Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare facilities

Factors Affecting the Development of Medicaid Hospital Payment Policies: Findings from Structured Interviews in Five States
Study examining Medicaid hospital payment policies with a focus on factors affecting payment mix and structure, the impact of state policies and financing methods, how states target hospital services or types such as rural hospitals, barriers to and drivers of change to payment methods, and more. Focuses on 5 states that made or are making significant hospital policy changes: Arizona, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, and Virginia. Appendix B includes state profiles.
Author(s): Thomas Marks, Kathy Gifford, Steven Perlin, Melisa Byrd, Timothy Beger
Date: 10/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
view details
Healthy Clinic Assessments (HCAs)
Describes promising practices and the benefits of healthy clinic assessments (HCAs). Lists the goals of HCAs, and identifies emerging trends and needs based on the 98 HCAs completed at rural, frontier, and underserved urban clinics in Colorado since 2009. Covers a Critical Access Hospital case study example.
Date: 10/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Colorado Rural Health Center
view details
Ensuring Access to Quality Health Care in Vulnerable Communities
Highlights the health characteristics and conditions of vulnerable populations in rural and urban communities, and the essential healthcare services as identified by the American Hospital Association Task Force on Ensuring Access in Vulnerable Communities. Discusses several strategies recommended by the task force to address social determinants of health, enhance virtual care services to reform healthcare delivery and payment methods, and support hospitals in their efforts to provide the needed health services.
Author(s): Jay Bhatt, Priya Bathija
Citation: Academic Medicine, 93(9), 1271-1275
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
view details
Telestroke Adoption among Community Hospitals in North Carolina: A Cross-sectional Study
Discusses the advantages of implementing telestroke in rural acute care hospitals, including Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), where stroke mortality is higher than in urban settings. Identifies the community and hospital characteristics associated with the adoption of the telestroke approach in acute care hospitals in North Carolina.
Author(s): Christopher M. Shea, Amir Alishahi Tabriz, Kea Turner, Steve North, Kristin L. Reiter
Citation: Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, 27(9), 2411-2417
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
view details
Promising Practice: Texas SORH's Handheld Ultrasound Project - An Innovative Approach to Providing Training & Technology to Small Rural Hospitals
Details a pilot program implemented by the Texas State Office of Rural Health that allows rural hospitals to uses handheld ultrasound machines as a cost-effective method for improving quality of care.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
view details
Evergreen Medical Center Remains Committed to Quality Care
Describes Evergreen Medical Center's (EMC) progress as part of the Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Project, focused on care transitions and healthcare quality. EMC is a short-term acute care hospital located in Evergreen, Alabama. EMC focused on patient satisfaction, clinical documentation, preventing readmissions by improving care transitions, and quality reporting.
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details
Rural Hospital Closures: Number and Characteristics of Affected Hospitals and Contributing Factors
Examines rural hospital closures from 2013-2017, including their financial health, hospital characteristics, and the impact on healthcare access. Compares data to 2008-2012 closures and discusses the implications for federal healthcare policies. Addresses the role of Medicare rural hospital designations, new healthcare delivery and payment models, and other rural Health and Human Services (HHS) programs. Identifies the number of rural hospitals that closed for each state.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Hospital Mergers and Public Accountability: Tennessee and Virginia Employ a Certificate of Public Advantage
Examines how state officials can use the certificate of public advantage (COPA) to supervise hospital mergers to benefit the public, particularly in rural areas where mergers may be sought to address financial challenges. Focuses on a case study where officials in Tennessee and Virginia developed COPAs in response to a proposed rural hospital merger affecting both their states. Addresses the role of the states, their processes, and policy implications for other states.
Author(s): Erin C. Fuse Brown
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
view details
The Indian Health Service Did Not Always Resolve Audit Recommendations in Accordance With Federal Requirements
Reports on the Indian Health Service's (IHS) failure to resolve audit recommendations in the allotted time for the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. Details the number of recommendations resolved and the number past-due after the required 6-month period.
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
view details
Implementing an Integrated Medication-Assisted Treatment Program at Community Health Centers: Lessons from a Pilot Project in California
Evaluates the implementation phase of a pilot project to treat patients with opioid use disorder at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in California, including rural FQHCs. The pilot focused on medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and integrating substance use and mental healthcare in a primary care setting.
Author(s): Jane Wishner, Lisa Clemans-Cope, Jeremy Marks, Marni Epstein
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
view details