanently in the Governor’s Budget
• Passage of Telemedicine Legislation 2012-2014 that will allow more readily telemedicine to be paid for and supported in rural communities.

Education

• Information on health issues impacting rural Maryland.
• The leader in educating statewide stakeholders on programs and practices important to keep rural Maryland healthy
• Leader in continuing a statewide rural event through the facilitation of three Rural Health Conferences and the 2013 Rural Action Assembly that brought together stakeholders from all rural regions of the state to understand and learn from each other on how to improve their community’s health.
• Partnership with Institute for a Healthiest Maryland to provide assistance to rural local communities and Local Health Improvement Coalitions.
• Partnership with the Department of Aging to Do Outreach on Senior Health Insurance Programs
• Partnership with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to understand the scope of practice barriers of non-physician primary care providers in rural Maryland
• Partnership with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to identify best practices in finding solutions to workforce shortages in rural Maryland
• Inventory on Telemedicine/Telehealth Projects in the State of Maryland

Higher Educational Partnership Tuition Discount 

• Maryland Rural Health Association has an exciting new partnership with Columbia Southern University with new benefits exclusively for our members.
• Columbia Southern University is an online university based in Orange Beach, Alabama, that strives to change and improve lives through higher education by enabling students to maximize their professional and personal potential.
• Columbia Southern University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges(SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s and doctorate degrees, and certificates. Questions about the accreditation of Columbia Southern University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).

Benefits of the partnership include:

• 10% tuition discount on all classes and waiver of the Application Fee. This benefit extends to spouses and children of Learning Partner employee/member.
• Textbooks provided at no cost.
• Exclusive Scholarship Opportunities for Learning Partner employees/members. Click here for more information.
• A complimentary evaluation of previously earned college credits and training/professional certifications for consideration of transfer credit.
• Complementary access to our Writing and Math specialists through the Student Success Center.