The Rural Health Redesign Center

What The Rural Health Redesign Center does

The Rural Health Redesign Center (RHRC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, founded in 2020 to address healthcare access and sustainability challenges in rural America. The organization operates as a federally-supported technical assistance center rather than a technology vendor, delivering consulting and advisory services through a portfolio of structured programs: the national Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center (REH-TAC, HRSA-designated), the Appalachian Region Healthcare Technical Assistance Center (ARH-TAC), the ARC-TAC ARISE program serving 66 Appalachian counties in Pennsylvania and New York, the Northern Border Region Technical Assistance Center (NBR-TAC) covering Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, and the Peer Recovery Expansion Project (PREP) for substance use disorder intervention. Underlying these programs are consulting modules covering alternative payment models, strategic planning, clinical transformation, emergency support for distressed hospitals, leadership development, and grant writing. RHRC's flagship methodology is the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM), the first-in-the-nation statewide alternative payment initiative for rural hospitals, which delivered approximately $238 million in financial benefits to 18 participating hospitals over seven years.

RHRC employs between 11 and 50 staff drawn from long-term rural residents and healthcare executives with over 300 years of combined rural health and hospital operations experience, led by CEO/Executive Director Janice Walters. The organization has reached 200+ healthcare providers, connected with 120–250+ communities across multiple regions, supported 128 hospitals through the REH Technical Assistance Center (delivering 17,000+ coaching hours), and serves a population of roughly 3.5 million rural residents.

The business model is grant-funded rather than revenue-generating: RHRC receives appropriations and cooperative agreements from federal and state agencies including the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) via the ARISE program, the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC), and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), supplemented by public donations accepted through its 501(c)(3) status. All technical assistance services are provided free of charge to qualifying rural healthcare organizations. Go-to-market operates through government referrals, peer networks, healthcare conferences, monthly Educational Symposiums, structured rolling or annual program cohorts, and a content footprint spanning blog, newsletter, social media, and annual reports. The company's defensible position rests on the HRSA-exclusive REH-TAC designation, the proprietary PARHM methodology, deep operational talent, and a multi-stakeholder partner ecosystem including Stratis Health, Stroudwater, and RHANew England.

Name

The Rural Health Redesign Center

Legal name

Rural Health Redesign Center Organization

Website

https://rhrco.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Rural Health Redesign Center (RHRC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, HRSA-designated national technical assistance center that provides free consulting, strategic planning, financial modeling, and alternative payment model design to rural hospitals, critical access hospitals, and state health agencies across the Appalachian Region, Northern Border Region, and the broader United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Healthcare Consulting and Technical Assistance

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Public Health & Human Services Administration (BPAIACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) (HLAFAGAL), Health Systems Strengthening & Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Partnerships (HLAJAOAL)

Keywords

• Rural Healthcare Consulting
• Healthcare Technical Assistance
• Nonprofit Healthcare Services
• Hospital Advisory Services
• Healthcare Policy Support

Headquarters

HQ city

Harrisburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants: RHRC operates primarily as a grant-funded nonprofit organization. Major grants include a $5.2 million four-year grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) through the ARISE program, and funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center and Northern Border Region Technical Assistance Center.
2. Donations: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, RHRC accepts donations from the public to support its mission of improving rural healthcare access.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Rural Health Redesign Center (RHRC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2020 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that delivers no-cost technical assistance, consulting, and capacity-building services to rural healthcare providers and communities. Its offerings span rural health consulting (with modules such as Alternative Payment Models and Strategic Planning), the Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center (REH-TAC), the Appalachian Region Healthcare Technical Assistance Center (ARH-TAC), the Northern Border Region Technical Assistance Center (NBR-TAC), the ARC-TAC | ARISE initiative, the Peer Recovery Expansion Project (PREP), the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM), and the REH Peer Network. Services are funded primarily through government grants from agencies including HRSA, ARC, NBRC, and RCORP.

Product overview

The Rural Health Redesign Center (RHRC) is a nonprofit healthcare consulting organization that provides a portfolio of technical assistance programs and consulting services rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include the Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center (REH-TAC), Appalachian Region Healthcare Technical Assistance Center (ARH-TAC), ARC-TAC/ARISE, Northern Border Region Technical Assistance Center (NBR-TAC), and the Peer Recovery Expansion Project (PREP). The Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM) represents their flagship alternative payment model initiative. Underlying these programs are consulting modules covering alternative payment models, strategic planning, clinical transformation, emergency support, leadership development, and funding support. RHRC serves as a convener and advisor rather than a technology platform, delivering services through direct consulting engagements, webinars, educational resources, peer networks, and published learning materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rural Health Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• $238 million in additional financial benefits bestowed to participant hospitals through the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model over seven years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered supporting.

• Armstrong-Indiana-Clarion Drug and Alcohol Commission (ARMOT)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPREP program is modeled after ARMOT's successful Addiction Recovery Mobile Outreach Team. ARMOT provides technical assistance for integrating Certified Recovery Specialists into hospital emergency departments.
• Pitt PERUsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides stigma reduction training and education through the PREP program, helping to reduce stigma associated with substance use disorder and behavioral health issues among hospital staff and community members.
• RHANew EnglandsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in the Northern Border Region Technical Assistance Center providing collaborative support for rural healthcare improvement initiatives.
• Stratis HealthsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization supporting the Northern Border Region Technical Assistance Center with healthcare quality and improvement expertise.
• StroudwatersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in the Northern Border Region Technical Assistance Center providing consulting and healthcare expertise.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Rural Health Association: National nonprofit membership organization focused on rural health advocacy, education, and technical assistance. Directly comparable to RHRC as both serve rural healthcare providers with similar programmatic and policy-focused missions.
• Stratis Health: Minnesota-based nonprofit providing healthcare quality improvement, patient safety, and rural health technical assistance. RHRC partners with Stratis on the Northern Border Region TAC, making them a directly comparable rural health TA provider.
• Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub): Federally funded national clearinghouse for rural health information, resources, and TA funded through FORHP. Directly comparable as a federally backed rural health information and TA infrastructure provider serving similar end users.
• Stroudwater Associates: Healthcare consulting firm specializing in rural hospitals, critical access hospitals, and rural health systems strategy. RHRC partners with Stroudwater on NBR-TAC, and both deliver operational, financial, and strategic advisory services to similar rural provider clients.

Broad incumbents

• National Association of Rural Health Clinics: National trade association representing Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) with policy advocacy, education, and technical assistance. Comparable mission focus on rural healthcare delivery though narrower clinic-segment focus than RHRC's hospital-centric work.
• Health Management Associates: National healthcare research and consulting firm with substantial state Medicaid, public health, and rural health practice areas. Comparable consulting footprint across state health agencies and rural provider strategy though serving a broader client base.
• Chartis Group: Large healthcare advisory firm with a dedicated Rural Health practice serving hospitals and health systems. Comparable consulting capabilities for rural provider strategy, financial improvement, and operational transformation but operating commercially rather than as a nonprofit TA center.

Emerging players

• Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research: UNC-based health services research center producing rural health workforce, access, and policy research. Comparable research-informed approach to rural health systems improvement though primarily academic rather than direct TA delivery.
• RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis: University-based policy research center producing rural health policy analysis and supporting rural health system transformation. Comparable focus on rural health systems with emphasis on policy research and payment reform expertise overlapping with RHRC's PARHM work.

Regional players

• Rural Health Association of North Carolina: State-level rural health association providing advocacy and resources to rural providers in North Carolina. Comparable organizational model and rural health focus but geographically limited to a single state rather than national.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theRHRC
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@RuralHealthRedesignCenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/theRHRC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/80804503/admin/feed/posts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Rural Health Redesign Center