This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare facilities

Russell County Hospital Aligning for Future Success
Details the improvements made by Russell County Hospital (RCH), a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital located in Russell Springs, Kentucky, as part of the Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) project. Major accomplishments include expanding primary care and surgery services, developing a strategic plan, establishing and monitoring quality indicators, and optimizing participation in the 340B Drug Pricing Program. RCH is also working with the community and the media to promote their quality scores, which are consistently high.
Date: 02/2017
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details
Getting Started with the Quality Payment Program: An Overview of MIPS for Small, Rural, and Underserved Practices
Provides a webinar recording discussing the effects of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) on small, rural, and underserved practices. Includes sections on eligibility, participation, reporting, performance categories, and submission and scoring methods. Outlines specific eligibility requirements for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and provides a checklist for preparing and participating in MIPS.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript, Webinar Playlist by Section
Date: 02/2017
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Hospital Compare Quality Measure Results for CAHs, 2015
Examines Hospital Compare data for calendar year 2015 and summarizes reporting rates and performance among all U.S. Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Charts and graphs allow comparison of overall reporting rates and performance for specific quality measures, and state-by-state comparison of CAH reporting rates for inpatient and outpatient measures.
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Tami Swenson, Alex Evenson
Date: 02/2017
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
view details
Accountable Care Organization Implementation Experiences and Rural Participation: Considerations for Nurses
Examines implications of Accountable Care Organization (ACO) development for advanced practice nurses and other primary care clinicians employed by rural practices such as Rural Health Clinics that may be considering ACO participation.
Author(s): Matt Thomas Bagwell, Angeline Bushy, Judith Ortiz
Citation: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 47(1), 30-34
Date: 01/2017
view details
Community Health Centers: Recent Growth and the Role of the ACA
Uses 2015 federal data on health centers and survey results from the 2016 Survey of Health Centers' Experiences and Activities to provide an overview of health centers and their patients. Compares health centers in Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states, covering topics such as revenue sources, service capacity, patient demographics, patient health coverage, and more. Also discusses the distribution and impact of health centers in rural and medically underserved communities.
Author(s): Sara Rosenbaum, Julia Paradise, Anne Markus, et al.
Date: 01/2017
Sponsoring organization: KFF
view details
Patients' Experiences in CAHs: HCAHPS Results, 2015
Results from the calendar year 2015 Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, summarizing reporting rates and performance among all U.S. Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Includes detailed tables that allow state-by-state comparison of response rates and overall CAH performance, as well as links to specific state reports.
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Tami Swenson, Alex Evenson
Date: 01/2017
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
view details
Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity
Identifies elements of effective solutions to advance health equity at the local or community level. Featured examples include the Delta Health Center, a rural Federally Qualified Health Center that uses a community-oriented primary care model to address population health. A brief overview of rural health disparities which includes a discussion on Appalachian health is found on pages 2-19 and 2-20. Appendix A provides a historical and legal context for understanding Native American health disparities.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Committee on Community Based Solutions to Promote Health Equity in the United States
Date: 01/2017
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
view details
Cybersecurity: How a Rural Alaska Hospital Is Safeguarding Its Patients' Information
Provides an overview of cybersecurity threats and challenges faced by rural healthcare facilities. Describes how the IT staff at the South Peninsula Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in Alaska, safeguards their hospital's data.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2017
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
The Hub-and-Spoke Organization Design Revisited: A Lifeline for Rural Hospitals
Provides an overview of the hub-and-spoke organization design and how Willis-Knighton Health System in Louisiana used it to partner with rural hospitals in their region. Discusses the model's outcomes and implications for rural hospitals.
Author(s): James K. Elrod, John L. Fortenberry, Jr.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 17(Suppl 4), 795
Date: 2017
view details
Antifibrinolytics in a Rural Trauma State: Assessing the Opportunities
Retrospective review evaluating the use of tranexamic acid (TXA) at a level 1 trauma center located in a rural area as a treatment to improve mortality and prevent hemorrhagic death in trauma patients. Documents the number of rural trauma patients who met the criteria for receiving TXA treatment, and determines if patients experiencing longer transport times and/or transfers from other hospitals such as Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) would be regarded as ineligible for effective TXA treatment.
Author(s): James M Bardes, Amanda Palmer, Jorge Con, Alison Wilson, Gregory Schaefer
Citation: Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open, 2(1)
Date: 2017
view details