Rural Ready Nursing Support: Building a Stronger Nursing Workforce
Rural communities depend heavily on registered nurses to provide care, but they face disproportionate challenges, including higher workforce shortages, fewer training opportunities, and growing health disparities compared to urban areas.
In response, NEOAHEC has partnered with the OHSU School of Nursing La Grande Campus to launch Rural Ready Nursing Support—a targeted, three-pronged initiative designed to strengthen the rural nursing pathway.
Rural Ready was intentionally modeled after similar efforts developed by Area Health Education Centers in Indiana and Montana.
Clinical Travel Support
Clinical Travel Support includes reimbursement for mileage and lodging during specialty clinical rotations not available locally. For students based in La Grande, gaining experience in areas like inpatient behavioral health or maternal-child care often requires multi-day travel to Boise.
This support allows students to pursue their nursing education in La Grande without taking on additional costs due to the distance between training sites. By reducing this financial burden, the program helps remove a key barrier to completing required clinical experiences and progressing through nursing school.
A Junior in the OHSU School of Nursing in La Grande who was reimbursed for travel expenses shared this: “Without the travel reimbursement, a significant portion of my attention during clinical rotations would have been focused on the financial strain of travel, lodging, and related expenses rather than the learning experience itself. Because that support was available, I was able to fully focus on patient care, clinical learning, and making the most of the opportunity without the constant stress of how I was going to afford it.”
Mental Health First Aid
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an evidence-based training developed in 2000 to help individuals recognize, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges. The goal is to help students develop practical skills for approaching difficult conversations, recognizing warning signs early, and connecting individuals with appropriate support and resources. The training also places strong emphasis on self-care, which is especially important in nursing—a profession where burnout, compassion fatigue, and mental health strain are common.
As part of our Rural Ready initiative, NEOAHEC is excited to offer MHFA training to OHSU School of Nursing Junior students during their Spring Population Health course. This allows them to build confidence in supporting patients, peers, and community members while also learning strategies to care for themselves.
In addition to student training, NEOAHEC will also be offering MHFA training for OHSU School of Nursing faculty in La Grande during their return-to-school sessions in the fall, helping strengthen a shared foundation of mental health awareness and support across both learners and educators.
By integrating MHFA into both student and faculty development, we continue to support healthier healthcare teams and stronger rural communities.
Simulation
The third pillar, high-fidelity simulation, gives students hands-on practice in high-risk, low-frequency scenarios they may not encounter during clinical rotations.
This training is highly valuable to rural healthcare providers beyond just skill practice because they often face these types of situations and have few immediate resources and limited specialist support.
NEOAHEC has already hosted three interprofessional simulation experiences this academic year, including a Pediatric Abdominal Trauma simulation on October 28 and a Pediatric Autism/Spectrum Disorder simulation on January 28.
Interprofessional education is important because it helps people from different fields learn to work together in healthcare. Dr. Zach Spoehr-Labutta, a local provider, shared this: “In the provider role, it can be easy to assume you understand why a patient is not progressing on their goals of care. Interprofessional teams help add relationship and context so that you are better able to treat the person not the just the disease.”
The most recent event was the Pediatric Diabetes Emergency simulation on May 4. This simulation included not only clinical decision-making, but also discharge planning, family support, and connecting patients to realistic rural resources—showing students that simulation goes beyond bedside care and includes the full patient experience.
Collaborating with OHSU Campus for Rural Health Education students has been highly successful, and students have really valued the new partnerships.
As one participant shared, “Initially I was a little anxious having a medical student in the room with us. However, after I was able to reflect it was actually a really good experience. I enjoyed being able to hear the perspective of a physician and having the practice to communicate/work with one.”
Thank you to our Funders!
We are grateful to the Roundhouse Foundation for their support in launching the Rural Ready Nursing Support program.
We also extend our sincere thanks to an individual donor whose generous annual contribution will provide critical, ongoing support for this work.
