The Polish Red Cross was the initiator of health care in rural areas during the interwar period and the establishment of the first rural health centers.

Despite the expansion of the network of health centers by the state and local governments, as well as the Social Insurance Institution, the residents of the village acutely felt the lack of medical care. The idea of creating health centers in villages came from Countess Maria Tarnowska, Vice President of the Polish Red Cross, who was a trained nurse by profession.

Living in the Świerże estate in Lublin Voivodeship, she provided nursing and hygiene advice to the residents of her village. At that time, she was horrified by the dire living conditions and the backwardness of the rural population (trust in grandmothers, folk healers, and various charlatans), especially regarding child-rearing and hygiene. Thus, she proposed the project of organizing a network of rural health centers throughout the country under the auspices of the Red Cross. By promoting this idea, she wrote articles in the press and delivered radio talks. The project actually gained substantial support. The first rural health center was established in the Tarnowski estate in Świerże. They allocated one of the residential buildings for administration, equipped it, and provided water and electricity.

In the period leading up to 1939 in Poland, the Red Cross, modeled on the center in Świerże, launched about 300 such facilities. Today we could say that the establishment of rural health centers was an excellent example of partnership between estate owners, local governments, and the Polish Red Cross. The local facilities were provided by the commune or private owners, and the National Board of the Polish Red Cross dispatched a qualified nurse to work at the center and covered her salary. In the Małopolska region, Zakliczyn was an example of such a center. In 1938, 110 children were registered at the center, 191 people in the anti-jacobite clinic, and 248 in the anti-tuberculosis clinic. There were also clinics for counter-venereal diseases and a clinic for mothers. In total, 4588 consultations were provided at the rural center in 1938.

In cooperation with state and local government offices, so-called "flying health centers" were also established, which were also run by the Red Cross. The areas for their establishment were localities that had no medical care. To each of them, a doctor arrived once a week equipped with medicines and treated the sick for 5-7 hours a day. Nurses and hygienists accompanied the doctors. The "flying health centers" were operated by the communes, which also covered the costs of maintaining these premises. These centers primarily engaged in preventive activities. The centers focused on schoolchildren's care, with each child to be examined at least once a year.

In the campaign to spread sanitary education in the countryside, popularize hygiene principles for daily life, and combat folk healing during the interwar period, the Polish Red Cross made a significant contribution. They also trained so-called rural health leaders. These were village girls educated in Red Cross courses with the thought that upon returning to the village, they would provide first aid in emergencies and contribute to improving the health status of village residents through conducted campaigns.