Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare facilities
Veterans Affairs: Actions Needed to Improve Access to Care in the U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States
Examines how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates the population of veterans in the U.S. territories and freely associated states (FAS) to inform resource allocation and outreach needs. Describes how the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) monitors veterans' use of and access to healthcare services at VHA facilities in the U.S. territories. Discusses challenges veterans face in accessing VHA services in the U.S. territories and FAS and VA efforts to address these challenges. Offers recommendations to the VA and Department of Defense to assess the data sources in its model for estimating the veteran population and its travel benefits policies for territory veterans.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Examines how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates the population of veterans in the U.S. territories and freely associated states (FAS) to inform resource allocation and outreach needs. Describes how the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) monitors veterans' use of and access to healthcare services at VHA facilities in the U.S. territories. Discusses challenges veterans face in accessing VHA services in the U.S. territories and FAS and VA efforts to address these challenges. Offers recommendations to the VA and Department of Defense to assess the data sources in its model for estimating the veteran population and its travel benefits policies for territory veterans.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Interoperable Exchange of Patient Health Information Among U.S. Hospitals: 2023
Presents data on the degree to which hospitals engage in the four domains of interoperable exchange - send, receive, find, and integrate - as of 2023 and describes trends between 2018 and 2023. Analyzes the frequency that non-federal acute care hospitals engaged in interoperable exchange by hospital characteristics, including hospital size, system affiliation status, rural or urban location, and Critical Access Hospital (CAH) designation. Describes hospitals' ability to exchange electronic health information with other providers across the care continuum and how clinicians use this information about the point of care.
Author(s): Meghan Hufstader Gabriel, Chelsea Richwine, Catherine Strawley, Wesley Barker, Jordan Everson
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Presents data on the degree to which hospitals engage in the four domains of interoperable exchange - send, receive, find, and integrate - as of 2023 and describes trends between 2018 and 2023. Analyzes the frequency that non-federal acute care hospitals engaged in interoperable exchange by hospital characteristics, including hospital size, system affiliation status, rural or urban location, and Critical Access Hospital (CAH) designation. Describes hospitals' ability to exchange electronic health information with other providers across the care continuum and how clinicians use this information about the point of care.
Author(s): Meghan Hufstader Gabriel, Chelsea Richwine, Catherine Strawley, Wesley Barker, Jordan Everson
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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School-Based Health Centers as an Approach to Address Health Disparities among Rural Youth: A Study Protocol for a Multilevel Research Framework
Describes a study protocol to evaluate the impact of school-based health centers (SBHCs) on healthcare utilization, health outcomes, and education in rural, disadvantaged New York counties. Discusses risk factor identification and data collection at the individual, school district, and community levels.
Author(s): Xue Zhang, Mildred E. Warner, Sharon Tennyson, et al.
Citation: PLoS ONE, 19(5), e0303660
Date: 05/2024
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Describes a study protocol to evaluate the impact of school-based health centers (SBHCs) on healthcare utilization, health outcomes, and education in rural, disadvantaged New York counties. Discusses risk factor identification and data collection at the individual, school district, and community levels.
Author(s): Xue Zhang, Mildred E. Warner, Sharon Tennyson, et al.
Citation: PLoS ONE, 19(5), e0303660
Date: 05/2024
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Providing Behavioral Health Support for Older Adults
Podcast episode featuring a discussion with leaders of Broaddus Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in West Virginia, describing how they work to identify and fill the unique mental health needs of older adults in the community, including the development of an intensive outpatient group therapy program for older adults.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Podcast episode featuring a discussion with leaders of Broaddus Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in West Virginia, describing how they work to identify and fill the unique mental health needs of older adults in the community, including the development of an intensive outpatient group therapy program for older adults.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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A Closer Look at the Final Nursing Facility Rule and Which Facilities Might Meet New Staffing Requirements
Summarizes new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services's (CMS) nurse staffing requirements for nursing facilities outlined in the April 22, 2024, final rule. Analyzes Nursing Home Compare data from April 2024, which reflects nursing home staffing levels from December 2023, to explore the percentage of facilities that meet each of the new nurse staffing requirements. Presents data by nursing ownership status, rural and urban location, special focus facility status, and state.
Author(s): Priya Chidambaram, Alice Burns, Tricia Neuman, Robin Rudowitz
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Summarizes new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services's (CMS) nurse staffing requirements for nursing facilities outlined in the April 22, 2024, final rule. Analyzes Nursing Home Compare data from April 2024, which reflects nursing home staffing levels from December 2023, to explore the percentage of facilities that meet each of the new nurse staffing requirements. Presents data by nursing ownership status, rural and urban location, special focus facility status, and state.
Author(s): Priya Chidambaram, Alice Burns, Tricia Neuman, Robin Rudowitz
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Rural Comprehensive Cancer Care: Qualitative Analysis of Current Challenges and Opportunities
Highlights a study aiming to understand the challenges in providing comprehensive cancer care in rural hospitals from the perspective of rural providers. Bases finding on interviews with 13 practitioners providing cancer care in rural hospitals in Iowa. Identifies strengths and barriers to providing cancer care in rural hospitals.
Author(s): Sydney Evans, Aaron T. Seaman, Erin C. Johnson, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(4), 634-644
Date: 05/2024
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Highlights a study aiming to understand the challenges in providing comprehensive cancer care in rural hospitals from the perspective of rural providers. Bases finding on interviews with 13 practitioners providing cancer care in rural hospitals in Iowa. Identifies strengths and barriers to providing cancer care in rural hospitals.
Author(s): Sydney Evans, Aaron T. Seaman, Erin C. Johnson, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(4), 634-644
Date: 05/2024
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Calculation of Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings With and Without Inclusion of the Peer Grouping Step
Examines potential implications of including a peer grouping step in the calculation of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Overall Star Ratings. Uses January 2023 Medicare Care Compare data on 3,076 hospitals that received a star rating to calculate the peer groups based on the number of quality measure groups for which hospitals had 3 or more reported measures. Presents data on the characteristics of each peer group, the distribution of star ratings whether the peer grouping step was used or not used, and the number of hospitals with a higher, lower, or identical star rating when the peer grouping step was applied. Compares data by hospital characteristics, including safety-net status, Critical Access Hospital status, rural or urban location, and more.
Author(s): Cameron J. Gettel, Kyle Bagshaw, Li Qin, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(5), e2411933
Date: 05/2024
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Examines potential implications of including a peer grouping step in the calculation of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Overall Star Ratings. Uses January 2023 Medicare Care Compare data on 3,076 hospitals that received a star rating to calculate the peer groups based on the number of quality measure groups for which hospitals had 3 or more reported measures. Presents data on the characteristics of each peer group, the distribution of star ratings whether the peer grouping step was used or not used, and the number of hospitals with a higher, lower, or identical star rating when the peer grouping step was applied. Compares data by hospital characteristics, including safety-net status, Critical Access Hospital status, rural or urban location, and more.
Author(s): Cameron J. Gettel, Kyle Bagshaw, Li Qin, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(5), e2411933
Date: 05/2024
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Converting to Rural Emergency Hospitals
Podcast episode featuring a discussion with Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) Chief Executive Officers in New Mexico and Oklahoma regarding the conversion to REH status. Discusses the conversion process of each REH; how they built trust and buy-in from patients and communities, including state and federal policymakers; and financial considerations of conversion.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Podcast episode featuring a discussion with Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) Chief Executive Officers in New Mexico and Oklahoma regarding the conversion to REH status. Discusses the conversion process of each REH; how they built trust and buy-in from patients and communities, including state and federal policymakers; and financial considerations of conversion.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Proximity to Hospital-Based Obstetric Care in a Maternity Desert in the Deep South
Examines access to hospital facilities with maternity services in a rural Alabama county by measuring driving distance from maternal residence to birth hospital. Discusses the impact of maternity care deserts on rural residents.
Author(s): Jenna James, Steven R. Schultze, Alyssa Lee, Allen Perkins, Casey L. Daniel
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 114(S4), S289-S336
Date: 05/2024
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Examines access to hospital facilities with maternity services in a rural Alabama county by measuring driving distance from maternal residence to birth hospital. Discusses the impact of maternity care deserts on rural residents.
Author(s): Jenna James, Steven R. Schultze, Alyssa Lee, Allen Perkins, Casey L. Daniel
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 114(S4), S289-S336
Date: 05/2024
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Rural Health Care: Supporting Lives and Improving Communities
Presents the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance May 16, 2024, hearing on rural healthcare. Discusses the financial vulnerability of rural hospitals, the rural healthcare workforce and graduate medical education (GME), access to maternal healthcare, health information technology and telehealth, and more. Features testimony from the Chartis Center for Rural Health; Grande Ronde Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in Oregon; the Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education; and the Rural Policy Research Institute.
Additional links: Jeremy P. Davis, Grande Ronde Hospital - Testimony, Keith J. Mueller, Rural Policy Research Institute - Testimony, Lori Rodefeld, Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education - Testimony, Michael Topchik, Chartis Center for Rural Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
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Presents the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance May 16, 2024, hearing on rural healthcare. Discusses the financial vulnerability of rural hospitals, the rural healthcare workforce and graduate medical education (GME), access to maternal healthcare, health information technology and telehealth, and more. Features testimony from the Chartis Center for Rural Health; Grande Ronde Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in Oregon; the Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education; and the Rural Policy Research Institute.
Additional links: Jeremy P. Davis, Grande Ronde Hospital - Testimony, Keith J. Mueller, Rural Policy Research Institute - Testimony, Lori Rodefeld, Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education - Testimony, Michael Topchik, Chartis Center for Rural Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
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