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Resources by Topic: Critical Access Hospitals

Medicare Value-based Payment Reform: Priorities for Transforming Rural Health Systems
Analyzes the provisions within the Affordable Care Act (ACA) regarding Medicare payment and delivery system reforms that affect rural health providers and rural health services. Proposes recommendations that support the inclusion of rural appropriate payment systems.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): Keith Mueller, Charles Alfero, Andy Coburn, et al.
Date: 11/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Impact of Financial and Operational Interventions Funded by the Flex Program
Analyzes the impact of Flex Program sponsorship and associated financial and operational activities on the financial performance of Critical Access Hospitals.
Author(s): Rebecca G. Whitaker, George H. Pink, G. Mark Holmes
Date: 11/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Estimated Costs of Rural Freestanding Emergency Departments
Provides an overview of the rural freestanding emergency department (RFED) model as a feasible alternative for hospitals at risk of closure, or preparing for closure, to keep emergency services within the rural community.
Author(s): J. Dunc Williams, Paula H. Song, George H. Pink
Date: 11/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Are You Ready to Begin a Capital Project? A Guide, Toolkit and Resources for Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Health Centers
Determines organizational readiness of Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Health Clinics as they proceed through the process of developing capital projects, and helps them prevent any drawbacks due to an inadequate plan. The manual is divided into two major sections: Self-assessment provides tools to identify current capabilities and weaknesses that can be used as a starting point to build a capital project; and External Influences provides tools to examine patient population and the community's demand for services and healthcare trends to ensure the capital project is responsive to current and future needs.
Date: 11/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Capital Link, National Rural Health Resource Center
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Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Project Guide: A Guide for Rural Hospitals to Identify Populations and Shift to Population Health
Helps hospital management teams recognize specific patient populations associated with a higher percentage of total healthcare expenditures and helps hospitals focus their programs on these population groups to improve quality of care, healthcare outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs. Serves as a resource for State Offices of Rural Health directors and Flex Program coordinators to help rural hospitals with transition efforts to value-based payment models.
Date: 09/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Resource Center, Stroudwater Associates
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Performance Measurement for Rural Low-Volume Providers: Final Report
Identifies challenges to measuring healthcare performance among low-volume rural providers, and presents recommendations to meet these challenges. Primary focus is on finding appropriate quality measures for use within Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) pay-for-performance programs and encouraging rural participation in CMS quality improvement initiatives.
Date: 09/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Quality Forum
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Evidence-Based Programs and Strategies for Reducing Healthcare-Associated Infections in Critical Access Hospitals
Highlights successful, evidence-based programs and approaches that Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) may use to curb healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Shailendra Prasad, Emma Distel, Alex Evenson
Date: 09/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Reporting of Healthcare-Associated Infections by Critical Access Hospitals
Describes state requirements for reporting healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and the implications for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Also analyzes HAI data reported by CAHs via Hospital Compare.
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Emma Distel, Alex Evenson, Shailendra Prasad, Peiyin Hung
Date: 09/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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An Interview with Darrold Bertsch
A healthcare administrator who serves as CEO of both a Critical Access Hospital and a Federally Qualified Health Center in rural North Dakota discusses how the two facilities work together to meet their region's healthcare needs.
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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RHAC Brief: Nurse Practitioners in Rural Minnesota - Results of an Employer Survey
Summarizes the results of a survey conducted by the Minnesota Rural Health Advisory Committee (RHAC) of the state's Rural Health Clinics and Critical Access Hospitals to learn more about the rural nurse practitioner (NP) workforce. Describes NP use by department and discusses recruitment and retention challenges.
Date: 08/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health - Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
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