Rural Hospitals – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Hospitals.
First-Ever Rural Physician and Advanced Practice Provider Compensation Survey
Recording of an October 11, 2023, webinar discussing results of a January 2023 survey of rural hospitals regarding physician and advanced-practice provider compensation. Presents results for primary care and specialty care providers by provider type, hospital system affiliation, and region. Highlights factors that influence compensation and nurse practitioner practice environments by state. Transcript available in the video description.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Association, Stroudwater Associates
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Recording of an October 11, 2023, webinar discussing results of a January 2023 survey of rural hospitals regarding physician and advanced-practice provider compensation. Presents results for primary care and specialty care providers by provider type, hospital system affiliation, and region. Highlights factors that influence compensation and nurse practitioner practice environments by state. Transcript available in the video description.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Association, Stroudwater Associates
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Characteristics of 30-Day All-cause Hospital Readmissions, 2016–2020
Examines trends in 30-day all-cause hospital readmissions among patients 1 year old and older in the United States between 2016 and 2020. Explores changes in readmission rates from the pre-pandemic period (2016-2019) to 2020. Presents data by primary payer, patient location, and race and ethnicity.
Author(s): H. Joanna Jiang, Molly Hensche
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Examines trends in 30-day all-cause hospital readmissions among patients 1 year old and older in the United States between 2016 and 2020. Explores changes in readmission rates from the pre-pandemic period (2016-2019) to 2020. Presents data by primary payer, patient location, and race and ethnicity.
Author(s): H. Joanna Jiang, Molly Hensche
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Optimizing Inpatient Bed Management in a Rural Community-Based Hospital: A Quality Improvement Initiative
Provides an overview of a project aimed at maintaining appropriate hospital bed capacity within a hub-and-spoke healthcare system in rural, southwest Minnesota. Discusses project phases of discovery, planning, and implementation, as well as the strategy to increase capacity at the tertiary/hub medical center by utilizing beds at partner/spoke hospitals for less complex or acute inpatient stays.
Author(s): Brian N. Bartlett, Nadine N. Vanhoudt, Hanyin Wang, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 23, 1000
Date: 09/2023
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Provides an overview of a project aimed at maintaining appropriate hospital bed capacity within a hub-and-spoke healthcare system in rural, southwest Minnesota. Discusses project phases of discovery, planning, and implementation, as well as the strategy to increase capacity at the tertiary/hub medical center by utilizing beds at partner/spoke hospitals for less complex or acute inpatient stays.
Author(s): Brian N. Bartlett, Nadine N. Vanhoudt, Hanyin Wang, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 23, 1000
Date: 09/2023
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Pediatric Hospitalizations at Rural and Urban Teaching and Nonteaching Hospitals in the US, 2009-2019
Describes changes in the number and proportion of pediatric hospitalizations and costs at urban teaching, urban nonteaching, and rural hospitals versus freestanding children's hospitals from 2009-2019. Estimates the number and proportion of hospitals providing inpatient pediatric care and characterizes changes in clinical complexity. Features statistics including sociodemographic, clinical, and hospital characteristics of pediatric hospitalizations, with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): JoAnna K. Leyenaar, Seneca D. Freyleue, Mary Arakelyan, David C. Goodman, A. James O'Malley
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(9)
Date: 09/2023
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Describes changes in the number and proportion of pediatric hospitalizations and costs at urban teaching, urban nonteaching, and rural hospitals versus freestanding children's hospitals from 2009-2019. Estimates the number and proportion of hospitals providing inpatient pediatric care and characterizes changes in clinical complexity. Features statistics including sociodemographic, clinical, and hospital characteristics of pediatric hospitalizations, with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): JoAnna K. Leyenaar, Seneca D. Freyleue, Mary Arakelyan, David C. Goodman, A. James O'Malley
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(9)
Date: 09/2023
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The Path to Follow When You Can't Go It Alone
Podcast episode featuring a discussion of hospital mergers, acquisitions, and affiliations with three rural hospital executives and leaders. Describes how rural hospitals can leverage partnerships to maintain and expand care in their communities.
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Podcast episode featuring a discussion of hospital mergers, acquisitions, and affiliations with three rural hospital executives and leaders. Describes how rural hospitals can leverage partnerships to maintain and expand care in their communities.
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Ownership of Hospitals: An Analysis of Newly-Released Federal Data & A Method for Assessing Common Owners
Analyzes Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data on the ownership of all U.S. hospitals enrolled in Medicare. Presents data by hospital characteristics, including hospital type, rural and urban location, organizational structure; organizational owners and hospital chains; and individual owners.
Author(s): W. Pete Welch, Lanlan Xu, Nancy De Lew, Benjamin D. Sommers
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Analyzes Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data on the ownership of all U.S. hospitals enrolled in Medicare. Presents data by hospital characteristics, including hospital type, rural and urban location, organizational structure; organizational owners and hospital chains; and individual owners.
Author(s): W. Pete Welch, Lanlan Xu, Nancy De Lew, Benjamin D. Sommers
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Social Needs Screening among Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals, 2022
Examines the extent to which non-federal acute care hospitals collect and receive data on individual patients' health-related social needs using data from the 2022 American Hospital Association (AHA) Information Technology (IT) supplement. Describes how these data are used to promote patient and population health. Includes data on the routine collection of social needs and use of structured screening tools or diagnosis codes by hospital characteristics, including rural location, Critical Access Hospital designation, and size.
Author(s): Wei Chang, Chelsea Richwine
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Examines the extent to which non-federal acute care hospitals collect and receive data on individual patients' health-related social needs using data from the 2022 American Hospital Association (AHA) Information Technology (IT) supplement. Describes how these data are used to promote patient and population health. Includes data on the routine collection of social needs and use of structured screening tools or diagnosis codes by hospital characteristics, including rural location, Critical Access Hospital designation, and size.
Author(s): Wei Chang, Chelsea Richwine
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Demonstrating Your Value: A Guide to Potential Value-based Care Partnerships for Rural Health Care Organizations
Provides a three-step framework to help rural healthcare organizations quantify and demonstrate their value to potential partners - understanding the potential partner, identifying the value proposition, and presenting the value message. Includes a worksheet that can be used to document and track progress through each of the three steps
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Provides a three-step framework to help rural healthcare organizations quantify and demonstrate their value to potential partners - understanding the potential partner, identifying the value proposition, and presenting the value message. Includes a worksheet that can be used to document and track progress through each of the three steps
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Targeted Provider Relief Funds Allocated to Hospitals Had Some Differences with Respect to the Ethnicity and Race of Populations Served
Examines how early Provider Relief Fund Targeted Distributions (Targeted PRF) in 2020 correlated with the racial, ethnic, and economic characteristics of the communities providers serve. Analyzes the Targeted PRF allocations to hospitals and explores if there are statistically significant correlations between PRF per person and the racial, ethnic, and economic composition of the census tracts. Covers four Targeted PRF allocations to COVID-19 High Impact Area Hospitals, Safety Net Hospitals, Rural Hospitals, and Indian Health Service and Tribal Hospitals. Identifies and describes trends in the allotment to rural hospitals.
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Examines how early Provider Relief Fund Targeted Distributions (Targeted PRF) in 2020 correlated with the racial, ethnic, and economic characteristics of the communities providers serve. Analyzes the Targeted PRF allocations to hospitals and explores if there are statistically significant correlations between PRF per person and the racial, ethnic, and economic composition of the census tracts. Covers four Targeted PRF allocations to COVID-19 High Impact Area Hospitals, Safety Net Hospitals, Rural Hospitals, and Indian Health Service and Tribal Hospitals. Identifies and describes trends in the allotment to rural hospitals.
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Delta Region Community Health Systems Development (DRCHSD) Program: Revenue Cycle Management Best Practices Guide
Offers rural hospital executives and management teams best practice concepts in revenue cycle management by assisting them in identifying performance improvement within their hospitals and departments. Provides State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) directors and Flex Program coordinators a better understanding of the revenue cycle best practices to help them design educational training programs to support rural hospital administrators with performance improvement.
Additional links: Check List
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organizations: BKD CPAs & Advisors, National Rural Health Resource Center
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Offers rural hospital executives and management teams best practice concepts in revenue cycle management by assisting them in identifying performance improvement within their hospitals and departments. Provides State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) directors and Flex Program coordinators a better understanding of the revenue cycle best practices to help them design educational training programs to support rural hospital administrators with performance improvement.
Additional links: Check List
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organizations: BKD CPAs & Advisors, National Rural Health Resource Center
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Last Updated: 10/9/2025