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.
Pressures are being felt in rural areas as the population ages, budgets tighten and the need to bend the health care cost curve increases. Given the goals and role of the Flex Program, it is imperative that state Flex Programs understand the health care system as a whole to participate in discussions and planning and to serve as a rural “voice” to ensure rural community needs are considered, represented and understood. State Flex Program proficiency in the following contribute to excellence in understanding systems of care:
Maintaining an overall knowledge of the rural health landscape
Understanding the interconnection of hospitals, clinics and long-term care
Integrating emergency medical services
Incorporating behavioral and mental health services
This fact sheet outlines information on Rural Health Clinic services, Medicare certification, payments, visits, cost reports and annual reconciliation.
Use the Performance Excellence Blueprint Guide to develop and execute a comprehensive strategic plan that represents a systems approach to achieving organizational excellence.
The data accessed from this page are assembled from multiple sources providing a complete list of all CAH locations across the US. The complete list of CAHs and the CAH list by state contain the most current information and are updated regularly.
This document provides information about swing beds including background, requirements that apply to both hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs), payments and resources.
The JCREC is a stakeholder committee dedicated to advancing EMS policy to ensure access to timely, affordable and high-quality emergency care services in rural America.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center identified state EMS and trauma-related activities of the 45 State Flex Programs, and examined the degree to which Critical Access Hospitals are involved in trauma system development, trauma team training, and trauma center designation. Successful integration of CAHs into state trauma care systems involves educating state agencies, trauma centers, and other EMS/trauma stakeholders on the potential role of CAHs and other small rural hospitals in these systems.
This document provides education on services furnished to eligible Medicare beneficiaries via the use of a telecommunications system, including information about originating sites, distant site practitioners, telehealth services and billing.
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.
The tentative topic for the January Flex VKG is Flex Program support for provider-based RHCs. Flex VKG webinars provide a forum for state Flex Programs to share successes, discuss challenges and brainstorm strategies for improvement and Flex Program excellence.
