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Resources by Topic: Critical Access Hospitals

"Economic Development is Population Health": A New Vision for Rural Hospital Leadership
Describes the role that rural hospital investments can play in contributing to community health. Features a Wisconsin Critical Access Hospital making infrastructure investments in their downtown and a New Hampshire medical center investing in public transit and affordable housing.
Author(s): Brendan Stermer
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Meeting Essential Health Services And Reimagining Obstetrics In A Rural Community
Case study profiling Kittitas Valley Healthcare (KVH) in rural Washington. Describes how KVH implemented a new staffing model to maintain essential obstetrics and gynecological care.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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2023 National CAH Quality Inventory & Assessment National Report
Presents a high-level summary of key data points from the October-December 2023 National Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Quality Inventory and Assessment. Includes data on CAH system affiliation; median average daily census and emergency department volume; hospital inpatient, behavioral health and specialty care, and outpatient and other service lines; and CAH quality payment model participation.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Robert Barclay, Madeleine Pick
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Medicare Payment for Rural or Geographically Isolated Hospitals
Displays data on Medicare payment adjustments for Sole Community Hospitals, Medicare-Dependent Hospitals, Low-Volume Hospitals, and Critical Access Hospitals. Includes information on the number of qualifying hospitals by state and eligibility criteria.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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CAH Financial Indicators Report: Summary of Indicator Medians by State
Presents state and national median values of 29 financial indicators included in the Critical Access Hospital Measurement and Performance Assessment System (CAHMPAS). Provides an overview of each measurement and reports median values by state. Indicators represent seven areas of financial performance: profitability, liquidity, capital structure, revenue, cost, utilization, and other.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Health Care Coalitions: A Resource to Support Critical Access Hospital Emergency Preparedness Planning
Describes unique challenges Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) face regarding emergency preparedness planning. Presents findings from interviews with leaders from eight statewide or regional healthcare coalitions (HCCs) regarding strategies and resources HCCs provide to support the CAH emergency preparedness planning process.Outlines the functions and roles of HCCs by the four Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) capability goals.
Author(s): John Gale, Karen Pearson, Rebecca Stearns
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Location of Critical Access Hospitals
U.S. map showing Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Updated quarterly.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Community Impact and Benefit Activities of Critical Access, Other Rural, and Urban Hospitals, 2022
Examines the economic and healthcare benefit of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) on rural communities. Looks at the services provided, the economic health of CAHs, and the effect this has on their communities broadly. Includes comparisons of community benefit and patient care services indicators provided by CAHs and other rural and urban hospitals.
Author(s): Zachariah Croll, John Gale
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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March 2024 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) March 2024 meeting. Covers proposed approaches and research topics related to evaluating rural hospital and clinician payment policies, an assessment of the completeness of Medicare Advantage (MA) encounter data and other sources of information about MA enrollees' healthcare utilization, a preliminary analysis of MA quality, the Acute Hospital Care at Home program, and Medicare inpatient psychiatric service trends and issues.
Additional links: Rural Hospital and Clinician Payment Policy: A Workplan for 2024–2025 - Presentation Slides
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Partnerships to Address Social Needs Across Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Prospective Payment System Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals
Explores the extent to which hospitals partner with community organizations to address population and/or community health needs. Analyzes data from the 2021 American Hospital Association Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Supplement to describe the number and types of hospital partnerships with community-based organizations. Compares results by hospital type - metropolitan prospective payment system (PPS), Critical Access Hospital (CAH), and non-metropolitan PPS - and by U.S. Census region, ownership status, and accountable care organization (ACO) participation.
Author(s): Whitney E. Zahnd, Khyathi Gadag, Kristin D. Wilson, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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