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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Project Examples: Hospitals

Effective Examples

Updated/reviewed February 2024

  • Need: To develop sustainable, community-wide prevention methods for cardiovascular diseases in order to change behaviors and healthcare outcomes in rural Maine.
  • Intervention: Local community groups and Franklin Memorial Hospital staff studied mortality and hospitalization rates for 40 years in this rural, low-income area of Farmington to seek intervention methods that could address cardiovascular diseases.
  • Results: A decline in cardiovascular-related mortality rates and improved prevention methods for hypertension, high cholesterol, and smoking.

Promising Examples

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Added July 2024

  • Need: Solutions for Medicare beneficiaries' post-acute care recovery gaps in Arkansas's southeast Delta Region.
  • Intervention: Supported by federal funding and their membership organization, seven hospitals implemented an evidence-supported Critical Access Hospital transitional care model.
  • Results: Participating hospitals found a significant increase in swing bed services revenue, an all-cause low readmission rate, high percentage of patients discharged to home or to an assisted living environment, and positive patient satisfaction surveys.

Other Project Examples

Updated/reviewed October 2024

  • Need: To help hospitals in rural Idaho and Wyoming see how their prices compare to others in the region.
  • Intervention: The Hospital Cooperative (THC) completes an annual charge comparative, which lists the highest, lowest, average, and median price for a specific charge.
  • Results: THC has offered these reports since 2010.

Updated/reviewed October 2024

  • Need: Critical Access Hospitals in Idaho were not able to afford a fixed MRI system.
  • Intervention: The hospitals partnered to purchase a mobile MRI unit to travel among facilities.
  • Results: The MRI unit went into service in 2012, providing hundreds of scans per month and traveling among six member hospitals in rural Idaho.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed August 2024

  • Need: To improve sustainability and financial viability for rural healthcare providers throughout Indiana.
  • Intervention: A network of rural healthcare providers for Critical Access and other hospitals in Indiana that are dedicated to improving their ability to deliver efficient and high-quality healthcare for their rural residents.
  • Results: The network has been leveraged to increase access to resources, coordinate services, and improve and expand healthcare access.

Added July 2024

  • Need: To provide blood transfusions in the ambulance on the way to a hospital.
  • Intervention: The Montana Interfacility Blood Network includes 48 healthcare facilities that stock blood and allow ambulances to pick up units of blood while transporting a patient.
  • Results: Since its launch, the network has helped at least three patients.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed April 2024

  • Need: To increase access and quality of care for patients in rural Maine.
  • Intervention: Community hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers in Maine formed the Community Care Partnership of Maine Accountable Care Organization (CCPM ACO).
  • Results: CCPM serves about 120,000 patients in Maine. In addition, it has implemented shared savings arrangements/contracts with different Medicare Advantage and other private health payers.

Updated/reviewed April 2024

  • Need: Multiple organizations in rural east central Illinois needed a more efficient, centralized system for referring patients experiencing a behavioral health crisis to appropriate treatment services.
  • Intervention: The Regional Behavioral Health Network was established with a 24-hour toll-free crisis line, providing immediate access to trained crisis clinicians.
  • Results: Improved access to high quality behavioral healthcare for patients in rural east central Illinois.

Updated/reviewed April 2024

  • Need: Strategies to recruit and retain providers to practice in rural settings.
  • Intervention: A traveling one-day workshop was designed to share ideas and firsthand accounts on successful strategies on how to create "Safe Sites" for new recruits.
  • Results: So far, workshops have trained over 250 hospital administrators, board members, and rural hospital recruiters.

Added February 2024

  • Need: To provide a convenient and affordable lodging option for patients who have traveled from a distance to receive medical treatment in Bozeman, Montana.
  • Intervention: An RV parking program that lets anyone who is actively seeking care at Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center stay in the hospital parking lot.
  • Results: Throughout the summer of 2023, at least one patient was using an RV parking space at all times.

For examples from other sources, see: