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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Critical Access Hospitals

Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating: Overview for Flex Programs, Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Stakeholders
Provides an overview of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Overall Hospital Star Ratings posted on the CMS Care Compare website. Describes the methodology for the Overall Hospital Star Ratings, including information on measure selection, measure grouping, measure group scores and hospital scoring, and peer grouping and star rating assignment. Discusses the implications these ratings have on Critical Access Hospitals and other small rural hospitals.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance (RQITA) Resource Center
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California Critical Access Hospitals Map
County-level map of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in California.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: California Critical Access Hospital Network
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Final Frontier: IPC Challenges in Rural Health Care
Podcast interview with Dr. Michael Stevens, West Virginia University Health System's Healthcare Epidemiologist. Addresses difficulty in accessing mentoring in infection prevention and control (IPC) in rural facilities, and disconnects between local needs and upper-level mandates. Includes transcript.
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organizations: American Medical Association, CDC's Project Firstline
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Medicare Advantage Growth and Its Impact on Rural Health Care
Policy position paper regarding the impact of the increase of Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment in rural areas on healthcare access, delivery, and financial viability. Offers policy recommendations to support rural MA beneficiaries, healthcare providers, and hospitals at a local level, as well as rural healthcare provision within the MA framework.
Author(s): Carrie Shaver, Kevin Lambing, Lisa Rantz
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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2023 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Provides a comprehensive summary and data analysis of healthcare quality and access in the U.S. Addresses access to healthcare, patient safety, person-centered care, care coordination, effective treatment, healthy living, and care affordability. Focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare and healthcare systems.
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Housing Shortages Are Making Recruitment and Retention Even More Challenging for Some Rural Healthcare Providers
Provides an overview of rural housing shortages and affordability concerns. Explains the impact of housing issues on the rural healthcare workforce. Features a housing development program involving a Critical Access Hospital in Colorado and an Oregon hotel conversion that combines units for healthcare workers and supportive housing.
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Hospitals' Electronic Access to Information Needed to Treat COVID-19
Explores acute care hospitals' ability to access electronic access to information necessary to treat COVID-19 patients in 2021. Examines differences in information availability by hospital characteristics, including rurality and Critical Access Hospital (CAH) status, and engagement in interoperable exchange.
Author(s): Chelsea Richwine, Jordan Everson, Vaishali Patel
Citation: JAMIA Open, 6(4)
Date: 12/2023
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2022 National and State Healthcare-Associated Infections Progress Report
Examines progress on reducing healthcare-associated infection rates for 6 types of infections in Acute Care Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, and Long-term Acute Care Hospitals. Compares observed versus expected infection rates using 2015 baseline data. Includes national and state data tables on infection-specific standardized infection ratios (SIRs) and standardized utilization ratios (SURs) for each facility type.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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A Comparison of Non-Operating Revenue between Rural and Urban Hospitals
Compares the relative percentage and composition of non-operating revenue (NOR) among Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), rural Prospective Payment System (R-PPS) hospitals, and urban Prospective Payment System (U-PPS) hospitals from 2011-2019. Describes how hospitals can use NOR to offset negative operating incomes. Presents data on the composition of NOR by hospital type and ownership.
Author(s): Ariana Pitcher, Ruoyu Zhang, Susie Gurzenda, George Pink, Kristin L. Reiter
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Overview: Vendor Directory
Provides information about the benefits and challenges of implementing a HCAHPS survey process in small rural hospitals, specifically Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Includes a full directory of vendors currently authorized to perform HCAHPS data collection.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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