Topic Pages: Hospitals and clinics

On this page:

• Tools
• Success Stories
• Funding
• Publications
• Journals
• Organizations

Tools

• Hospital Compare
  Provides consumers with information on how well hospitals care for patients with heart attacks, heart failure, or pneumonia.
  Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Telehealth Information Guide
  Telehealth information and resources for rural areas.
  Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
• Directory of Primary Care Offices (PCO)
  Lists contact information for each state's Primary Care Office (PCO). PCOs represent the needs of the underserved populations and the providers who serve them. These offices can provide information on Conrad 30 J-1 Visa Waiver programs, loan repayment programs, and recruitment and retention.
  Sponsoring organization: Bureau of Primary Health Care
• Success Stories Database
  Provides a variety of rural health success stories.
  Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
• Your Guide to Choosing Quality Health Care
  A website to help consumers choose the best healthcare provider for them.
  Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Alabama Health Centers Data
  Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information.
  Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
• Arkansas Health Centers Data
  Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information.
• Illinois Health Centers Data
  Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information.
• Kentucky Health Centers Data
  Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information.
• Louisiana Health Centers Data
  Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information.
• Mississippi Health Centers Data
  Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information.
• Missouri Health Centers Data
  Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information.
  Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
• Tennessee Health Centers Data
  Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information.

Success Stories

• IT Project Connects Rural Louisiana Hospitals
  Describes how Louisiana Rural Health Information Exchange (LARHIX), an information technology project bringing together 24 rural hospitals and the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport (LSUHSC-S), works to fill the gaps in patient record sharing among rural Louisiana hospitals.

Funding

• 340B Drug Pricing Program
  Allows certain facilities to purchase prescription and non-prescription medications at reduced cost
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
      Sponsor: Bureau of Primary Health Care
• Academy of General Dentistry Foundation Grants
  Grants to programs that improve the oral health of the public and promote the professional development of the general dentist.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
      Sponsor: Academy of General Dentistry
• Bower Foundation Grants
  Supports initiatives that improve the health of all Mississippians.
      Geographic Coverage: Mississippi
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
  
• BPHC Loan Guarantee Program
  Loan program to Section 330 health centers to obtain a loan guarantee for the financing of a medical facility construction, renovation and modernization.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
      Sponsor: Bureau of Primary Health Care
• Community Development Transportation Lending Services (CTAA)
  Provides loan funding to support transit services in rural areas.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
      Sponsor: Community Transportation Association of America
• Health Care Disparities Grant Program
  Grants to improve the quality of health care delivered to low-income and minority Americans, and to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
      Sponsor: Commonwealth Fund
• Health Care Foundation of North Mississippi
  Provides funding to improve the health status of North Mississippians.
      Geographic Coverage: Northern Mississippi only
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
  
• HUD 242 (FHA Section 242) - Helping Hospitals Get Capital Financing
  Loan program to help hospitals finance new construction, refinancing, and modernization or to purchase major movable equipment such as hospital beds, wheeled equipment, and office machines.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
      Sponsor: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Medicare Incentive Payments in Health Professional Shortage Areas and Physician Scarcity Areas
  Medicare bonus payments to physicians in geographic HPSAs and PSAs.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
      Sponsor: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• Nurse Education, Practice and Retention (NEPR)
  Grants to strengthen the capacity for basic nurse education and practice and address the shortage of nurses in the health care workforce.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Dec 22, 2009
      Sponsor: Bureau of Health Professions
• Safety-net Enhancement Initiative
  Funding designed to reduce health disparities within vulnerable communities by enhancing collaboration and coordination among agencies and institutions providing health and social supports to these communities.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
      Sponsor: Kresge Foundation
• Safety-net Facility Improvements
  Facilities-capital challenge grant in community-based health centers through a variety of funding methods, including program-related investments or below market rate loans.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
      Sponsor: Kresge Foundation
• Service Area Competition Funding for Health Center Program (Areas Served Through Grants with a Project Period Start Date of September 1, 2010)
  Funding to provide comprehensive primary health care services to an underserved area or population.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Dec 21, 2009
      Sponsor: Bureau of Primary Health Care
• Stimulus Simplicity Program
  Grant program designed to help hospitals and physician offices accelerate Electronic Medical Records (EMR) adoption.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
      Sponsor: GE Healthcare
• The Rapides Foundation Healthy People Grants
  Provides grants to parishes in Central Louisiana for a variety of healthcare issues.
      Geographic Coverage: Eligible Louisiana parishes in the Delta region: Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, and Winn
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
  
• USAC Rural Health Care Service Discounts
  Provides discounts to rural health care providers to obtain Internet and telecommunications access.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
      Sponsor: Universal Service Administrative Company
• William Randolph Hearst Foundations Health Grants
  Provides funding to improve access to quality health care for underserved populations in rural and urban areas.
      Geographic Coverage: Nationwide
      Application Deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
  

Publications

• Advances in Patient Safety: From Research to Implementation
  Describes what federally funded programs have accomplished in understanding medical errors and implementing programs to improve patient safety over the last five years. This compendium is sponsored jointly by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Department of Defense (DoD)-Health Affairs. The 140 articles in the 4-volume set cover a wide range of research paradigms, clinical settings, and patient populations.
  Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  Date: 06 / 2005
  Format: HTML
  
• Chartbook #13: Health Care in Urban and Rural Areas, Combined Years 1998-2000
  Examines the differences in health care access, use, and expenses between urban and rural areas. Counties are classified along the urban-rural continuum according to whether they are metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and, if not, their proximity to an MSA. An MSA is a large population nucleus with a high degree of economic and social interaction. The categories along the continuum are metro (counties in an MSA), near-metro, near-rural, and rural.
  Author(s): Sharon L. Larson, Steven R. Machlin, Alice Nixon, Marc Zodet
  Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  Date: 06 / 2004
  Format: HTML
  
• Comparing Patient Safety in Rural Hospitals by Bed Count
  Determines how patient safety rates, offered services, and patient mix vary by bed count among rural hospitals.
  Author(s): Stephenie L. Loux, Susan M.C. Payne, Astrid Knott
  Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  Date: 2005
  Format: PDF
  
• The Economic Impact of the Critical Access Hospital Program on Illinois Communities
  Analyzes the economic impact of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in Illinois on their communities. Includes information about profitability, employment, and capital expenditures.
  Sponsoring organization: Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network
  Date: 06 / 2006
  Format: PDF
  
• Fostering Rapid Advances in Health Care
  Discusses possible demonstration projects which address key aspects of the health care delivery system.
  Sponsoring organization: Institute of Medicine
  Date: 2002
  Format: HTML
  
• Health and the Economic Well-Being of Rural Families
  Discusses the need for rural-specific policies to address the health care and economic needs of rural families.
  Author(s): Jean W. Bauer, Bonnie Braun, Patricia Hyjer Dyk
  Sponsoring organization: National Council on Family Relations
  Date: 04 / 2003
  Format: PDF
  
• Health Centers: Competition for Grants Has Grown and Efforts to Measure Performance Have Increased
  Overview of how Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) grants are awarded and how FQHCs are monitored under the federal Consolidated Health Centers program.
  Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
  Date: 08 / 2005
  Format: PDF
  
• Health Literacy in a Rural Clinic
  Describes findings of a study assessing the health literacy of people seeking care in a rural health clinic in the southeastern United States.
  Author(s): Felecia G. Wood
  Sponsoring organization: Rural Nurse Organization
  Journal citation: Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Date: 2005
  Format: PDF
  
• A History of the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Grant Program
  Describes the history of the Outreach Grant Program, which has had a significant impact on the health and welfare of many rural communities.
  Sponsoring organization: Office of Rural Health Policy
  Date: 2004
  Format: HTML
  
• How to Establish a Rural Health Clinic in Louisiana
  Provides information and guidance to organizations interested in becoming Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) in the state of Louisiana.
  Sponsoring organization: Louisiana Bureau of Primary Care and Rural Health
  Date: 04 / 2007
  Format: Word
  
• Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (FLEX) State Rural Health Plan
  Details the plan being submitted to the Mississippi Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) for the state's Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program. The plan contains information related to Mississippi’s demographic, economic, health status, and health facilities and systems characteristics. In addition, the plan includes an overview of the state’s health workforce, emergency medical services, critical access hospitals, and the Flex Program Strategic Planning Process and FLEX Program Objectives.
  Sponsoring organization: Mississippi Office of Rural Health
  Date: 12 / 2008
  Format: PDF
  
• Mental Health Encounters in Critical Access Hospital Emergency Rooms: A National Survey
  Survey indicates patients with mental health issues represent a significant proportion of the visits to Critical Access Hospital (CAH) emergency rooms. Investigates the types of cases that present with mental health problems, as well as the resources available to emergency room staff in CAHs for addressing such problems.
  Author(s): David Hartley, Erika Ziller, Stephenie Loux, John Gale, David Lambert, Anush Yousefian
  Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 09 / 2005
  Format: PDF
  
• National Healthcare Quality Report, 2004
  Measures the state of health care quality and summarizes changes in health care quality in the Nation. This is the second annual National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR). Data in the 2004 report provide insight into opportunities for improvement in care.
  Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  Date: 12 / 2004
  Format: PDF
  
• National Healthcare Quality Report, 2005
  A comprehensive national overview of the quality of health care in the United States. Includes measures of effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, and patient centeredness. Compares trends in health care quality over the past three years.
  Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  Date: 12 / 2005
  Format: PDF
  
• National Healthcare Quality Report, 2006
  A comprehensive national overview of the quality of health care in the United States. Includes measures of effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, and patient centeredness.
  Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  Date: 12 / 2006
  Format: PDF
  
• Number of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) per State
  Data by state listing the total number of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) for each state, and the number of CAHs in each state with a Psychiatric DPUs (Distinct Part Units) and with Rehabilitation DPUs.
  Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
  Date: 08 / 2007
  Format: Excel
  
• Preparing for Medicare Part D: An Opportunity for State Offices of Rural Health and State Rural Health Associations
  Discusses how state offices of rural health and state rural health associations have an inherent interest in helping beneficiaries access necessary health care services, including prescription medications. Implementation of Part D creates an opportunity to help beneficiaries through leadership, by connecting beneficiaries and those who serve them to resources that will help them react appropriately to changes in the program.
  Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Lisa Bottsford
  Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Journal citation: RUPRI Rural Policy Brief Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Date: 08 / 2005
  Format: PDF
  
• Public Reporting of Hospital Quality in Rural Communities: An Initial Set of Key Issues
  Policy brief addressing rural health care quality, with a focus on rural hospital quality reporting. Includes policy recommendations.
  Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
  Date: 05 / 2005
  Format: PDF
  
• Quality Through Collaboration: The Future of Rural Health Care (Executive Summary)
  Summary of an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report that examines the quality of health care in rural America. Includes key findings on rural health care quality and patient safety, as well as recommendations.
  Sponsoring organization: Institute of Medicine
  Date: 11 / 2004
  Format: PDF
  
• Quality Through Collaboration: The Future of Rural Health Care (Full Report)
  Examines the quality of health care in rural America. Includes recommendations to improve health care quality and safety in rural communities. Addresses workforce, information technology, finance and other factors that impact rural health care quality.
  Sponsoring organization: Institute of Medicine
  Date: 11 / 2004
  Format: HTML
  
• Scope of Services Offered by Critical Access Hospitals: Results of the 2004 National CAH Survey
  Examines how Critical Access Hospital (CAH) services have changed over time, based on 2000, 2002 and 2004 survey data. Discusses the role of network affiliations in service changes and reasons for reported service expansions.
  Author(s): David Hartley, Stephenie Loux
  Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
  Date: 03 / 2005
  Format: PDF
  
• Starting a Rural Health Clinic: A How-To Manual
  Detailed guide describing the Rural Health Clinic (RHC) program. Includes instructions on how to determine eligibility and financial feasibility of RHC status and how to apply to become an RHC. Includes a sample RHC policies and procedures manual.
  Sponsoring organization: Office of Rural Health Policy
  Date: 04 / 2004
  Format: PDF
  
• State of the States: Bridging the Health Coverage Gap
  Discusses how states have coped with difficult financial pressures and, in so doing, built new relationships and crafted innovative medical coverage strategies. These strategies included the Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability (HIFA) demonstration initiative, Pharmacy Plus 1115 waivers, new partnerships with the private sector, new funds available through the federal Trade Act of 2002, and the Health Resources and Services Administration's State Planning Grant program.
  Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  Date: 01 / 2003
  Format: PDF
  
• Status of the Rural Health Clinic Program
  Office of Inspector General report discussing the location status of Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Includes statistics on the number of RHCs in locations that do not have current shortage designations and RHCs in areas no longer considered rural. Includes historical overview of the RHC location requirements and recommendations for improvement.
  Author(s): Daniel R. Levinson
  Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  Date: 08 / 2005
  Format: PDF
  

Journals

• Advances
  Provides information on training, education, research, and projects that demonstrate the effective delivery of health care services.
  Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• AHA News
  Bi-weekly news pertaining to hospitals throughout the United States.
  Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
• Hot Topics in Rural Health Care
  Discusses relevant rural health topics important to health care providers, rural community leaders, and others.
  Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Consultants, Inc.
• Journal of Rural Health
  Offers research of projects to improve rural health, statistics, and mathematical models. Provides summaries of recently published rural health research. Provides links to author, subject and abstract indexes.
  Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
• MLN Matters: Information for Medicare Providers
  Articles for health care providers to help them understand new or changed Medicare policy.
  Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• Rural Monitor
  Newsletter containing information regarding a variety of successful programs throughout rural America including news, research, and funding.
  Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center

Organizations

• 100K Lives Campaign
  A nationwide initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) to radically reduce morbidity and mortality in American health care.
• American Telemedicine Association
  Promotes access to medical care for consumers and health professionals via telecommunications technology.
• Bureau of Primary Health Care
  Supports access to primary care services. Part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
• Delta Rural Hospital Performance Improvement Project
  Brings technical expertise, information and business tools to small rural hospitals in the Mississippi Delta.
• eHealth Initiative
  Membership organization seeking to drive improvement in the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology.
• Flex Monitoring Team
  Performance monitoring project for the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program) conducted by the Rural Health Research Centers at the Universities of Minnesota, North Carolina, and Southern Maine.
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement
  Drives the improvement of health by advancing the quality and value of health care. Provides conferences, seminars, and practices that can be implemented and measured to help facilitate improvement of health care quality.
• Institute for Safe Medication Practices
  Mission is to understand the causes of medication errors and provide time-critical error-reduction strategies to the healthcare community, policy makers, and the public.
• Institute of Medicine
  Works to advance and disseminate scientific knowledge to improve human health. Part of the National Academy of Sciences.
• Joint Commission
  Works to improve safety and quality of care provided to the public through health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. Evaluates and accredits nearly 17,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States.
• Leapfrog Group
  Composed of more than 150 public and private organizations that provide health care benefits. Works with medical experts throughout the U.S. to identify problems and propose solutions that will improve hospital systems that could break down and harm patients. Representing more than 34 million health care consumers in all 50 states, Leapfrog provides information and solutions for consumers and health care providers.
• Louisiana Assembly on School-Based Healthcare
  Promotes the health and academic success of Louisiana students and the economic development of communities by increasing access to quality healthcare and support services provided by school health centers.
• Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: Primary Care and Rural Health
  Helps communities provide access to necessary health care services to their residents through community-based systems of care. A division of the Department of Health and Senior Services.
• Mithoefer Center for Rural Surgery
  Studies, advocates for and works to improve the practice of rural surgery in the United States.
• National Assembly on School-Based Health Care
  Encourages collaborations between schools and communities to ensure that all children and adolescents have access to health care.
• National Association of Rural Health Clinics
  Works to improve the delivery of quality, cost-effective health care in rural underserved areas through the Rural Health Clinics (RHC) Program.
• National Quality Forum
  Works to develop and implement a national strategy for health care quality measurement and reporting.
• National Rural Behavioral Health Center
  Focuses on four components of rural behavioral health: Rural Disaster and Trauma, Violence Prevention, Occupational Health, and Health Service Delivery. Houses a team of behavioral health scientists, educators, scholars, and practitioners dedicated to improving the health care status of rural Americans.
• School-Based Health Care Policy Program
  Works to increase the sustainability of school-based health centers.