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

Comparing the Affordable Care Act's Financial Impact on Safety-Net Hospitals in States That Expanded Medicaid and Those That Did Not
Examines how Medicaid expansion affected the financial health of safety-net hospitals, and compares hospitals in expansion states with hospitals in non-expansion states. Addresses changes in operating margins, Medicaid inpatient days, Medicaid revenues and costs, and uncompensated care costs. Findings are based on data from Medicare's fiscal year 2012-2015 hospital cost reports.
Author(s): Allen Dobson, Joan E. DaVanzo, Randy Haught, Phap-Hoa Luu
Date: 11/2017
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
view details
Social Determinants of Health Series: Transportation and the Role of Hospitals
Presents a report on the role of hospitals in providing health-based transportation services. Features case studies of 4 different hospital programs' approach to addressing their patients' lack of access to reliable transit.
Date: 11/2017
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
view details
Delta Memorial Hospital: SRHT Project Well Under Way
Documents Delta Memorial Hospital's (DMH) progress as part of the Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Project, which it completed during 2017. DMH, a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital (CAH) located in Dumas, Arkansas, focused efforts on improving quality of care and transitions of care throughout its facilities. Explores how implementing the recommendations impacted several measurable and non-measurable outcomes.
Date: 11/2017
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details
Differences in Community Characteristics of Sole Community Hospitals
Findings brief presenting a snapshot of Sole Community Hospitals (SCHs) and their communities in 2015, and identifying trends in characteristics of selected SCHs and their communities from 2006 through 2015. Features statistics including breakdowns by large rural, small rural, and isolated rural location.
Author(s): Sharita R. Thomas, Mark Holmes, George H. Pink
Date: 11/2017
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
view details
Puerto Rico's Community Health Centers: Struggling to Recover in the Wake of Hurricane Maria
Highlights the importance of Puerto Rico's 86 mostly rural Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and details the challenges they face as they recover from Hurricane Maria. Also provides demographic and health status/coverage information for Puerto Rico's health center patient base.
Author(s): Peter Shin, Jessica Sharac, Rachel Gunsalus, Brad Leifer, Sara Rosenbaum
Date: 11/2017
Sponsoring organizations: Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health, RCHN Community Health Foundation
view details
The Financial Health of Colorado Hospitals: Trends 2011-2015
Provides economic, pricing, and quality information on Colorado's hospitals. Shares data from public sources in order to improve healthcare transparency, affordability, and quality. Tracks trends among Colorado's hospitals, including Critical Access and small/rural hospitals, and provides individualized, facility-level statistics on employment, utilization, and finance.
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organization: Colorado Hospital Association
view details
Access To Obstetric Services In Rural Counties Still Declining, With 9 Percent Losing Services, 2004-14
Results of a study identifying gaps in the availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural America, and providing evidence of disparities in local access to obstetric services in vulnerable rural communities. Includes statistics on percentages of rural counties by status of hospital obstetric services from 2004–14, with breakdowns by micropolitan or noncore location, and a county-level map with shadings indicating full closure, continuous services, or no services.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Carrie E. Henning-Smith, Michelle M. Casey, Katy B. Kozhimannil
Citation: Health Affairs, 36(9), 1663-1671
Date: 09/2017
view details
The Effects of Multiple Chronic Conditions on Adult Patient Readmissions and Hospital Finances
Reports on a study of the financial impact of patients hospitalized with multiple chronic conditions on a regional hospital serving rural Virginia. Focuses on total margin per admission, readmission rates, and the number of clinical conditions per patient. Identifies differences in hospital margin for patients with different chronic conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). Discusses the potential return on investment for preventing admissions and readmissions.
Author(s): Michael Mihailoff, Shreyasi Deb, James A. Lee, Joanne Lynn
Citation: Inquiry, 54, 1-6
Date: 09/2017
view details
Promising Practice: Rural Health Summits Bringing People Together Across Vermont to Exchange Ideas
Describes how the Vermont State Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (VT SORH/PC) and leaders from rural hospitals and local public health districts in Vermont co-convened several Rural Health Summits held around the state to discuss ways to share resources, information, and identify opportunities for collaboration.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
view details
Medicare Inappropriately Paid Acute-Care Hospitals for Outpatient Services They Provided to Beneficiaries Who Were Inpatients of Other Facilities
Results of an audit to determine whether Medicare made payments appropriately to acute-care hospitals for outpatient services provided to other facilities' inpatients, from January 2013 through August 2016. Includes recommendations from the Office of Inspector General, and CMS's responses.
Additional links: Report in Brief
Author(s): Daniel R. Levinson
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
view details