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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Hospitals

Medicare's New Rural Emergency Hospital Designation — Considerations for States
Blog post providing an overview of the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) program. Discusses the REH designation as an alternative to rural hospital closure and REH payment policy. Highlights opportunities for states to develop REH licensure requirements.
Author(s): Rebekah Falkner, Sam Mermin
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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Review of Rural U.S. Economic and Health Care Trends
Reviews recent literature and publicly available data to explore important issues at the nexus of healthcare and local economic vibrancy, and explores the economic implications associated with COVID-19. Includes sections on rural hospitals, the rural healthcare workforce, emergency medical services, insurance, and telehealth. Features statistics with breakdowns by 6 levels of population density and county-level maps showing Health Professional Shortage Areas and rural counties without obstetrical services.
Author(s): Alison Davis
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health
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Availability of Hospital-Based Emergency Department and Trauma Services in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Group Areas
Explores the availability of hospital-based emergency department and trauma services nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition. Provides data on the median distance to the nearest emergency department and trauma service by rurality in minoritized and non-minoritized ZCTA and the percent of ZCTAs more than 30 miles from emergency department and trauma services by Census region.
Author(s): Nabil Natafgi, Peiyin Hung, Whitney E. Zahnd, et al.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Payment Systems for Hospital Outpatient Departments and Ambulatory Surgical Centers for 2023
Comments on a July 26, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payment system for calendar year 2023. Includes considerations for payment for 340B drugs, additional facility payments for Rural Emergency Hospitals, telehealth rehabilitation services beyond the COVID-19 public health emergency, and efforts for measuring equity and healthcare quality disparities.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural Hospital Closures Threaten Access: Solutions to Preserve Care in Local Communities
Provides an overview of rural hospital closures between 2010-2021. Discusses rural demographics and outlines trends affecting rural hospital financial sustainability, including patient volume and health, reimbursement, staffing shortages, COVID-19, new models of care, and more.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Minnesota Chartbook Section 8A Health Care Providers and Service Availability: Hospitals
Provides data on Minnesota hospital capacity, services offered and their utilization, and hospital financials and community benefit. Includes information on hospital location and bed availability by region as well as rural versus urban comparisons of average length of stay, hospital admissions, inpatient days, and sources of revenue.
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health
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State Flex Program Staff Sustainability Guide and Toolkit
A guide for state Flex Programs to help recruit good Flex Program staff, train them successfully, retain staff longer, and plan an orderly process of finding and training new staff before the outgoing staff leave. Presents a Staff Sustainability Cycle, a process for improving the retention of high-performing Flex Program staff, and outlines specific strategies and practical tools for addressing each component of the cycle.
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Experience in the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model: Barnes-Kasson County Hospital
Profiles Barnes-Kasson County Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital with three hospital-based Rural Health Clinics and a skilled nursing facility in Pennsylvania. Discusses the CAH's experience participating in the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM). Describes the Barnes-Kasson transformation plan, challenges of the global budget model, peer learning and networking opportunities, and next steps.
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Providing High-Quality Support to Pregnant People and Their Families in Racially Diverse Rural Communities
Presents a series of case studies of how hospitals and health systems with obstetric units in racially diverse rural communities work to meet patient needs and provide evidence-based, supportive services during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Highlights communities in Colorado, Alaska, and Texas and discusses key features of programs at hospitals or health systems in each area.
Author(s): Mariana Tuttle, Phoebe Chastain, Hailey Baker, Katy Backes Kozhimannil, Bridget Basile Ibrahim
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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What Happens When a Hospital Closes?
Podcast episode discussing the impact of rural hospital closures and obstetrics units on their communities. Explores why facilities and units close and the impact of closures on mortality, prenatal care, maternal and infant health outcomes, and access to quality care.
Date: 08/2022
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Freakonomics
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