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.
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.
TASC 90 webinars are topic-specific webinars held for the purpose of providing educational outreach to state Flex Programs. In addition to educational content and peer sharing, TASC 90 webinars also include updates from the Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC), Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance (RQITA), the Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), to include both the Flex Program and policies impacting critical access hospitals.
TASC 90 webinars are held quarterly. The intended audience for the live events is State Office of Rural Health Directors, Flex Program Coordinators and supporting staff. The events are recorded and can be made available to others that would find the content of interest. Recordings and supporting materials are posted publicly on this website.
TASC 90 webinars are supported by FORHP and coordinated by TASC, a program of the National Rural Health Resource Center (The Center).
The tentative topic of the August TASC 90 webinar is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This quarterly webinar will include updates from TASC, RQITA, FMT and FORHP, to include both the Flex Program and policies impacting CAHs.
The May TASC 90 playback features an update on select Fiscal Year 2018 Flex EMS Supplemental funding projects. Other updates include new EMS resources coming soon, an update on the Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3) model and standing updates from TASC, FORHP, RQITA, and FMT.
Learn the Recommendation Adoption Progress (RAP) interview process as a tool for project evaluation. Identify opportunities to integrate the RAP interview process into your state Flex Program. Understand methods state Flex Coordinators can use to manage RAP conversation.
Learn about the development and outcomes of a hospital initiative to manage overuse of pain management in the ED. Understand the role that Flex has played in supporting their community engagement initiatives, including resources and opportunities for Flex to address substance abuse challenges.
Understand the history, theory and integration of process improvement in health care. Learn the difference between outputs and outcomes for Flex activities and discover where outputs and outcomes fit within Flex Program work and activities.
Learn the performance observations and evidence of rural accountable care organization (ACO) involvement. Discover opportunities for state Flex Program involvement in supporting value-based models of care and understand the successes and challenges of rural ACOs and how the state Flex Program can play a supportive role.
Discover tips and best practices from TASC and FORHP for Flex Programs to wrap up the current Flex program year and start the new program year September 1. Also hear updates from TASC, FORHP, FMT and RQITA.
Hear a review of the eight strategies identified at the 2016 Financial Leadership Summit to assist rural hospitals in the transition to value. Learn from experts in the field advising CAHs, discover Flex Program outcomes related to addressing Summit strategies and learn a related research update.
Learn key features of the Population Health Portal, including a readiness assessment, resources and data scenarios. Discover how Flex can leverage them to support their CAHs and develop relevant activities based on CAHs’ needs. Understand how CAHs can use claims data to support population health management.
Hear an update on the rural transition to value-based health care models. Discover new tools for CAHs to demonstrate value to partners and participation in alternative payment models (APMs).
Learn issues and explore strategies related to engaging rural providers in value models and population health initiatives and enhancing CAH medical staff collaboration. Discover methods state Flex Programs use to support rural provider engagement.
Learn about financial strategies to assist CAHs in their transition to value, including a financial forecasting tool, a Flex Program example of financial improvement strategies using available data and how to use FMT’s CAHMPAS to identify CAH data that can be used to drive improvement.
Learn about the development and implementation of financial performance improvement projects in CAHs, targeting low performers, lessons learned by Flex Programs and outcomes from the projects.
Learn about current issues and activities within rural telehealth. Understand an overview of two state Flex Program-supported telehealth projects. Discover these projects’ successes, challenges, and opportunities for consideration in your state’s rural telehealth effort.
Understand the QINs scope of work and how they will differ from the QIO model. Discover how QINs will function and coordinate with other networks. Learn how the QIN model can benefit state Flex Programs and MBQIP.
Hear information on how to develop a good state Flex Program work plan. Learn about the value of a framework, how to document measurable outcomes and how to think beyond a one-year budget.
Hear about HCAHPS: What it means to CAHs, the value of them and the challenges and benefits of engaging in the HCAHPS process. Learn about the HCAHPS Vendor Directory.
Hear an overview of research conducted about CAH use of HCAHPS and how HCAHPS relates to MBQIP. Learn about one Flex Program's approach to HCAHPS using their CAH quality network.
Learn about outputs and outcomes. Discover why it is important to show how Flex-funded initiatives move from identification of a problem to completion of interventions and measurement of improvement and impact.
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.
