Community & Population Health Community support of the local health care system is vital for sustainability and growth. Learn how to create a healthier and more engaged community by working with The Center.
Health Information Technology Consulting As the national knowledge center on rural electronic health record adoption, The Center offers comprehensive services targeted at rural hospitals, rural health clinics and state and national HIT programs.
Leadership Success begins with strong, informed leadership. The Center offers a variety of services, on-site and remotely, to leaders to assess strengths and identify areas of useful performance improvement.
Workforce The Center understands that rural health care facilities face unique workforce challenges. Since 1991, The Center has assisted rural citizens, health professionals, educators and policymakers with design and implementation strategies to assure the availability of quality health care.
Strategic Planning Effective planning is critical for organizational success. Expertly facilitated services conducted by The Center’s staff of national rural health experts will help hospitals and organizations achieve this success.
Performance Improvement The Center offers a complete spectrum of rural health performance improvement services. With support from The Center, clients succeed in aligning people, processes and resources with their mission.
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.
Associates Program The Associates Program is designed to connect health care organizations and networks with highly qualified rural consultants and technical experts.
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.
Events Find information about upcoming webinars, workshops and more hosted by The Center or Rural Health Innovations.
Allied Health Webinars Find recordings and resources from recent technical assistance webinars for Rural Network Allied Health Training grantees.
Health Education and Learning Program (HELP) Webinars Eligible rural hospital leaders and staff can attend a HELP webinar to learn about current financial, operational and quality performance needs that impact their transition to the new health care environment.
Network Development Webinars Find recordings and resources from recent technical assistance webinars for Rural Health Network Development grantees.
Performance Management Group (PMG) Calls Learn from the experience of leading hospital administrators and nationally recognized field experts. PMG calls allow peer-to-peer education focused on preparing rural hospitals for new payment and care delivery models.
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Preparing for Future Models of Health Care
State Flex Programs can help critical access hospitals (CAHs) make a successful transition into value-based reimbursement and population health models through education, network support, facilitation of new partnerships and technical assistance. As CAHs move into the new value models, they will increasingly reach out to state Flex Programs for assistance in the transition. The movement to value will be more rapid in some states, but ultimately all CAHs will need to find a place in the emerging systems. State Flex Program proficiency in the following contribute to excellence in preparing for future models of health care:
The Summit was held to provide leaders with templates that improve organizational planning, strengthen actionable steps and operationalize key strategies to effectively transition to value.
This document catalogs and summarizes rural-relevant, value-based programs recently implemented by CMS, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). Its purpose is to help rural leaders and communities identify HHS value-based programs appropriate for rural participation.
Use the Performance Excellence Blueprint Guide to develop and execute a comprehensive strategic plan that represents a systems approach to achieving organizational excellence.
Assess 121 different value-based care capacities in eight categories. Upon completion of the online VBC Tool, a Value-Based Care Readiness Report is sent that is useful in assessing an organization’s readiness for value-based care and to develop value-based care action plans.
Learn about several forces leading to the design and implementation of Medicare VBP programs. Describes programs for five provider types: prospective payment system hospitals, critical access hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and physician office practices.
The Rural Health Value team has developed an Excel-based financial modeling tool to help CAHs assess the financial implications of joining a Medicare Shared Savings Plan Accountable Care Organization.
The purpose of this Excel-based financial modeling tool is to help rural hospitals explore long-term financial projections under the current Fee For Service (FFS)/cost-based reimbursement systems.
CMS is changing the way Medicare pays for hospital care by rewarding hospitals for delivering services of higher quality and higher value. Get more information about hospitals’ performance in Medicare’s VBP programs.
This report summary provides early lessons on the scope, patterns, barriers and possibilities of VBP. It is drawn from in-depth discussion with nine employers and coalitions as well as written material from many other organizations.
Read the recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services for CAH and small PPS hospital participation in Medicare innovation demonstration projects.
The Rural Health Value Team has summarized select innovative rural health care demonstrations and programs that might serve as inspiration for new health care delivery and financing models.
This guide is designed to offer small rural hospitals a basic overview of the key models developed to address the transformation from volume to value-based purchasing of health care services. Recommendations and strategies for managing this shift in payment structure are also included to aid rural health providers.
This brief 10-minute conversational video (and accompanying discussion guide) introduces the value transformation in rural health care, discusses how rural health care is rapidly changing and suggests strategies to navigate the changing health care environment. Health care leaders can use this video and discussion guide during staff, board and community meetings to inform audiences and inspire conversation.
Findings of the 2016 Rural Provider Leadership Summit are presented. You will learn the drivers and challenges related to engaging rural providers in value-based models as the speakers share the strategies and success stories identified.
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, $1,100,000 (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.
Networking opportunity for Flex Programs to discuss CAH improvement strategies for immunization measures and use of groups in the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) for supporting MBQIP.
The goal of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) Flex Program Workshop is to provide new or existing Flex Program staff an orientation to the Flex Program. Attendance at this event is open only to state Flex grantees.
