OnMed CareStation Gains Momentum as States Deploy $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Funding
As states across the United States transition from planning to implementation of approximately $50 billion in federal Rural Health Transformation Program funding, healthcare leaders are increasingly exploring new approaches to expand access to medical services in underserved communities. Among the models gaining attention is the OnMed CareStation™, a technology-enabled healthcare platform designed to bring clinical services closer to rural residents without requiring the construction and staffing of a traditional brick-and-mortar medical facility.
The growing interest in OnMed CareStations reflects a broader transformation taking place in rural healthcare delivery. Rather than directing new funding exclusively toward conventional hospitals, clinics and other fixed facilities, health systems, community organizations and state partners are considering distributed models that can extend existing clinical capacity into locations where people live, work and gather.
OnMed describes its CareStation as an 8-by-10-foot “Clinic-in-a-Box” that combines a private care environment, remote licensed clinicians and integrated diagnostic capabilities. The platform is designed to replicate important elements of an in-person medical visit while using technology to overcome some of the geographic and workforce challenges that have historically limited healthcare access in rural communities.
Bringing Clinical Care Closer to Rural Communities
The CareStation is designed to provide patients with a private location where they can interact with licensed clinicians remotely. Through the integrated platform, clinicians can evaluate patients, assess symptoms, conduct examinations with connected diagnostic tools and, when appropriate, provide treatment recommendations and prescriptions.
The model is intended to combine the accessibility and scalability of virtual healthcare with aspects of a conventional doctor’s visit. Instead of requiring patients to travel long distances to reach a medical facility, the CareStation can be positioned in community locations where residents already spend time.
This distributed approach could be particularly relevant in communities where establishing a traditional clinic may be difficult because of limited staffing, financial constraints, population density or geographic isolation.
OnMed’s technology ecosystem and infrastructure are designed for deployment across a range of community settings. The company believes this flexibility can allow healthcare organizations to expand access without the time, staffing requirements and physical footprint associated with conventional healthcare construction.
Interest Spreads Across More Than 25 States
According to OnMed, requests for CareStations have been submitted by multiple health systems and local partners across more than 25 states, with additional opportunities continuing to advance nationwide.
The geographic reach of these requests illustrates growing interest in alternative healthcare delivery models as states determine how best to use new federal rural health funding.
States identified by OnMed include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
The growing list represents a wide range of rural communities and healthcare environments, but many face similar challenges: shortages of clinicians, long travel distances, limited specialist availability and difficulty maintaining sufficient healthcare infrastructure.
Karthik Ganesh, CEO of OnMed, said rural health transformation provides an opportunity to reconsider traditional assumptions about where and how healthcare should be delivered.
“Rural health transformation cannot simply mean rebuilding the same system with new dollars,” Ganesh said. “This is an opportunity to rethink where healthcare happens and how we get it to people.”
He added that the company’s growing momentum reflects the need for healthcare models capable of reaching people in their own communities while maintaining human clinicians at the center of care.
Early Experience in Alabama
OnMed points to its experience in LaFayette, Alabama, as an example of how the CareStation model can be used in a rural community.
According to the company, approximately 76% of LaFayette’s population has used the CareStation. Users have also reported a high level of satisfaction, with the average satisfaction score reaching 4.97 out of 5.
The company further reported that in 2025, the LaFayette CareStation achieved a 67% emergency room and urgent care diversion rate. If sustained and replicated in other communities, such diversion could potentially help reduce pressure on emergency departments and urgent care facilities by providing residents with another option for addressing appropriate medical needs.
Hollie C. Cost, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President of University Outreach & Public Service at Auburn University, described the experience positively, saying that more than 98% of users reported that their needs were met.
Cost also characterized OnMed as a strong community partner and said the CareStation was having a meaningful impact on local residents.
These reported outcomes provide an example of how a distributed care model could function as part of a broader rural healthcare network. Rather than replacing hospitals, physicians or emergency departments, CareStations can potentially provide another access point for appropriate healthcare needs and connect patients with additional services when necessary.
Addressing Rural Healthcare Barriers in Delaware
The need for new access models is also evident in rural Delaware.
David A. Tam, MD, MBA, CPHE, FACHE, President and CEO of Beebe Healthcare, said that residents in rural Delaware can encounter multiple barriers when attempting to obtain healthcare. Distance, transportation challenges and competing work and family obligations can make it difficult for individuals to attend appointments.
According to Tam, the OnMed CareStation provides an innovative way to bring healthcare services closer to residents while complementing existing community healthcare partnerships.
The goal is not necessarily to create an independent healthcare system, but rather to connect patients with a broader network of local providers, specialists and support resources.
This integrated approach could be particularly valuable in rural communities where healthcare access involves more than simply the availability of a physician. Transportation, appointment scheduling, employment obligations and family responsibilities can all influence whether a patient is able to obtain timely care.
By placing healthcare access points closer to where people live and work, technology-enabled models may help address some of these practical barriers.
Arizona Highlights Specialist Access Challenges
Arizona provides another example of the healthcare access challenges confronting rural communities.
Lonnie Wills, Executive Director of the Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council of Mohave County, said healthcare access for rural Arizonans is measured not only by physical distance but also by the length of time patients must wait for appointments.
According to Wills, local physicians and specialists are dealing with substantial demand, with some patients facing appointment waits of three to eight months, including individuals with immediate medical concerns.
In response, the Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council of Mohave County has submitted a proposal that includes OnMed CareStations as part of an effort to expand rural healthcare access.
Technology-enabled access points could potentially give residents a faster pathway to an initial clinical evaluation. Depending on the patient’s needs, that evaluation could lead to treatment, monitoring or referral to an appropriate local physician or specialist.
Wills emphasized that such technology should support rather than replace existing providers. This distinction is central to the distributed-care model: technology can expand the number of locations where patients can access clinicians while local healthcare professionals continue providing specialized and longitudinal care.
Supporting Health Systems Through Technology
Healthcare systems are also looking at technology-enabled models as a way to expand their reach without undertaking large-scale infrastructure projects.
Jolene Zografos, Chief Nursing Officer and Operations Executive at Lee Health, said the future of healthcare will depend on the industry’s ability to bring care closer to the people who need it.
She described technology-enabled care models as a practical and scalable way to expand access while allowing patients to receive timely services in convenient and familiar locations.
For health systems, this approach could provide an opportunity to extend their clinical networks into communities that may not support a full-service hospital or conventional clinic.
The model may also help organizations respond to workforce shortages. Rather than requiring every rural community to recruit and retain a complete team of medical professionals, remote clinicians can potentially provide care through strategically located technology-enabled facilities.
Rural Transformation Funding Creates an Opportunity
The federal Rural Health Transformation Program represents a significant opportunity for states and communities to reconsider how rural healthcare infrastructure is developed.
With approximately $50 billion in funding moving from allocation toward implementation, state agencies and healthcare organizations are now faced with decisions about how investments can produce sustainable improvements in access and outcomes.
Traditional healthcare infrastructure will remain important, including hospitals, clinics, emergency services and specialist practices. However, the increasing interest in CareStations suggests that distributed healthcare infrastructure could become an additional component of rural health strategies.
Instead of concentrating healthcare services in a limited number of large facilities, communities may increasingly use a combination of hospitals, primary care offices, remote-care locations and technology-enabled access points.
This approach could create a more flexible healthcare network capable of adapting to differences in population density, geography and workforce availability.
A Potential Shift Toward Distributed Healthcare
The growing interest in OnMed CareStations across numerous states points to a larger change in how rural healthcare delivery is being considered.
Historically, expanding healthcare access has often meant constructing new physical facilities. While traditional facilities remain essential, building and operating them can require significant capital, staffing and time.
Distributed technology-enabled care offers another potential path. Smaller healthcare access points can potentially be deployed closer to residents and connected to licensed clinicians through an integrated technology platform.
The effectiveness of this approach will depend on factors such as clinical integration, technology reliability, patient adoption, reimbursement and the availability of local referral networks. Nevertheless, early experiences cited by OnMed suggest that there is meaningful interest among communities looking for alternatives to traditional models.
As states move forward with Rural Health Transformation Program investments, decisions made today could influence the structure of rural healthcare for years to come.
OnMed is currently working with state agencies, healthcare systems and community organizations to identify communities where CareStations could support rural health priorities. The company’s growing number of requests across more than 25 states indicates that healthcare leaders are actively considering technology-enabled models as part of their strategies for addressing access challenges.
The emerging model does not necessarily represent a replacement for conventional healthcare. Instead, it offers a potential complement to hospitals, primary care practices, specialists and community health organizations.
By combining remote licensed clinicians, diagnostic technologies and strategically placed physical access points, the OnMed CareStation is positioned as one example of how healthcare infrastructure could become more distributed.
As billions of dollars in federal rural healthcare funding move toward implementation, the focus is increasingly shifting from planning to execution. For rural communities facing long travel distances, provider shortages and limited healthcare infrastructure, the next phase of transformation could depend on how effectively states and healthcare organizations combine traditional services with scalable, technology-enabled models that bring care closer to patients.
About OnMed
OnMed is transforming how the world accesses healthcare. With its patented OnMed CareStation™, an 8×10 foot “Clinic-in-a-Box”, OnMed delivers comprehensive, immediate care wherever people live, work, and learn. The CareStation is a tech-enabled, AI-powered, and human-delivered platform that blends the comprehensiveness of traditional in-person care with the rapid scalability of telemedicine.