This newsletter is supported by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) to share resources, educational events, and targeted technical assistance opportunities from the Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP). The goal of RHPTP is to help strengthen the foundation in key elements of value-based care for qualified small rural hospitals and certified rural health clinics.
Apply for One Year of Virtual and Onsite Technical Assistance
Small rural hospitals and certified rural health clinics selected to participate in RHPTP receive one year of focused technical assistance (TA) that's designed to strengthen their organization's understanding of the key elements of value-based care. Project focus areas include quality, efficiency, patient experience, and safety.
Five applicants are selected each year to receive RHPTP's virtual and on-site TA.
The Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) was launched in September 2020 to help position small rural hospitals (SRH) and certified rural health clinics (RHCs) to be effective in a health system focused on value.
The first cohort included four participants:
County of Lawrence Health Department, RHC, Lawrenceville, IL
Guadalupe County Hospital, SRH, Santa Rosa, NM
Lincoln County Medical Center, SRH, Ruidoso, NM
Sudan Medical Clinic, RHC, Sudan, TX
RHPTP staff stay in contact with participants for a full year following the completion of technical assistance in order to capture success, outcomes, and next steps.
Accomplishments:
Expanded telehealth services
Capitalized on coding
Improved care coordination
Improved patient satisfaction
Adopted new EHRs and expanded existing EHRs
Improved patient discharge processes
Focused population health planning
Established school clinics with telehealth kiosks
Increased staff celebrations
Increased mental health celebrations
Developed stronger collaborations with community partners
Participate in 340B Drug Program
Created robust resource list to address social drivers of health
Gained certification to provide swing beds
Measurable Outcomes:
The Population Health Readiness Assessment reflects status of transition to value-based care in areas of operating efficiencies, quality and engagement, primary care networks, health system alignment, specialists, facilities, care management, informatics/analytics, patient centered medical homes, employee health plans, transitional payment models, physician leadership, governance, and change management. Scores range from 1 (initial steps) to 4 (full transition). These scores increased from pre-project average of 2.25 to post-project 3.0, a 33% increase.
The Quality Assessment reflects cohort scores in organizational culture, processes and systems, organizational alignment, and an overall score. Scores range from 1 (not started) to 5 (fully implemented). These scores increased from a pre-project average of 2.3 to post-project 3.95, a 72% increase.
Average Increase in Days Cash on Hand:
Hospitals had an average increase of 8.5%
Clinics had an average decrease of - 28% (pandemic-related and purchase of new building)
April 19, 2023 | 2:00 PM Central Time
Speaker: Shannon Studden
In this webinar, you'll learn about the elements of the Staff Sustainability Cycle and take a deep dive into some of the key practices that foster employee engagement and retention. We'll share tools that you can use to strengthen your practices in these areas — thereby ensuring the critical services your health care organization provides to support the health of your community.
June 21, 2023 | 2:00 PM Central Time
Speaker: Jennifer Lundblad, Stratis Health
This session will offer strategies and tactics for influencing and leading toward value-based care (VBC) in a rural health care organization and community as well as explore risks and unintended consequences important for you to understand when leading in a VBC and payment environment.
July 19, 2023 | 2:00 PM Central Time
Speaker: Debra Laine, The Center
This webinar will introduce tools for identifying partners and creating allies within your community by recognizing all of the social drivers of health being experienced. This webinar will ground you in community care coordination and its role in population health, provide best practices, and teach you how to engage and sustain these partnerships. Applying these principles will strengthen the capacity of your health care delivery system to create buy-in, establish accountability, and better manage the health of your population.
To view previous HELP webinar playbacks, visit our website.
The decision to engage in the accountable care organization (ACO) movement is a significant one. It's a decision that involves not only making the choice to join and embrace the ACO model, but also selecting an ACO to participate in. This webinar playback, pat of the RHPTP's Health Education and Learning Program (HELP) webinar series, explores the question of how to select an ACO that is right for your organization.
The National Rural Health Resource Center has launched the Behavioral Health Toolkit, which contains customizable messaging focused on stopping mental health stigma and promoting the 9-8-8 national hotline as an available resource.
The toolkit's contents - print and radio ads, social media posts, flyers, and other resources - can be tailored by health care organizations to promote conversations in their community about mental health, and to remind community members and patients that they are not alone. The phrase "Stop the Stigma. Start the Conversation." is used throughout to emphazie the importance of destigmatizing mental health in rural communities.
Disclaimer: This project is supported by the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U5ERH39345 as part of a financial assistance award totaling $800,000 (0% financed with nongovernmental sources.) The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
- Apply Now for One Year of Virtual and On-site Technical Assistance - Deadline: August 15, 2023
- RHPTP Spotlight: Guadalupe County Hospital
- RHPTP Webinars Registration
-The Mental Health in Rural Communities Toolkit
- FindSupport.gov
- Mental Health Awareness Month Website and Toolkit
- Apply Now for One Year of Virtual and On-site Technical Assistance - Deadline: August 15, 2023
- Meet the RHPTP Technical Assistance Consultants
- RHPTP Informational Webinar Registration
- HELP Webinars Registration
- Rural Health Value Community Engagement Resource Guide
Register for the HELP webinar series to receive eight CEUs. This session will explore the question of how to select an ACO that is right for an organization.
