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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Critical Access Hospitals

Ensuring Access to Care: Wagner Community Memorial Hospital – Avera, Wagner, S.D.
Describes Wagner Community Memorial Hospital – Avera (WCMH-A), a 20-bed Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in Wagner, South Dakota, that works to ensure access to care while addressing the social determinants of health for the populations they serve. Shares strategies and collaborative efforts to address the community's needs through the use of telemedicine, housing and economic development, population health, and access to primary care.
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association Rural Health Services
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Rural Post-Acute Care: Healthcare Leaders Offer Practical Solutions to Workforce Challenges
Describes methods for preparing and supporting healthcare workers who provide post-acute care in rural areas. Highlights programs that empower and train staff, maximize community partnerships, involve community health workers, and use telemonitoring.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Rural Post-Acute Care: Improving Transitions to Enhance Patient Recovery
Highlights approaches that are improving patient transitions from acute care to post-acute care (PAC) in rural settings. Features a tertiary facility's communication with skilled nursing facilities in Tennessee and Kentucky, a Nebraska Critical Access Hospital's swing bed program, and a home health agency serving rural Maine.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Market Characteristics Associated with Rural Hospitals' Provision of Post-Acute Care
Findings brief summarizing hospital- and market-level factors related to post-acute care (PAC) provided in rural hospitals from 2012-2015. Features statistics from 2012-2015 rural Medicare cost reports, PAC provision by census region in 2015, and percent of hospitals in frontier and remote areas in 2015 with breakdowns by type and PAC provision.
Author(s): Abby F. Hoffman, Randy K. Randolph, Alex R. Schulte, George H. Pink
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Rural and Urban Provider Market Share of Inpatient Post-Acute Care Services Provided to Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
Findings brief examining rural patients' access to rehabilitation and skilled nursing care, using claims data from January 2013 through March 2014. Features statistics including numbers of patient days and discharges and average length of stay, with breakdowns by type and location of facility and type of care.
Author(s): Alex R. Schulte, Denise A. Kirk, Randy K. Randolph, George H. Pink
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Critical Access Hospital Swing-Bed Quality Measures: Findings from Key Informant Interviews
Results of a study to examine how Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) are assessing the quality of care given to swing bed patients. Uses data from interviews with representatives from CAH networks, consultants, and staff members responsible for swing bed services at 10 CAHs and 2 rural PPS hospitals in 10 states.
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Ira Moscovice, Henry Stabler
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Promising Practice: Utah SORH Saves Rural Hospital by Obtaining GDSA Certification
Illustrates how the Utah Office of Primary Care and Rural Health found a solution to maintain Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) status for a Rural Health Clinic (RHC), in the process of being built but in danger of losing its federal designation, by applying for a Governor's Designated Shortage Area (GDSA) status.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Promising Practice: Michigan Center for Rural Health Plays Unique Role in Hospital Quality Improvement
Details the unique role the Michigan Center for Rural Health (MCRH) plays as a liaison between the state's 21 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and the Michigan Hospital Association (MHA) to facilitate quality of care, reduce patient readmission rates, and improve patient safety throughout the state.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Illinois Rural Community Care Organization – Princeton, IL: Statewide Rural Accountable Care Organization
Provides an overview of the work and impact of the Illinois Rural Community Care Organization (IRCCO), a Medicare shared savings Accountable Care Organization (ACO). IRCCO includes 24 Critical Access Hospitals and rural hospitals and associated physician practices and clinics.
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Geographic Variation in the 2016 Profitability of Urban and Rural Hospitals
Findings brief describing differences in profitability of Critical Access Hospitals, other rural hospitals, and urban Prospective Payment Systems hospitals, with breakdowns by census region, census division, and state.
Author(s): George H. Pink, Kristie Thompson, H. Ann Howard, Mark Holmes
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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