Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare facilities
Implementing High-Quality Primary Care: A Policy Menu for States
Presents policy strategies utilized by states to strengthen primary care across five priority areas. Strategies cover primary care reimbursement; addressing individual, community, and market-level barriers to care; expanding and supporting the primary care workforce; and supporting practice transformation. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Milbank Memorial Fund, National Academy for State Health Policy
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Presents policy strategies utilized by states to strengthen primary care across five priority areas. Strategies cover primary care reimbursement; addressing individual, community, and market-level barriers to care; expanding and supporting the primary care workforce; and supporting practice transformation. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Milbank Memorial Fund, National Academy for State Health Policy
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Expiring Health Provisions of the 119th Congress
Outlines the healthcare-related funding and governmental authorities that will expire during the 119th Congress, calendars year 2025-2026, if not extended through congressional action. Highlights similar provisions that expired during the 118th Congress (2023-2024). Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Outlines the healthcare-related funding and governmental authorities that will expire during the 119th Congress, calendars year 2025-2026, if not extended through congressional action. Highlights similar provisions that expired during the 118th Congress (2023-2024). Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Skill Mix Versus Flexibility: Decoding Nurse Staffing Impacts on Critical Access Hospitals
Presents a study on the skill mix and flexibility of nurse staffing on the financial stability, care quality, and efficacy of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2023. Correlates skill mix and flexibility with hospital outcomes and controls for hospital-specific, socioeconomic, and demographic factors.
Author(s): Dinesh R Pai, Esmaeil Bahalkeh
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(3), e70075
Date: 08/2025
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Presents a study on the skill mix and flexibility of nurse staffing on the financial stability, care quality, and efficacy of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2023. Correlates skill mix and flexibility with hospital outcomes and controls for hospital-specific, socioeconomic, and demographic factors.
Author(s): Dinesh R Pai, Esmaeil Bahalkeh
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(3), e70075
Date: 08/2025
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Rural & Safety Net Health Facilities in Arizona
Map of Arizona's Critical Access Hospitals, Indian Health Service and Tribal Facilities, Rural Health Clinics, and Federally Qualified Health Centers.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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Map of Arizona's Critical Access Hospitals, Indian Health Service and Tribal Facilities, Rural Health Clinics, and Federally Qualified Health Centers.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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Building Healthier Rural Communities: Economic Development Districts Address Social Determinants of Health
Report outlining social determinants of health (SDOH) in rural areas and how Economic Development Districts (EDD) address them. Highlights workforce, infrastructure, food security, health, disaster preparedness, funding, data, and public-private partnerships. Includes a case study from an EDD in North Carolina and highlights the role of hospitals in the community.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Economic Development District Community of Practice, National Association of Development Organizations
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Report outlining social determinants of health (SDOH) in rural areas and how Economic Development Districts (EDD) address them. Highlights workforce, infrastructure, food security, health, disaster preparedness, funding, data, and public-private partnerships. Includes a case study from an EDD in North Carolina and highlights the role of hospitals in the community.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Economic Development District Community of Practice, National Association of Development Organizations
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Growth of Health IT-Enabled Patient Engagement Capabilities Among U.S. Hospitals: 2021-2024
Describes hospital trends regarding the adoption of capabilities that enable patient access to their electronic health information, including the ability to view, download, transmit, and import data from other organizations into their patient portal; view clinical notes; and access information through apps between 2021-2024. Presents data and analysis by hospital type, including Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and rural hospitals, on the percent of hospitals that app-based and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource® (FHIR)-enabled patient engagement capabilities.
Author(s): Meghan Hufstader Gabriel, Chelsea Richwine, Priscilla Owusu-Mensah, Catherine Strawley
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Describes hospital trends regarding the adoption of capabilities that enable patient access to their electronic health information, including the ability to view, download, transmit, and import data from other organizations into their patient portal; view clinical notes; and access information through apps between 2021-2024. Presents data and analysis by hospital type, including Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and rural hospitals, on the percent of hospitals that app-based and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource® (FHIR)-enabled patient engagement capabilities.
Author(s): Meghan Hufstader Gabriel, Chelsea Richwine, Priscilla Owusu-Mensah, Catherine Strawley
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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America's Health Centers
Infographic with basic information about Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and look-alikes. Includes data on the health center workforce and how health centers expand access to primary care.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
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Infographic with basic information about Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and look-alikes. Includes data on the health center workforce and how health centers expand access to primary care.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
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Trends in Hospital Administrative Costs: Urban–Rural Disparities, Barriers, and Reduction Strategies
Compares Medicare cost report data from 2011 and 2022 for over 4,400 rural and urban short-term acute care hospitals to identify shifts in administrative and general (A&G) spending. Discusses 3 themes related to cost growth, barriers in reporting, and strategies to manage and reduce costs. Describes implications for hospital policy.
Author(s): Lauree Handlon, Kit Simpson, Larry Leaming, Dunc Williams
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 3(8)
Date: 08/2025
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Compares Medicare cost report data from 2011 and 2022 for over 4,400 rural and urban short-term acute care hospitals to identify shifts in administrative and general (A&G) spending. Discusses 3 themes related to cost growth, barriers in reporting, and strategies to manage and reduce costs. Describes implications for hospital policy.
Author(s): Lauree Handlon, Kit Simpson, Larry Leaming, Dunc Williams
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 3(8)
Date: 08/2025
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Hospital Health Information Exchange Participation and Heart Failure Discharges to Skilled Nursing Facilities: A Cohort Study
Examines the correlation of health information exchange (HIE) participation and admission to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) following a heart failure (HF) hospital discharge. Utilizes 2018 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPar) file data to analyze 385,895 HF discharges according to SNF admission and HIE participation. Includes breakdowns by patient demographics, urban/rural status, hospital ownership, hospital type and bed size, length of stay, and more.
Author(s): Sara D. Turbow, Camille P. Vaughan, Mohammed K. Ali, Steven D. Culler
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 25, 1079
Date: 08/2025
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Examines the correlation of health information exchange (HIE) participation and admission to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) following a heart failure (HF) hospital discharge. Utilizes 2018 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPar) file data to analyze 385,895 HF discharges according to SNF admission and HIE participation. Includes breakdowns by patient demographics, urban/rural status, hospital ownership, hospital type and bed size, length of stay, and more.
Author(s): Sara D. Turbow, Camille P. Vaughan, Mohammed K. Ali, Steven D. Culler
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 25, 1079
Date: 08/2025
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Dental Care in Crisis: Tracking the Cost and Prevalence of Emergency Department Visits for Non-Traumatic Dental Conditions
Report explores non-traumatic emergency department visits for dental conditions. Tracks the cost and prevalence of incidents from 2019 to 2022. Includes a breakdown of incidents in rural, small or medium metro, fringe metro, and central metro counties.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
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Report explores non-traumatic emergency department visits for dental conditions. Tracks the cost and prevalence of incidents from 2019 to 2022. Includes a breakdown of incidents in rural, small or medium metro, fringe metro, and central metro counties.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
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