Topics: Healthcare business and finance

Keeping the Doors Open: Vulnerable Rural Hospitals Benefit from Federally Funded Technical Assistance

It’s a crisis: rural hospital closures. Helping at-risk hospitals thrive in order to continue to serve their communities, Texas A&M’s Center for Optimizing Rural Health (CORH) offers technical assistance through a federally funded program for vulnerable hospitals. The CORH team and an Oklahoma program participant share specifics on just how the program’s assistance can help keep doors open.

“Swing bed” is that oft-heard phrase describing not a physical hospital bed, but post-acute care for the rural patient who is well enough to leave the acute care hospital but not well enough to be safe at home. In this 2-part story, experts and hospital administrators review the swing bed program’s historical implementation and provide stories and examples of the value this over 40-year-old healthcare delivery and reimbursement model brings to patients, to the hospitals providing their care, and ultimately to rural communities.

The healthcare delivery model known as the swing bed program has allowed rural and Critical Access Hospitals to serve patients by keeping them in their rural communities for post-acute care. Reviewing the history of this program, experts describe early implementation and key program elements that have sustained its success for over 40 years.

Advance care planning — planning for decision-making in times of medical crisis — has always been intended for all people, all ages, with or without a chronic disease. Clinicians talk about the challenges of these conversations now that COVID-19 has nudged planning from the realm of the theoretical future to current reality.

Brock Slabach, the National Rural Health Association’s Senior Vice President for Member Services, discusses the impact of COVID-19 on rural America’s healthcare organizations.

National Rural Health Association CEO Alan Morgan discusses his organization’s work on the national and global stages and shares his rural health predictions for 2020.

Recent research has found that not only are nearly 40% of surveyed physicians burned out, but 40% are also experiencing depression. For many reasons — stigma among them — these professionals are not getting mental health support. Physician health programs, in collaboration with professional societies, are trying to change that by working with state licensure boards and other groups.

Over 40% of today’s physicians are burned out. A closer look at research indicates that not only is this a system problem rather than an individual problem, but that burnout impacts a system’s revenue streams, healthcare quality, and patient safety and satisfaction. Experts suggest the problem may even be of more concern in rural areas.

Charles D. Cook Office of Rural Health Director Karen Madden shares how New York State’s rural health organizations work together and describes her work and collaborations at the national level to promote rural health.

In addition to providing advice for those with potential interest in rural healthcare executive positions, four Critical Access Hospitals leaders – all under age 40 – share stories of innovation and impact on their organizations and communities.

The Rural Monitor

Articles and resources on key rural health issues, from the Rural Health Information Hub

Topics: Healthcare business and finance

Keeping the Doors Open: Vulnerable Rural Hospitals Benefit from Federally Funded Technical Assistance

History of the Swing Bed: A Look Through the Rural Rearview Mirror

Advance Care Planning: New Realities in Times of COVID-19

COVID-19’s Current Impact on Rural Healthcare Delivery: Q&A with Brock Slabach

Rural Health Predictions: Q&A with Alan Morgan

Healthcare Professionals’ Mental Health Needs: Where Can They Go?

Burnout: Measurement Tool(s), Cause(s) and Impact(s)

Working Together at the State and National Level: Q&A with Karen Madden

Young Rural Healthcare Leaders Share Experiences and Insights