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The Rural Monitor
Articles by Topic: Hospitals

Perspectives on the Long of COVID: From Doomscrolling to Rural Management Strategies

March 8, 2023
In the wake of acute COVID-19 comes another public health concern: Millions of rural Americans are experiencing Long COVID. With a federal agency representative weighing in on rural research efforts, a Tennessee rural health researcher shares his Long COVID story alongside a New York rural healthcare system who shares their story about the condition's management options.

Philanthropy, Cross-Collaboration, and the Ecosystem That Is Rural Healthcare Delivery: Q&A with Dr. Shao-Chee Sim

September 21, 2022
As vice president for research, innovation, and evaluation at Texas-based Episcopal Health Foundation, Shao-Chee Sim, PhD, discusses how philanthropic organizations can make small rural research investments — and, in particular, leverage cross-funder collaboration — that impact not only funders themselves, but also healthcare delivery systems and the rural Americans they serve.

Let's Get a Good Deal on Health Care

May 18, 2022
Dr. Clint MacKinney explains the challenges rural hospitals face with current payment systems and the potential that value-based payment holds for meeting rural communities' needs.

“It's the relationships”: Q&A with Peggy Broussard Wheeler

January 19, 2022
Peggy Broussard Wheeler, Vice President of Policy at the California Hospital Association, discusses the challenges that the hospitals in her state and nationwide have faced before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also shares rural hospitals' unique strengths and the importance of collaboration and relationships.

Technical Assistance Helps Community #SilencetheShameTN

November 24, 2021
When Henry County Medical Center (HCMC) and the community of Paris, Tennessee, wanted to combat behavioral and mental health challenges in their community, they used the technical assistance and resources provided by the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development (DRCHSD) program to address their needs.

It Takes a Village: Rural Recruitment and Retention

November 3, 2021
Healthcare facilities in Kansas and North Dakota and national organizations discuss the challenges of recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals in rural areas and share solutions, including partnering with local schools and businesses as well as other healthcare facilities.

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

September 1, 2021
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.

Understanding the Rural Swing Bed: More than Just a Reimbursement Policy

August 11, 2021
"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.

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

August 11, 2021
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.