When Place Matters: History of Access to Healthcare and Mental Healthcare in Rural NC

“Place—a confluence of the social, economic, political, physical, and built environments—is fundamental to our understanding of health and health inequities among marginalized racial groups in the United States” –Sharrelle Barber

For the past 14 weeks, I served as an administrative intern with the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Rural Health (ORH). During my time as an administrative intern, I was heavily involved with supporting ORH’s state-funded telepsychiatry program (NC-STeP) by conducting site visits to rural emergency departments implementing the program and synthesizing the results into the annual legislative report. I also participated in various webinars concerning rural health care issues, shadowed strategy meetings, and assisted in writing and reviewing federal grant contracts. Exposure to the diverse initiatives of ORH encouraged me to intentionally study the history behind the deep-rooted health access issues of rural North Carolina. This report includes an overview of current rural health issues and needs, the impact of NC’s history on ongoing rural health access issues, how the mental health landscape has changed in NC, and featured insights from current ORH personnel about careers in government work and their future hopes for the improvement of healthcare for all.

*Disclaimer: The views presented in this report are those of the author only and do not reflect the views of Duke University, the Hart Leadership Program, or the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Rural Health.