Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Other Case Studies and Collections of Program Examples: Hospitals

In addition to RHIhub's Rural Health Models and Innovations rural program examples, you may also want to browse other case studies, databases, and websites with collections of health programs.

Each resource listed below uses its own criteria for selecting program examples, which may range from programs known to be effective based on research to anecdotal accounts. In each resource, you may want to review information on the level of evidence required for a program's inclusion.

May include non-rural programs that could be applicable to rural health delivery.

Ensuring Access to Care: Wagner Community Memorial Hospital – Avera, Wagner, S.D.
Describes Wagner Community Memorial Hospital – Avera (WCMH-A), a 20-bed Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in Wagner, South Dakota, that works to ensure access to care while addressing the social determinants of health for the populations they serve. Shares strategies and collaborative efforts to address the community's needs through the use of telemedicine, housing and economic development, population health, and access to primary care.
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association Rural Health Services
view details
OSF HealthCare – Peoria, IL: Connecting Health Systems and Community-Based Organizations to Improve Outcomes
Features a faith-based, 13-hospital health care system serving Illinois and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Describes OSF Center for Health - Streator, which will feature the first rural freestanding emergency department in Illinois. Discusses how OSF HealthCare is using a case management platform and working with community-based organizations to meet a wide range of patient needs.
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
view details
Atmore Community Hospital: Consistent Implementation Leads to Results
Describes the success of Atmore Community Hospital, located in Atmore, Alabama, after participating in the Small Rural Hospital Transition project. During the project, the 49-bed short-term acute care hospital focused on maximizing the influence from leadership rounds, increasing marketing to communicate accomplishments to the community, and tracking patient satisfaction scores to improve clinic operations.
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details
Promising Practice: Michigan Center for Rural Health Plays Unique Role in Hospital Quality Improvement
Details the unique role the Michigan Center for Rural Health (MCRH) plays as a liaison between the state's 21 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and the Michigan Hospital Association (MHA) to facilitate quality of care, reduce patient readmission rates, and improve patient safety throughout the state.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
view details
Illinois Rural Community Care Organization – Princeton, IL: Statewide Rural Accountable Care Organization
Provides an overview of the work and impact of the Illinois Rural Community Care Organization (IRCCO), a Medicare shared savings Accountable Care Organization (ACO). IRCCO includes 24 Critical Access Hospitals and rural hospitals and associated physician practices and clinics.
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
view details
Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center: SRHT Project Well Under Way
Profiles Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center's (MHHCC) progress as part of the Small Rural Hospital Transition Project, completed in 2017, focused on improving quality of care and transitions of care throughout its facilities. MHHCC is an 18-bed, not-for-profit Critical Access Hospital in Grantsville, West Virginia. MHHCC also operates a Rural Health Clinic in Grantsville and a Federally Qualified Health Center in Glenville.
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details
Affiliation Partners Sought to Prepare Small Hospital for Value-Based Care
Details how Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) in Grinnell, Iowa, followed a robust due diligence process to identify affiliation partners and prepare for participation in risk-based reimbursement models. GRMC is a 49-bed private, nonprofit medical center that serves 6 rural counties in Iowa.
Date: 01/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
view details
Case Study: High-Tech OB Simulation Training Educates OB Teams, Improves Quality of Rural Health Care
Reports on a pilot obstetrics simulation training program intended to help rural family physicians and obstetric care teams recognize and react to complications related to pregnancy, initially focusing on hemorrhaging. Identifies planned quality improvement measures resulting from the training and includes program contact information. Program targeted 12 rural hospitals in Nebraska.
Date: 2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Bryan Health, Heartland Health Alliance
view details
Meadville Medical Center: Care Coordination for Adults and Children
Describes the Meadville Medical Center Community Care Network (CCN), an interdisciplinary team of clinicians who focus on using care coordination to help patients manage chronic conditions and achieve their health and wellness goals. CCN's goal is to engage patients and encourage them to take ownership of their health, thereby reducing hospital readmissions, conserving resources, and improving the health of the population.
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association Rural Health Services
view details
Ensuring Access with a Hospital's Conversion to a Freestanding Emergency Department
Outlines Ellijay, Georgia-based North Georgia Medical Center's transition from a traditional community hospital to a freestanding emergency department (ED). Shares administrative, legal, and logistical challenges that, once overcome, resulted in Piedmont Mountainside Hospital Emergency Services - a successful, community-focused, freestanding ED.
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association Rural Health Services
view details