Speare Memorial Hospital (SMH), a critical access hospital located in Plymouth, New Hampshire, was one of six organizations selected to participate in the 2022-2023 Rural Health Provider Transition Project (RHPTP). SMH has seen RHPTP’s impact on their improved organizational culture and overall patient experience and is a wonderful example of a health care organization utilizing existing resources to bolster their many strengths and recent goals. The RHPTP team is excited to see what this transition to value-based care brings to their community and is so fortunate to celebrate their progress and commitment in the project. Read more about SMH's top accomplishments and current initiatives toward greater care coordination.

Effectively transitioning to a VBC payment system can be a challenge for many HCOs, therefore, State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) can be particularly vital partners in helping connect clinics and hospitals with additional tools, resources, and a valuable local perspective. Learn more about how one participating RHPTP HCO partnered with their SORH in 2024 to further their work toward a health system focused on value.

This webinar focused on quality improvement from the ambulance service perspective.

In this webinar, participants will learn about issues surrounding maternal health in rural settings and explore whether small rural hospitals, rural health clinics, and communities can leverage Federally Qualified Health Centers to stabilize maternal health care access and improve outcomes.

Two new educational videos now available from the National Rural Health Resource Center highlight the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the country’s rural communities and the steps that critical access hospitals and other small rural hospitals can take to improve access to much-needed pulmonary rehabilitation services.