Top Three Flex Activities in 2009

1. Rural Trauma Team Development for CAHs / EMS Leadership Training
2. Hospital Mentoring (Peer to Peer Learning) Program
3. Hospital Collaborative for MRSA Education and Training

Flex Program Success Story

Marcum and Wallace Memorial Hospital was a small rural hospital in the red struggling to make payroll each month. They were the first Kentucky hospital to convert to CAH status. CAH conversion helped stabilize the financial situation for this hospital and even allowed them to erase a substantial outstanding debt. After conversion, the hospital partnered in and received a HRSA outreach grant that brought key community leaders and health providers together to address unmet health needs throughout the service area. As a result, many solid collaborative relationships were developed that continue to exist today. Marcum and Wallace Memorial Hospital has undergone a complete renovation and has taken the lead in Trauma Team Development for CAHs. They were the first hospital to receive Rural Trauma Team Development Training through the Flex program and are slated to become the first Level IV Trauma Center in Kentucky. The hospital has agreed to mentor other CAHs in readiness for Trauma Team Development. In partnership with the Flex Program, the hospital recently invited other CAH representatives to the facility for an educational demonstration of what it means to be a Trauma Center. Marcum and Wallace Memorial Hospital has gone from being a struggling hospital on the verge of closure to a strong viable Critical Access Hospital leading the state in collaborative health care management.

Most Significant Achievement

The conversion of 32 hospitals to Critical Access status.

Flex Program Details

Location: University of Kentucky
Number of CAHs: 29
Web site: http://www.mc.uky.edu/ruralhealth/korh.asp

Rural Assistance Center State Resources