Maine State Office of Rural Health and Primary Care

Maine State Flex Program

What is one Core Competency your state Flex Program is working on developing through Flex activities?

Selected Core Competency: Building and Sustaining Partnerships

Strong partnerships play a pivotal role as instrumental tools employed by the Maine Rural Health, Primary Care, and Oral Health Program (RHPCORP) to maximize the impact of the Maine Flex Program.  Goals are achieved, and issues are addressed by utilizing a system of networks.  Comprised of the Quality Improvement (QI) Network, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO)/ Care Management Network, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Network, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Network, the system is known as Maine Flex Program Networks (MFPNs).  Each individual network meets at least four times per year.  Each has a role in (1) prioritizing and implementing improvement projects, (2) identifying training and technical assistance needs, and (3) delivering education.  Structurally, the CEO and CFO Networks provide oversight and executive approval for specific project activities.  The CAH Quality Improvement and reporting actions are implemented through the work of CAH members participating in the two other networks - the QI Network and/or the CNO/Care Management Network.  All network groups are essential to the success of the Maine Flex Program.  In addition, the RHPCORP staff, network facilitators, and other partners work with the MFPNs to track progress and address any emerging CAH needs.  These other key collaborators include the Flex Network facilitator, Health Centric Advisors (HCA), the Maine Hospital Association, The Chartis Group, and the New England Rural Health Association.  Success in addressing CAH needs involves all participants united in the mission to improve the health of Maine’s rural citizens now and in the future.

What is one activity your state is funding through SHIP?

The Maine Flex Program Networks (MFPNs) Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Network is a key component in delivering services within our SHIP program.  All sixteen CAHs participate in SHIP and are joined by four rural Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals.  In addition to the CFO group, SHIP supports the Hospital Revenue Cycle Workgroup, which functions as a sub-network of the MFPN.  However, all network groups can advise the education and technical assistance that can be accessed through SHIP and delivered at network meetings or in onsite or online formats.  Unblinded quality and financial data are regularly shared in MFPN meetings.  This process encourages collaboration among the hospital and facilitates the sharing of strategies and solutions.  Individual special innovation projects conducted at each hospital are reported, and resources can be shared across the network partners as appropriate.  SHIP network meeting attendees include hospital members, contractors, other facilitators, and, notably, payor representatives.  The focus on learning from each other and addressing statewide issues collaboratively maximizes the impact of the funds from each program and increases the larger goal of serving our patients.  The collaborative network system employed by the Maine Rural Health, Primary Care, and Oral Health Program strengthens the individual hospital’s ability to provide and sustain high-quality healthcare services to the rural communities served.