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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Hospitals

Rural Hospitals' Ability to Finance Inpatient, Skilled Nursing and Home Health Care
Reports on how rural hospitals restructured their operations in response to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA), which reduced Medicare payments for inpatient, outpatient, skilled nursing care, and home health care. Discusses Critical Access Hospitals.
Author(s): Jeffrey Stensland, Ira Moscovice
Date: 10/2001
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Fewer Hospitals Close in the 1990s: Rural Hospitals Mirror This Trend
Summarizes a study of the number and rate of hospital closures in rural areas during the 1990s. Includes a chart showing rural and urban short-term acute care hospital closures by year, as well as a map showing the location of these hospitals.
Author(s): Stephanie T. Poley, Thomas C. Ricketts
Date: 10/2001
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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The Proximity of Rural Black and Hispanic/Latino Communities to Physicians and Hospital Services
Reports the findings of a study based on 1990 data of how the African American and Hispanic/Latino composition of rural communities relates to local physician concentrations and to distances to hospitals offering various levels of services.
Author(s): Donald E. Pathman, Thomas R. Konrad, Robert Schwartz
Date: 05/2001
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Hospital Closure: 1999
Describes the extent, characteristics of, reasons for, and impact of hospital closures in 1999. Includes information specific to rural hospital closures. Lists closed hospitals and opened/reopened hospitals by name, state, and rural/urban status.
Date: 03/2001
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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PPS Inpatient Payment and the Area Wage Index
Discusses how Medicare inpatient rates were calculated as of 2001, the role of the wage index, and issues surrounding the wage index and reimbursement to rural hospitals by Medicare under the Prospective Payment System (PPS).
Author(s): Kathleen Dalton, Rebecca T. Slifkin
Date: 01/2001
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Conducting Hospital Employee Satisfaction Surveys: Practical Step-by-Step Information for Assessing Employee Perceptions
Overview of how to conduct a hospital employee satisfaction survey. Includes a sample survey and discusses how to administer the survey and report the results.
Author(s): Linda Powell
Date: 2001
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Mountain States Group
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Hospitals in Rural America
Reviews number, types, and structure of rural hospitals and their overall quality of care produced in comparison with urban institutions. Based on data from the mid- to late-1990s.
Author(s): Thomas C. Ricketts III, Paige E. Heaphy
Citation: The Western Journal of Medicine, 173(6), 418-422
Date: 12/2000
Type: Document
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Rural Hospital Wages and the Area Wage Index: 1990-1997
Examines whether incremental changes to the hospital wage index from 1990-1997 made it more equitable across regions and how these changes impacted rural hospitals.
Additional links: Findings Brief, January 2001
Author(s): Kathleen Dalton, Rebecca Slifkin, Hilda Howard
Date: 11/2000
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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The Financial Viability of Rural Hospitals in a Post-BBA Environment
Evaluated the financial viability of rural hospitals under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) and the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA) Medicare payment policies. Estimated the number of hospitals that would become Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and estimated the number of beds at each hospital.
Author(s): Jeffrey Stensland, Ira Moscovice, Jon Christianson
Date: 10/2000
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Impact of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 on Rural Hospitals
Highlights the impact of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) and Medicare Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA) on rural hospitals. Detailed statistics on Medicare payments and margins before and after the BBA and BBRA, with projections into the future.
Author(s): Lewin Group
Date: 08/2000
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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