Office of Rural Health

ORH Mission Statement: The North Carolina Office of Rural Health (ORH) supports equitable access to health in rural and underserved communities.
To achieve its mission, ORH works collaboratively to provide:

• Funding
• Training
• Technical assistance

For high quality, innovative, accessible, cost effective services that support the maintenance and growth of the State’s safety net and rural communities.

The Office of Rural Health (ORH) assists underserved communities by improving access, quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. In state fiscal year 2024, ORH spent $33.6 million from state, federal, and philanthropic sources. ORH administers over 550 contracts designed to expand access to high quality health care for rural and underserved populations allowing ORH to return over 80% of its budget directly to NC communities. In addition, ORH provides in-depth technical assistance to North Carolina’s healthcare safety net system. In 1973, the North Carolina ORH became the first state office in the nation created to focus on the needs of rural and underserved communities.
While we do not provide direct care, our programs support numerous health care safety net organizations throughout North Carolina.

Director: Margaret Sauer