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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare facilities

Partnering to Improve Birth Outcomes in a Rural Community: Kearny County Hospital, Lakin, KS
Highlights the Pioneer Baby program, a partnership between Kearny County Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in rural Lakin, Kansas, and the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. Discusses how funding from grants and local employers enhanced the obstetrics program. Describes how the partnership worked to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes and presents lessons learned.
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Use of Certified Health IT and Methods to Enable Interoperability by U.S. Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals, 2019
Data brief examining hospital interoperability, including finding, sending, receiving, and integrating electronic health information (EHI) outside their health system, from 2017-2019. Examines rates of interoperability by hospital size, type, method of interoperability, and rural and suburban-urban status. Discusses barriers to EHI interoperability and steps forward.
Author(s): Christian Johnson, Yuriy Pylypchuk
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Medicare Reimbursement in Rural America
Policy brief discussing Medicare reimbursement for services provided at rural hospitals and how it impacts hospital finances. Provides policy recommendations for rural health reimbursement, and identifies and other considerations for addressing rural healthcare sustainability.
Author(s): Eric Schlidt, Cody Wilkinson
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Rural Obstetric Unit Closures and Maternal and Infant Health
Policy paper examining the discontinuation of obstetric services in rural communities. Discusses factors contributing to obstetric unit closures, including hospital financial constraints, Medicaid reimbursement rates, and maternal health workforce concerns. Offers policy recommendations to prevent additional obstetric unit closures in rural areas.
Author(s): Lindsay Corcoran, Catherine Clary, Sarah Brinkman
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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COVID Relief Funding for Medicaid Providers
Analyzes the distribution of COVID-19 provider relief funds to Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) providers. Discusses barriers Medicaid providers experience in applying for COVID relief funding. Presents data on the share of potentially eligible providers who received funding by enrollment in Medicare and provider type. Includes information on the distribution of funding to hospitals by hospital type, urban or rural status, and deemed DSH status.
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Opioid-Related Visits to Rural Emergency Departments
Explores the impact of the opioid crisis on rural emergency departments (EDs) by analyzing 2006 and 2013 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) data. Compares opioid-related ED visits in rural and urban hospitals by type of opioid involved and year. Breaks down data by patient characteristics, comorbid diagnosis at admission, and outcome of ED visit.
Author(s): Erika C. Ziller, Jean A. Talbot, Deborah Thayer, Carly Milkowski
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Crises Collide: The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Stability of the Rural Health Safety Net
Examines the vulnerability of rural hospitals based on financial and operational metrics, and the impact of COVID-19 on these hospitals. Discusses declining access to obstetrics and chemotherapy services at rural hospitals. Includes a chart highlighting financial indicators and information on the availability of intensive care beds at rural hospitals by state.
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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HPSA 101 Webinar
Recording of a February 2, 2021, webinar on the importance of Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) and Medically Underserved Area/Population (MUA/P) designations for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Reviews requirements for RHCs to become approved National Health Service Corps sites. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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MBQIP Quality Measures National Annual Report - 2019
Summarizes quality measure reporting rates and performance among Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in 2019. Presents data on the four Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) domains: patient safety/inpatient, outpatient, patient engagement, and care transitions.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Madeleine Pick, Tongtan Chantarat, Nathan Bean, Ira Moscovice
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Medicaid's Role in Health Care for American Indians and Alaska Natives
Provides an overview of the federal government's role in providing healthcare to American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). Discusses AI/AN demographics, economic and health disparities, and access to healthcare and insurance coverage. Describes the structure of the Indian Health Service (IHS), services provided, and IHS financing and spending. Highlights special rules and protections that apply to AI/AN Medicaid beneficiaries. Presents a series of policy issues that have been raised regarding the Medicaid and IHS relationship, as well as opportunities for improving Medicaid's role in providing healthcare to AI/AN populations.
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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