Rural Health Path to Value Rural Health Innovations offers services to help you climb toward population health and improve the health status of your community.
Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) Work with us to set a course toward value-based payment and population health. A thorough assessment of your community's needs is the crucial first step.
Community Health Implementation Planning We can help you to strategically build and carry out a community health implementation plan that addresses the needs identified in your CHNA.
Additional Consulting Services
Network and Partnership Development More is possible when working together. Let us help you build bridges that lead to healthier communities.
Technical Assistance & Services Center (TASC) TASC provides performance improvement resources to CAHs and state Flex Programs on quality, finance, operations, systems of care and population health.
Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP) SHIP provides funding to approximately 1,600 participating hospitals in 46 participating SORHs to help small rural hospitals participate in value-based payment and care delivery models.
Network Technical Assistance (TA) RHI provides technical assistance (TA) to over 60 networks in the Development and Allied Health rural health network grant programs.
Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Project The Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Project supports small rural hospitals nationally by providing on-site technical assistance to assist bridging the gaps between the current health care system and the newly emerging health care delivery and payment system.
Resource Library The Center's Resource Library features webinars, presentations, articles and toolkits developed by trusted industry leaders to guide and support rural health stakeholders.
Health care services, such as those furnished at critical access hospitals (CAHs), are intended to meet the health needs of their communities. It is important for state Flex Programs to understand the community needs of their CAHs to develop or leverage program activities in support of health system development, community engagement and population health improvement. State Flex Program proficiency in the following contribute to excellence in addressing community health needs:
Understanding the social determinants of health
Supporting population health improvement
Utilizing community health needs assessments and economic impact assessments
TASC partnered with multiple subject matter experts to facilitate discussions and provide education through a web-based learning collaborative for Flex Program personnel to gain knowledge about population health.
The Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) has updated their topic guide on Rural Health Disparities with new stats and data as well as information on regions throughout the U.S. that experience higher levels of rural health disparities.
This site from the CDC dives into the discrepancy between rural and urban America and the five leading causes of death and provides a summary of the 2019 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, a commentary on reducing potential excess deaths, and data on excess deaths by state.
A tool for rural hospital leaders in support of incorporating population health principles and programs into strategic planning and operations. A systems-based framework is utilized to identify critical success factors. Tools, resources, suggested readings, case studies and additional materials on how to integrate population health as culture change are also included.
Innovations in rural health care delivery and finance are emerging across the nation. These profiles from Rural Health Value describe exciting, and potentially, replicable, innovations in rural health care that show promise in improving health, improving care, and lowering costs.
Explore the findings from the 2019 Rural Care Coordination and Population Health Management Summit. Speakers will identify key actions that leaders and providers should take to further develop a local infrastructure that they can deliver and manage population health in the future.
This Community Champion Learning Collaborative focuses on an overview of data and utilizing data to communicate with your community. In this 60-minute Learning Collaborative, guest speaker, David Marc, Professor of Health Informatics at the College of St. Scholastica shares his experience in using data as a format to communicating success.
The Community Tool Box is a free, online resource for those working to build healthier communities and bring about social change. Their mission is to promote community health and development by connecting people, ideas and resources.
This toolkit offers a nine-step pathway to guide and support a robust, community-engaged health assessment process in full cycle from assessment through implementation. It provides strategies for each step of the process and a wealth of resources, including The Guide to Community Preventive Services and other sources of evidence-based interventions.
This tool uses formulas to estimate economic impact of grant program investments on local economies. These calculations help rural program grantees assess performance, and advocate for resources that contribute to program sustainability and improved health care for rural populations.
Each year the National Center for Rural Health Works develops new applications of the economic impact model to policy-relevant questions. These applications can be modified to fit other states regardless of geographical or demographical differences and serve as tools for community and state leaders to face rural health-related challenges. Tools and templates available are presented by health care organization type, including:
The Rural Community Health Gateway is a resource for finding programs and approaches that rural communities can adapt to improve the health of their residents. The Gateway is the home for information about evidence-based models of rural health interventions, as well as innovative approaches.
This resource from the American Hospital Association provides resources related to social determinants of health, community partnerships, and health equity.
This resource includes reports, case studies, webinars, and videos on eight social determinants of health that help show how hospitals can address the social determinants of health in their communities.
This initiative has identified four portfolios of work health care organizations can undertake to accelerate their progress in improving health, well-being, and equity. Organizations can use these resources to jump-start or accelerate their efforts to improve population health.
This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB1RH24206, Information Services to Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Grantees, $1,560,000 (0% financed with nongovernmental sources). This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
Describe the policy and technical barriers facing robust public health data sharing. Recognize recent state and federal efforts to overcome the public health information silos that exist. Identify how Flex Programs can better access critical public health information, particularly in their population health efforts.
Describe telehealth origination sites and common rural alternatives. Relate what a telehealth visit looks like for the patient from an alternative site such as a library. Discuss the positive impact on health equity and patient access. List examples of rural alternative origination sites.
