Rural issues

Population Health Helping hospitals create community partnerships A new guide from the American Hospital Association’s Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence initiative highlights promising practices for creating effective and sustainable hospital-community partnerships to build a culture…
Trustee Talking Points Trustee Talking Points The institutions guided by rural hospital trustees face growing pressures on multiple fronts, including reimbursement changes tied to value-based payments, raising concerns about health care access in rural communities.…
The U.S. health care field is moving in a new direction — toward population health. The alignment of expanded access to care with the adoption of value-based reimbursement models has primed health care for unprecedented transformation. Succeeding in this new environment…
Snapshot As inpatient utilization declines, outdated rural hospitals can meet their community’s changing needs by building or converting to ambulatory-driven life enhancement centers that combine health and wellness under one roof.
Now that the King v. Burwell verdict is behind us, let’s look at the case through a different lens. If you and your board members were well-informed about the case and its implications, your board is likely well-positioned to monitor enterprise risk-management developments.…
Trustee Spotlight Name: Edward HatcherOrganization: Grinnell (Iowa) Regional Medical CenterYears on the board: 17Board roles: President (1997, 1998), (2011, 2012); executive board member (1994–1999), (2009–current)Profession: Grain and livestock agricultural operator
The number of emergency department visits also grew by 6 percent, according to AHA DataViewer. At the same time, rural hospitals boosted their workforce: the number of FTEs increased by 7 percent. Although rural hospitals had more than 4 million inpatient admissions in 2013, that number represents…
Snapshot Patients' ability to pay premiums and out-of-pocket costs is shrinking. They also need more convenient care. Are hospitals listening?
When physicians, executives and trustees look at the pros and cons of assigning a patient's total cost of care to a physician, they can't get bogged down in philosophical arguments over fairness or other concerns about the process, experts say. What's important is how it supports value-based care.
Snapshot Infrastructure costs, lack of on-site expertise and a fierce desire to remain independent have limited rural hospitals’ ability to respond to the quality and value imperatives of reform. But innovative regional alliances and ACO models are removing these barriers while strengthening…