Secretary's Initiative on Rural Communities

On July 25, 2001, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson charged all HHS agencies and staff offices to examine ways to improve and enhance health care and human services for rural Americans.

There are 65 million Americans who live in rural areas. Health care and social service programs in rural communities provide needed support of communities' well-being and represent a significant segment of local economies.

The Report from the Rural Task Force was released on July 26, 2002.

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One Department Serving Rural America: HHS Rural Task Force Report to the Secretary.			html	pdf 133KB
Read Secretary Thompson's Speech at the Summit on Rural America			html
Press Release on the Summit on Rural America			html

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson recently acknowledged the importance of rural considerations in emergency preparedness. In his January 31, 2002, letter to each Governor regarding the new Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program, Secretary Thompson named the State Offices of Rural Health as essential partners in the development of State bioterrorism preparedness plans. This paper addresses rural emergency preparedness.

Rural Communities and Emergency Preparedness (pdf 318 kb)

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