/ en Sun, 27 Apr 2025 11:54:49 -0500 Fri, 13 Dec 24 12:22:32 -0600 /resources/2024-12-13-rural-health-update-newsletters <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p>AHA Rural Health Update is a compilation of news from the AHA and its Rural Health Services team. Update provides constituents with a synopsis of breaking news on key issues targeted to rural providers.</p><p>This monthly newsletter covers current rural advocacy priorities for legislation, rulemaking and federal policy. It includes recent updates to resources and references for educational programs, webinars and podcasts as well as tools, resources, grants and awards.</p><hr><h3><span>2025 Rural Health News Update Editions</span></h3><ul><li><h5><a href="/rural-health-update/2025-04-03-rural-health-news-update-january-2025" target="_blank">Rural Health News Update - January 2025</a></h5></li></ul><p><br><strong>View archives </strong><a href="/2020-05-01-rural-health-update-newsletters-archive"><strong>here</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p></div><div class="col-md-4">.vertical-menu { width: 300px; } .vertical-menu a { background-color: #ffffff; color: black; display: block; padding: 10px; text-decoration: none; } .vertical-menu a:hover { background-color: #edf7ee; } .vertical-menu a.active { background-color: #6dae1e; color: white; } <div class="vertical-menu"><a class="active" href="/advocacy/small-or-rural"><strong>       Rural Issues Home</strong></a> <a href="/2019-11-20-rural-advocacy-and-policy"><strong>Advocacy and Policy</strong></a><a href="/2019-11-20-rural-tools-education"><strong>Education and Communication</strong></a> <a href="/2019-11-20-rural-case-studies"><strong>Case Studies</strong></a><a href="/2019-11-20-rural-resources"><strong>Tools and Resources</strong></a></div></div></div></div> Fri, 13 Dec 2024 12:22:32 -0600 Rural <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p>Rural hospitals and health systems are committed to ensuring local access to high-quality, affordable health care. However, these hospitals continue to experience ongoing challenges that jeopardize their ability to provide local access to care and essential services. These include severe underpayments by Medicare and Medicaid, which threaten the financial stability of the health care system; challenges imposed by commercial and Medicare Advantage plans; and a heavy regulatory burden.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"> <div class="col-md-12 cc_tabs"> /* reset */ .cc_tabs ul.a-container { margin: 0; padding: 0; list-style: none; } .cc_tabs input[type=checkbox] { display: none; } /* style */ .cc_tabs .a-container { width: 100%; margin: 20px auto; } .cc_tabs .a-container label { display: block; position: relative; cursor: pointer; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; padding: 10px 20px; color: #63666a; background-color: #eee; border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd; -webkit-transition: all .2s ease; -moz-transition: all .2s ease; -ms-transition: all .2s ease; -o-transition: all .2s ease; transition: all .2s ease; margin-bottom:15px } .cc_tabs .a-container label:after { content: ""; width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #aaa; border-right: 6px solid transparent; border-bottom: 8px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid transparent; position: absolute; right: 10px; top: 16px; } .cc_tabs .a-container input:checked + label, .cc_tabs .a-container label:hover { background-color: #003087; color: #fff; } .cc_tabs .a-container input:checked + label:after { border-top: 8px solid transparent; border-right: 6px solid transparent; border-bottom: 8px solid #fff; border-left: 6px solid transparent; top: 6px; } .cc_tabs .a-content { padding: 0 20px 20px; display: none; height:auto; max-height: 40vh; overflow: auto } .cc_tabs .a-container input:checked ~ .a-content { display: block; } /* Style the tab */ .cc_tabs .tab { background-color: #fff; width: auto; height: auto; overflow: auto; } /* Style the buttons inside the tab */ .cc_tabs .tab button { display: block; background-color: lightgray; color: #003087; padding: 10px 16px 10px 20px; width: calc(50% - 30px); border: solid 1px lightgray; outline: none; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; transition: 0.3s; font-size: 20px; float: left; overflow: auto; margin: 0px 15px; -webkit-border-top-left-radius: 15px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius: 15px; -moz-border-radius-topleft: 15px; -moz-border-radius-topright: 15px; border-top-left-radius: 15px; border-top-right-radius: 15px; font-weight: 700; } @media (max-width:452px){ .cc_tabs .tab button{ padding: 10px 5px 10px 5px; width: calc(50% - 4px); font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 2px; } } /* Change background color of buttons on hover */ .cc_tabs .tab button:hover { background-color: #003087; color:#fff } /* Create an active/current "tab button" class */ .cc_tabs .tab button.active { background-color: #003087; color: #ffffff } /* Style the tab content */ .cc_tabs .tab .tabcontent { float: left; padding: 15px 12px; border: 1px solid #ccc; width: 100%; height: auto; } .cc_tabs .tablinks:after { content: '\2610'; color: #777; font-weight: bold; float: right; margin-left: 5px; } .cc_tabs .tablinks.active:after { content: "\2611"; } Get CertifiedRecertify </div> --> <div class="tabcontent" id="General"> <a id="patienttools"> </a> <a id="patienttools"></a> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> SUPPORT FLEXIBLE PAYMENT MODELS <div class="a-content"> <p> As the health care field continues to change at a rapid pace, flexible approaches and multiple options for reimbursing and delivering care are more critical than ever to sustain access to services in rural areas. </p> <p> <span><strong>Medicare-dependent Hospital (MDH) and Low-volume Adjustment (LVA).</strong></span> MDHs are small, rural hospitals where at least 60% of admissions or patient days are from Medicare patients. MDHs receive the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) rate plus 75% of the difference between the IPPS rate and their inflation-adjusted costs from one of three base years. <span><strong>AHA supports making the MDH program permanent and adding an additional base year that hospitals may choose for calculating payments.</strong></span> The LVA provides increased payments to isolated, rural hospitals with a low number of discharges. <span><strong>AHA also supports making the LVA permanent.</strong></span> The MDH designation and LVA protect the financial viability of these hospitals to ensure they can continue providing access to care. </p> <p> <span><strong>Necessary Provider Designation for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).</strong></span> The CAH designation allows small rural hospitals to receive cost-based Medicare reimbursement, which can help sustain services in the community. Hospitals must meet several criteria, including a mileage requirement, to be eligible.  A hospital can be exempt from the mileage requirement if the state certifies the hospital as a necessary provider, but only hospitals designated before Jan. 1, 2006 are eligible. <span><strong>AHA urges Congress to reopen the necessary provider CAH program to further support local access to care in rural areas.</strong></span> </p> <p> <span><strong>Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) Model.</strong></span> REHs are a Medicare provider type that small rural and critical access hospitals can convert to in order to provide emergency and outpatient services without needing to provide inpatient care. REHs are paid a monthly facility payment and the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) rate plus 5%. <span><strong>AHA continues to support strengthening and refining the REH model to ensure sustainable care delivery and financing.</strong></span> </p> <p> <span><strong>Rebasing for Sole Community Hospitals (SCHs).</strong></span><strong> </strong>SCHs must show they are the sole source of inpatient hospital services reasonably available in a certain geographic area to be eligible. They receive increased payments based on their cost per discharge in a base year. <span><strong>AHA supports adding an additional base year that SCHs may choose for calculating their payments.</strong></span> </p> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> ENSURE FAIR REIMBURSEMENT, ACCESS TO CAPITAL & REGULATORY RELIEF <div class="a-content"> <p> Medicare and Medicaid pay only 82 cents for every dollar spent caring for patients, according to the latest AHA data. <strong>Given the challenges of providing care in rural areas, reimbursement rates across payers need to be updated to cover the cost of care.</strong> </p> <p> <span><strong>Telehealth.</strong></span><strong> </strong>Telehealth services are a crucial access point for many patients. AHA supports legislation to make permanent coverage of certain telehealth services made possible during the pandemic, including lifting geographic and originating site restrictions, allowing Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers to serve as distant sites, expanding practitioners who can provide telehealth and allowing hospital outpatient billing for virtual services, among others. </p> <p> <span><strong>Infrastructure Financing for Rural Hospitals.</strong></span> Many rural hospitals were constructed following the passage of the Hill-Burton Act of 1947, which provided grants and loans for the construction and modernization of hospitals. Currently, many rural hospitals need to update their facilities and services to continue meeting the needs of their community. Yet, narrow financial margins limit rural hospitals’ ability to retain earnings and secure access to capital or qualify for U.S. Department of Agriculture or U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development mortgage guarantees. Without those resources, rural hospitals are sometimes unable to update facilities. <span><strong>The AHA urges Congress to help ensure that vulnerable communities are able to preserve access to essential health care services by providing infrastructure funding for hospitals that restructure their facilities and services to meet community needs.</strong></span> </p> <p> <span><strong>Reverse Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Payment Cuts.</strong></span> RHCs provide access to primary care and other important services in rural, underserved areas.<strong> </strong><span><strong>AHA urges Congress to repeal payment caps on  provider-based RHCs</strong></span> that limit access to care. </p> <p> <span><strong>Maternal and Obstetric Care.</strong></span><strong> </strong>Maternal health is a top priority for AHA and its rural members. We urge Congress to continue to fund programs that improve or maintain access to maternal and obstetric care in rural areas, including supporting the maternal workforce, promoting best practices and educating health care professionals. </p> <p> <span><strong>Wage Index Floor.</strong></span> AHA supports legislation that would place a floor on the area wage index, effectively raising the area wage index for hospitals below that threshold with new money. </p> <p> <span><strong>96-hour Rule</strong></span>. <span><strong>We urge Congress to pass legislation to permanently remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement for CAHs.</strong></span><strong> </strong>These hospitals still would be required to satisfy the condition of participation requiring a 96-hour annual average length of stay, but removing the physician certification requirement would allow CAHs to serve patients needing critical medical services that have standard lengths of stay greater than 96 hours. </p> <p> <span><strong>Ambulance Add-on Payment.</strong></span> Rural ambulance service providers ensure timely access to emergency medical care but face higher costs than other areas due to lower patient volume. <span><strong>We support permanently extending the existing rural and “super rural” ambulance add-on payments to protect access to these essential services.</strong></span> </p> <p> <span><strong>Regulatory Burden</strong></span><strong>.</strong> Reduce regulatory burden by identifying and advocating for the repeal of unnecessary and duplicative Conditions of Participation that increase hospital inefficiency and reduce the time providers can spend caring for their patients. </p> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> COMMERCIAL INSURER ACCOUNTABILITY <div class="a-content"> <p> Underpayment by commercial insurance plans and systematic and inappropriate payment delays for medically necessary care are putting patient access to care at risk.  </p> <p> <span><strong>Cost-based Reimbursement for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) from Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans</strong></span>. Congress created a special statutory payment designation for CAHs in recognition of the unique role they play in preserving access to health care services in rural areas. As certain MA plans in rural communities rapidly grow, there is an erosion of this important financial protection. A greater portion of a CAH’s revenue will be subject to negotiations with MA plans that often result in below-cost payment terms and involve onerous plan requirements that contribute to administrative burden, unnecessary delays and denials in approving and paying for patient care, and additional strains on the health care workforce.<span><strong> We support legislation to ensure CAHs receive cost-based reimbursement for MA patients. </strong></span> </p> <p> <span><strong>Prompt Pay</strong></span>. Ensure prompt payment from insurers for medically necessary, covered health care services delivered to patients. <span><strong>We support policies to increase oversight and accountability of health plans including establishing more stringent standards for timely payment</strong></span> to address certain insurer tactics to delay and deny payment to health care providers.  </p> <p> <span><strong>Prior Authorization</strong></span>. Hold commercial health insurers accountable for ensuring patients have timely access to care, including by reducing the excessive use of prior authorization, ensuring expeditious prior authorization decisions and eliminating inappropriate denials for services that should be covered. <span><strong>We support building on recent regulations and legislation that further streamline and improve prior authorization processes.</strong></span> </p> <div class="a-content"> <a> </a> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span></span> </p> <p> Underpayment by commercial insurance plans and systematic and inappropriate payment delays for<br> medically necessary care are putting patient access to care at risk. </p> <strong> <p> <span><strong>Cost-based Reimbursement for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) from Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans.</strong></span><strong> </strong>Congress created a special statutory payment designation for CAHs in recognition of the unique role they play in preserving access to health care services in rural areas. As certain MA plans in rural communities rapidly grow, there is an erosion of this important financial protection. A greater portion of a CAH’s revenue will be subject to negotiations with MA plans that often result in below-cost payment terms and involve onerous plan requirements that contribute to administrative burden, unnecessary delays and denials in approving and paying for patient care, and additional strains on the health care workforce.  <span><strong>We support legislation to ensure CAHs receive cost-based reimbursement for MA patients.</strong></span> </p> <p> <span><strong>Prompt Pay.</strong></span><strong> </strong>Ensure prompt payment from insurers for medically necessary, covered health care services delivered to patients. <span><strong>We support policies to increase oversight and accountability of health plans including establishing more stringent standards for timely payment </strong></span>to address certain insurer tactics to delay and deny payment to health care providers. </p> <p> <span><strong>Prior Authorization.</strong></span> Hold commercial health insurers accountable for ensuring patients have timely access to care, including by reducing the excessive use of prior authorization, ensuring expeditious prior authorization decisions and eliminating inappropriate denials for services that should be covered. <span><strong>We support building on recent regulations and legislation that further streamline and improve prior authorization processes.</strong></span> </p> </strong> </div> <strong> </strong> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> BOLSTER THE WORKFORCE <div class="a-content"> <p> Recruitment and retention of health care professionals is an ongoing challenge and expense for rural hospitals. Nearly 70% of the primary care health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) are located in rural or partially rural areas. Targeted programs that help address workforce shortages in rural communities should be supported and expanded. Workforce policies and programs also should encourage nurses and other allied professionals to practice at the top of their license.  </p> <p> <span><strong>Graduate Medical Education</strong></span>. We urge Congress to enact legislation that would lift existing caps on the number of Medicare-funded residency slots, which would help alleviate physician shortages in rural and other underserved areas and improve patients’ access to care. We also support robust funding for rural residency track programs, which provide medical residents additional training opportunities in rural areas.  </p> <p> <span><strong>Conrad State 30 Program</strong></span>. We urge Congress to make permanent and expand the Conrad State 30 J-1 visa waiver program, which waives the requirement for physicians holding J-1 visas to return home for a period if they agree to stay in the U.S. for three years and practice in underserved areas.  </p> <p> <span><strong>Loan Repayment Programs</strong></span>. We urge Congress to pass legislation to provide incentives for clinicians to practice in rural HPSAs. We support expanding the National Health Service Corps and the National Nurse Corps, which incentivize health care graduates to provide health care services in underserved areas.  </p> <p> <span><strong>Visa Recapture</strong></span>. We urge Congress to pass legislation to recapture up to 40,000 unused employment visas for foreign-trained workers (25,000 for nurses and 15,000 for physicians). </p> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> PROTECT THE 340B PROGRAM <div class="a-content"> <p> The 340B Drug Pricing Program helps CAHs, Sole Community Hospitals, Rural Referral Centers and other disproportionate share hospitals serving vulnerable populations stretch scarce resources. Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act requires pharmaceutical companies participating in Medicaid to sell outpatient drugs at discounted prices to organizations that care for many uninsured and low-income patients. </p> <p> Hospitals use 340B savings, for example, to provide free care for uninsured patients, offer free vaccines, provide services in mental health clinics and implement medication management and community health programs. The AHA opposes any efforts to undermine the 340B program and harm the patients and communities it serves, including drug company efforts to diminish the program by limiting contract pharmacy arrangements and attempting to change access to 340B pricing from an upfront discount to a back-end rebate. </p> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <strong> <div class="col-md-12 cc_tabs"> /* reset */ .cc_tabs ul.a-container { margin: 0; padding: 0; list-style: none; } .cc_tabs input[type=checkbox] { display: none; } /* style */ .cc_tabs .a-container { width: 100%; margin: 20px auto; } .cc_tabs .a-container label { display: block; position: relative; cursor: pointer; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; padding: 10px 20px; color: #63666a; background-color: #eee; border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd; -webkit-transition: all .2s ease; -moz-transition: all .2s ease; -ms-transition: all .2s ease; -o-transition: all .2s ease; transition: all .2s ease; margin-bottom:15px } .cc_tabs .a-container label:after { content: ""; 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outline: none; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; transition: 0.3s; font-size: 20px; float: left; overflow: auto; margin: 0px 15px; -webkit-border-top-left-radius: 15px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius: 15px; -moz-border-radius-topleft: 15px; -moz-border-radius-topright: 15px; border-top-left-radius: 15px; border-top-right-radius: 15px; font-weight: 700; } @media (max-width:452px){ .cc_tabs .tab button{ padding: 10px 5px 10px 5px; width: calc(50% - 4px); font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 2px; } } /* Change background color of buttons on hover */ .cc_tabs .tab button:hover { background-color: #003087; color:#fff } /* Create an active/current "tab button" class */ .cc_tabs .tab button.active { background-color: #003087; color: #ffffff } /* Style the tab content */ .cc_tabs .tab .tabcontent { float: left; padding: 15px 12px; border: 1px solid #ccc; width: 100%; height: auto; } .cc_tabs .tablinks:after { content: '\2610'; color: #777; font-weight: bold; float: right; margin-left: 5px; } .cc_tabs .tablinks.active:after { content: "\2611"; } Get CertifiedRecertify </div> --> </div> </strong> </div> <strong> <p class="a-items"> <ul class="a-container"> item 1 <div class="a-content"> <p> ==== </p> </div> </li> </ul> <div> --> function openCity(evt, cityName) { var i, tabcontent, tablinks; tabcontent = document.getElementsByClassName("tabcontent"); for (i = 0; i < tabcontent.length; i++) { tabcontent[i].style.display = "none"; } tablinks = document.getElementsByClassName("tablinks"); for (i = 0; i < tablinks.length; i++) { tablinks[i].className = tablinks[i].className.replace(" active", ""); } document.getElementById(cityName).style.display = "block"; evt.currentTarget.className += " active"; } // Get the element with id="defaultOpen" and click on it document.getElementById("defaultOpen").click(); </p> </strong> </div><p> </p><p class="a-items"> Get CertifiedRecertify </div> --> <ul class="a-container"> item 1 <div class="a-content"> <p> ==== </p> </div> </li> </ul> <div> --> function openCity(evt, cityName) { var i, tabcontent, tablinks; tabcontent = document.getElementsByClassName("tabcontent"); for (i = 0; i < tabcontent.length; i++) { tabcontent[i].style.display = "none"; } tablinks = document.getElementsByClassName("tablinks"); for (i = 0; i < tablinks.length; i++) { tablinks[i].className = tablinks[i].className.replace(" active", ""); } document.getElementById(cityName).style.display = "block"; evt.currentTarget.className += " active"; } // Get the element with id="defaultOpen" and click on it document.getElementById("defaultOpen").click(); </p></div><div class="col-md-4"><p class="text-align-center"><a class="btn btn-primary" href="/system/files/media/file/2025/02/2025-Rural-Advocacy-Agenda.pdf">Download the Rural Advocacy Agenda</a><br> </p><p><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/02/2025-Rural-Advocacy-Agenda.pdf"><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/cover-2025-Rural-Advocacy-Agenda_0.png" data-entity-uuid="43454eb5-2a7a-44ba-a764-b47efb669806" data-entity-type="file" width="655" height="847" alt="AHA 2025 Rural Advocacy Agenda page 1."></a></p><p> </p><p><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/advocacy/2020-01-27-rural-advocacy-agenda-archives">View the Rural Advocacy Agenda Archives</a></p><p><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/advocacy-agenda" title="2025 AHA Advocacy Agenda PDF">View the AHA 2025 Advocacy Agenda</a></p></div></div></div> Fri, 23 Feb 2024 23:01:00 -0600 Rural <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><h3>Northern Light Health | Brewer, Maine</h3><h3><small>Collaboration Between Northern Light Health and Morehouse School of Medicine's PA Studies</small></h3><p>Nationally, health care organizations have long grappled with provider shortages, especially in rural areas. Northern Light Health leadership recognized the importance and difficulty in filling those key roles in remote areas of Maine; however, despite dedicated efforts to recruit providers with rural medicine experience, the outcome did not consistently meet the demand for a sufficient number of providers.</p><p>In 2021, Darmita Wilson joined the system as vice president of operations for the medical group. Previously, Wilson worked in Washington, D.C., mentoring medical students and allied health professionals at Howard University Hospital and Providence Hospital. In her new role, Wilson began to develop possible solutions to the issue of provider shortages, with the goal of mitigating the impact on patients. At the same time, Lynwood McAllister, MPA, MA, PhD, who had worked alongside Wilson at Howard University, reached out to discuss a new physician assistant (PA) program at the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), where he serves as the assistant clinical director. MSM was expanding their program to include a rural medicine track of studies, and Wilson advocated for a rural health care track for the PA program as a way of alleviating physician burnout, increasing patient access, and developing innovative ways to deliver health care.</p><p>Together, they developed a program for PA students interested in a rural medicine track to travel to Maine to perform their clerkship training, for up to 40 weeks in their second year of training, at Northern Light Health facilities. These master’s-prepared students would have the opportunity to join rotations in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, behavioral medicine and psychiatry, emergency medicine, and general surgery.</p><h3><small>Results, Lessons Learned and Future Outlook</small></h3><p>In November 2023, the program’s first four students completed their rotations with Northern Light Health in family medicine and internal medicine. From the beginning, the students – who volunteered for the program and none of whom had ever been to Maine before – were eager to experience the practicality of their didactic education in the clinical setting. The Northern Light Health preceptors and staff were impressed with how quickly the students acclimated to the clinical setting and their communities and are eager to expand the program to have more PAs as part of the team. The preceptors reported that they have a different outlook on the work they do, feel less burned out and more optimistic about the future of health care.</p><p>Wilson shared one of the biggest challenges to date was socializing the value of training the next generation of clinicians and imparting the skills of rural medicine. “As a system, Northern Light Health realizes the importance of proactively developing its own workforce and nurturing the next generation of practitioners. Preceptorship is one positive way to give back to those who are starting their careers, while helping preceptors reconnect to their purpose in caring for others,” Wilson said.</p><p>For students, finding their place in the community outside of work is crucial. Northern Light Health prepared them for Maine’s culture, where understanding social cues and adapting to a rural lifestyle takes time. As one student planned their travel to and from their rotations using ride-share transportation, Northern Light Health staff explained that the area only had one ride-share driver. It was an eye-opening transition for students used to an urban environment where these types of services are ubiquitous. It has also given participants a unique insight into the lack of resources in rural communities. One stated, “…during my rotation through cardiology, I noticed that it takes a few months before someone can even receive an echocardiogram. I found this to be a problem because these images provide imperative information that can be used to guide the treatment of patients.” He reflected that even despite these issues, “…it also inspires me to practice in underserved areas and be the resource people need.”</p><p>As the early adopter phase, also referred to as phase one, concludes, Wilson’s team is actively working toward the next phase to build a rural medicine hub at Northern Light Health. This expansion aims to accommodate an increased number of students from MSM for clinical rotations in their facilities. Plans for a third phase include developing additional clerkship programs, followed by a mobile unit approach similar to an approach used at MSM in rural Georgia. Northern Light aspires to extend this hub model to other medical schools and programs in rural areas nationwide.</p></div><div class="col-md-4"><a href="/sites/default/files/2024-02/northern-light-health.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/2024-02/northern-light-health.png" alt="Building a Diverse Rural Workforce with Northern Light Health" width="726" height="940"></a><p class="text-align-center"><a class="btn btn-primary" href="/system/files/media/file/2024/02/workforce-cs-northern-light.pdf">Download Case Study</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div></div></div> Thu, 01 Feb 2024 11:16:08 -0600 Rural /infographics/2024-01-18-aha-data-visualizations <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-3"><p><a href="/infographics/2024-01-18-fast-facts-us-hospitals-infographics" title="Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals 2025 Infographics."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Infographic%20image%20Fast%20Facts%20Hospitals%202025.jpg" data-entity-uuid="d9a4ed34-2d0d-4cb6-92fd-f307e5d5354d" data-entity-type="file" alt="Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2025, Most Hospitals Are Community Hospitals infographic. Number of Hospitals by Type (Total 6.093) FY 2023. Community Hospitals: 84% (5,112). Non-federal Psychiatric Hospitals: 11% (654). Federal Government Hospitals: 3% (207). Other: 2% (120). Source: ���������� Association. Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2025. /statistics/fast-facts-us-hospitals. © 2025 by the ���������� Association. All rights reserved." width="957" height="718"></a></p><h3><a href="/infographics/2024-01-18-fast-facts-us-hospitals-infographics" title="Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals 2025 Infographics.">Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals Infographics</a></h3></div><div class="col-md-3"><p><a href="/infographics/2021-01-15-fast-facts-us-health-systems-infographic" title="Fast Facts: U.S. Health Systems 2024."><img src="/sites/default/files/2024-02/Fast-Facts-US-Health-Systems-2024-Infographic.jpg" alt="Fast Facts: U.S. Health Systems 2024. What is a health care system? AHA has defined two types of health care systems, and both involve an ownership, lease, sponsorship or contract-management relationship with a central organization. A multihospital system involves two or more hospitals, while a single diversified hospital system involves one hospital and three or more pre- or post-acute health care organizations. Total U.S. Health Systems = 407. 67% of U.S. Hospitals are system-affiliated." width="582" height="900"></a></p><h3><a href="/infographics/2021-01-15-fast-facts-us-health-systems-infographic" title="Fast Facts: U.S. Health Systems 2024.">Fast Facts on U.S. Health Systems Infographic</a></h3></div><div class="col-md-3"><p><a href="/infographics/2021-05-24-fast-facts-us-rural-hospitals-infographic"><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Fast-Fact-on-US-Rural-Hospitals-2023-Infographic-900x582.png" data-entity-uuid="f28aec70-3cf3-4a5a-ba39-d3d9895dad8f" data-entity-type="file" alt="Fast Facts: U.S. Rural Hospitals infographic. IS MY HOSPITAL RURAL? Rural hospitals are those not located within a metropolitan area designated by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and the Census Bureau. Community hospitals are nonfederal, acute care hospitals open to the general public. For alternate rural definitions, see https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/am-i-rural/help#classification. 71% of the decline in the number of U.S. community hospitals between 2017 and 2021 were rural hospitals. Total number of U.S. community hospitals declined by 75 from 2017 to 2021. Total number of U.S. rural hospitals declined by 105 from 2017 to 2021. U.S. rural community hospitals, by ownership type 2019: State and local government (612 total); Nonprofit (1,008 total); Investor-owned, for-profit (180 total). Data may not total 100% due to rounding. 47% of rural hospitals have 25 or fewer staffed beds. U.S. rural community hospitals, by bed size, 2019: Up to 25 beds (871 total); 26-50 beds (332 total); 51-100 beds (324 total); 101 beds or more (273 total)." width="582" height="900"></a></p><h3><a href="/infographics/2021-05-24-fast-facts-us-rural-hospitals-infographic">Fast Facts on U.S. Rural Hospitals Infographic</a></h3></div><div class="col-md-3"><p><a href="/infographics/2022-10-13-fast-facts-behavioral-health-infographic"><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/2023-Behavioral-Health-Fast-Facts-Infographic-900x600_0.jpg" data-entity-uuid="457011a5-8449-444f-a59b-7116e13686d8" data-entity-type="file" alt="2023 Behavioral Health Fast Facts Infographic. Defining Behavioral Health: Behavioral health disorders include both mental illness and substance use disorders. Persons with behavioral health care needs may suffer from either or both types of conditions as well as physical comorbidities. 668: Number of specialty behavioral health hospitals in the U.S. in 2021. 11% of all U.S. hospitals were specialty behavioral health hospitals. 48% of behavioral health hospitals are investor-owned hospitals." width="582" height="900"></a></p><h3><a href="/infographics/2022-10-13-fast-facts-behavioral-health-infographic">Fast Facts: Behavioral Health Infographic</a></h3></div> <p> <a href="/system/files/media/file/2022/04/Infographic-rural-health-obstetrics-15ap22.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the U.S. Rural Hospitals: Obstetrics Infographic PDF."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Infographic-rural-health-obstetrics-15ap22.jpg" data-entity-uuid="bc11acb6-b4c9-4379-8258-764dc5b98747" data-entity-type="file" alt="Obstetrics: U.S. Rural Hospitals Infographic. Rural hospitals provide access to obstetrical care close to home for millions of Americans. But now, that crucial lifeline is being threatened." width="2703" height="3498"></a> </p> <h3> <a href="/system/files/media/file/2022/04/Infographic-rural-health-obstetrics-15ap22.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the U.S. Rural Hospitals: Obstetrics Infographic PDF.">Obstetrics: U.S. Rural Hospitals</a> </h3> </div> --></div></div> Thu, 18 Jan 2024 15:10:00 -0600 Rural /lettercomment/2023-10-05-aha-recommendations-house-ways-means-committee-improving-health-care-access-rural-and-underserved <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8"> <p>October 5, 2023</p> <p>The Honorable Jason Smith Chairman<br> Ways and Means Committee<br> U.S. House of Representatives<br> 1139 Longworth House Office Building<br> Washington, DC 20515</p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <div class="external-link spacer"><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/system/files/media/file/2023/10/AHA-Recommendations-to-House-Ways-Means-Committee-on-Improving-Health-Care-Access-in-Rural-and-Underserved-Areas.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the AHA Recommendations to House Ways & Means Committee on Improving Health Care Access in Rural and Underserved Areas letter PDF.">Download the Letter PDF</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8"> <p><strong><em>Re: Request for Information: Improving Access to Health Care in Rural and Underserved Areas</em></strong></p> <p>Dear Chairman Smith and the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee:</p> <p>On behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations; our clinician partners — including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers; and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups, the ���������� Association (AHA) welcomes the opportunity to comment on ways to improve access to care in rural and underserved areas. We share the subcommittee’s interest in ensuring that Americans in these rural and underserved areas have high-quality, affordable health care.</p> <p>Hospitals and health systems are the lifeblood of their communities and are committed to ensuring local access to health care. At the same time, many hospitals including those in rural and underserved areas are experiencing unprecedented challenges that jeopardize access and services. These include the aftereffects of a worldwide pandemic, crippling workforce shortages, soaring costs of providing care, broken supply chains, severe underpayment by Medicare and Medicaid, and overwhelming regulatory burdens.</p> <p>Rural hospitals make up about 35% of all hospitals in the U.S. Nearly half of rural hospitals have 25 or fewer beds, with just 16% having more than 100 beds. Given that rural hospitals tend to be much smaller, patients with higher acuity often travel or are referred to larger hospitals nearby. As a result, in rural hospitals, the acute care occupancy rate (37%) is less than two thirds of their urban counterparts (62%). Compared to their non-rural counterparts, a significantly higher percentage of rural hospitals are owned by state and local governments — 35% compared to just 13% of urban hospitals.</p> <p>Below are a series of proposals and suggestions for the Ways and Means Committee to consider as it looks for avenues to broaden access to health care for patients in rural and underserved regions.</p> <h2>Sustainable Provider and Facility Financing</h2> <p>To mitigate rural hospital closures and improve health care in rural communities, sustainable financing for rural hospitals and health systems is imperative. Although rural hospitals have long faced circumstances that have challenged their survival, those dangers are more severe than ever. As a result, rural hospitals require increased attention from state and federal government to address barriers and invest in new resources in rural communities.</p> <p>Providing certainty and stability in rural Medicare hospital payments is essential to creating a sustainable rural financing system. Low reimbursement, low patient volume, sicker patients and challenging payer mix common at many rural hospitals puts added financial pressure on those facilitates. The AHA supports <strong>policies that support sustainable hospital and health system financing models, including flexible payment options that address financing challenges faced by the full spectrum of rural hospitals, including the following.</strong></p> <ul> <li> <h3>Making Permanent the Medicare-dependent Hospital (MDH) and Low-volume Adjustment (LVA)</h3> <p>MDHs are small, rural hospitals where at least 60% of admissions or patient days are from Medicare patients. MDHs receive the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) rate plus 75% of the difference between the IPPS rate and their inflation-adjusted costs from one of three base years. AHA supports making the MDH program permanent and adding an additional base year that hospitals may choose for calculating payments. The LVA provides increased payments to isolated, rural hospitals with a low number of discharges. AHA also supports making the LVA permanent. The MDH designation and LVA protect the financial viability of these hospitals to ensure they can continue providing access to care.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Reopen the Necessary Provider Designation for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs)</h3> <p>The CAH designation allows small rural hospitals to receive cost-based Medicare reimbursement, which can help sustain services in the community. Hospitals must meet several criteria, including a mileage requirement, to be eligible. A hospital can be exempt from the mileage requirement if the state certified the hospital as a necessary provider, but only hospitals designated before Jan. 1, 2006, are eligible. AHA urges Congress to reopen the necessary provider CAH program to further support local access to care in rural areas.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Improve Access to Capital</h3> <p>Access to capital is important to stabilizing a vulnerable hospital or advancing innovations in others. AHA supports expanding the USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program and creating a new Hill-Burton like program to update rural hospitals to ensure continued access in rural communities.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Strengthen the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) Model</h3> <p>REHs are a new Medicare provider type to which small rural and critical access hospitals can convert to provide emergency and outpatient services without needing to provide inpatient care. REHs are paid a monthly facility payment and the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) rate plus 5%. AHA supports strengthening and refining the REH model to ensure sustainable care delivery and financing.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Rebase Sole Community Hospitals (SCHs)</h3> <p>SCHs must show they are the sole source of inpatient hospital services reasonably available in a certain geographic area to be eligible. They receive increased payments based on their cost per discharge in a base year. AHA supports adding an additional base year that SCHs may choose for calculating their payments.</p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Medicare and Medicaid each pay less than 90 cents for every dollar spent caring for patients, according to the latest AHA data. Given the challenges of providing care in rural areas, reimbursement rates across payers need to be updated to cover the cost of care.</strong></p> <p><strong>AHA supports the following policies to ensure fair and adequate reimbursement.</strong></p> <ul> <li> <h3>Medicare Advantage Payment Parity for Critical Access Hospitals</h3> <p>The Medicare Advantage (MA) program has grown significantly in the past decade. MA enrollment, which traditionally has grown slower in rural areas, is now surpassing the growth rate in urban areas. For example, MA enrollment quadrupled between 2010 to 2023 in rural counties, compared to metropolitan areas which doubled in enrollment during the same period. Yet, MA plans are not required to pay rural providers, such as critical access hospitals, at the same cost basis as fee-for-service Medicare; and they are increasingly paying below costs, straining the financial viability of many rural providers. Further, MA plans also have the additional burden of prior authorization and other health plan requirements with which rural providers must increasingly contend  requirements that do not exist to nearly the same extent in fee-for-service Medicare and add additional costs for rural providers to comply. We support policies that support the long-term health of providers and facilities that care for patients in rural areas, which will need to consider the impact of MA enrollment in those communities.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Wage Index Floor</h3> <p>AHA supports the Save Rural Hospitals Act (S. 803) to place a floor on the area wage index, effectively raising the area wage index for hospitals below that threshold with new money.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Make the Ambulance Add-on Payments Permanent</h3> <p>Rural ambulance service providers ensure timely access to emergency medical care but face higher costs than other areas due to lower patient volume. We support permanently extending the existing rural, “super-rural” and urban ambulance add-on payments to protect access to these essential services.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Reverse Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Payment Cuts</h3> <p>RHCs provide access to primary care and other important services in rural, underserved areas. AHA urges Congress to repeal payment caps on provider-based RHCs that limit access to care.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Flexibility for CAHs</h3> <p>We urge Congress to pass legislation to extend waiver flexibility for the 96-hour average length of stay condition of participation. Many CAHs have had to increase their average length of stay because of challenges transferring patients to other sites of care, among other factors outside their control. We also support permanently removing the 96-hour physician certification requirement for CAHs. Removing the physician certification requirement would allow CAHs to serve patients needing critical medical services that have standard lengths of stay greater than 96 hours.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Commercial Insurer Accountability</h3> <p>Systematic and inappropriate delays of prior authorization decisions and payment denials for medically necessary care by commercial insurers are putting patient access to care at risk. We support regulations that streamline and improve prior authorization processes, which would help providers spend more time on patients instead of paperwork. We also support a legislative solution to address these concerns. In addition, we support policies that ensure patients can rely on their coverage by disallowing health plans from inappropriately delaying and denying care, including by making unilateral mid-year coverage changes.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Maternal and Obstetric Care</h3> <p>We urge Congress to continue to fund programs that improve maternal and obstetric care in rural areas, including supporting the maternal workforce, promoting best practices and educating health care professionals. We continue to support the state option to provide 12 months of postpartum Medicaid coverage.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Behavioral Health</h3> <p>Implementing policies to better integrate and coordinate behavioral health services will improve care in rural communities. We urge Congress to:</p> <ul> <li>fully fund authorized programs to treat substance use disorders, including expanding access to medication assisted treatment;</li> <li>implement policies to better integrate and coordinate behavioral health services with physical health services;</li> <li>enact measures to ensure vigorous enforcement of mental health and substance use disorder parity laws;</li> <li>permanently extend flexibilities under scope of practice and telehealth services granted during the COVID-19 public health emergency; and</li> <li>increase access to care in underserved communities by investing in supports for virtual care and specialized workforce.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h2>Bolstering the Workforce</h2> <p>Recruitment and retention of health care professionals is an ongoing challenge and expense for rural hospitals. Nearly 70% of the primary health professional shortage areas are in rural or partially rural areas. Targeted programs that help address workforce shortages in rural communities should be supported and expanded. Workforce policies and programs also should encourage nurses and other allied professionals to practice at the top of their license. Below are listed a variety of different proposals and pieces of legislation Congress should consider enacting to tackle the workforce shortage crisis.</p> <ul> <li> <h3>Graduate Medical Education</h3> <p>We urge Congress to pass the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2023 (H.R. 2389/S. 1302), legislation to increase the number of Medicare-funded residency slots, which would expand training opportunities in all areas including rural settings to help address health professional shortages.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Conrad State 30 Program</h3> <p>We urge Congress to pass the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4942/S. 665) to extend the Conrad State 30 J-1 visa waiver program, which waives the requirement to return home for a period if physicians holding J-1 visas agree to stay in the U.S. for three years to practice in federally-designated underserved areas.</p> </li> <li> <h3>International Workforce</h3> <p>The AHA supports the recapture of and expedited visas for foreign-trained nurses and doctors.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Loan Repayment Programs</h3> <p>We urge Congress to pass the Restoring America’s Health Care Workforce and Readiness Act (S. 862) to significantly expand National Health Service Corps funding to provide incentives for clinicians to practice in underserved areas, including rural communities. AHA also supports the Rural America Health Corps Act (H.R. 1711/S. 940) to directly target rural workforce shortages by establishing a Rural America Health Corps to provide loan repayment programs focused on underserved rural communities.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Boost Nursing Education</h3> <p>We urge Congress to invest significant resources to support nursing education and provide resources to boost student, faculty and preceptor populations, modernize infrastructure and support partnerships and research at schools of nursing. AHA also supports expanding the National Nurse Corps.</p> </li> <li> <h3>Health Care Workers Protection</h3> <p>We urge Congress to enact the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees Act (H.R. 2584/S. 2768) to provide federal protections for health care workers against violence and intimidation.</p> </li> </ul> <h2>Metropolitan Anchor Hospitals (MAHs)</h2> <p>The AHA urges Congress to create a special statutory designation for MAHs to ensure that patients served by these hospitals can continue to receive vital services and remain sustainable. To be designated as a MAH, a hospital must be located in a core-based statistical area (CBSA), have a Medicaid Inpatient Utilization Rate (MIUR) greater than the statewide average, and meet at least one of the requirements: have a disproportionate patient percentage (DPP) of 70% or higher; have a DPP of at least 35% and average uncompensated care costs (UCC) of at least $35,000 per bed (averaged over the last three years); or be designated by the state as a “necessary provider” of health care services to residents in the area.</p> <p>Metropolitan Anchor Hospitals (MAHs) would serve as a lifeline to communities who have a significant proportion of Medicare, Medicaid and underinsured patients who are often challenged in accessing comprehensive, quality health care. MAHs are in areas dealing with sustained hardships and whose patient populations have historically been marginalized. Seventy-five percent of MAHs are in counties where uninsured and poverty rates exceed the national average. MAHs are critical access points for primary care, preventive services and specialized health care services, including trauma and burn care, neonatal and pediatric intensive care, substance use disorder treatment, and HIV/AIDS care. MAHs bring tremendous value to the patients and communities they serve and to the nation’s health care system overall.</p> <h2>Telehealth Extensions</h2> <p>At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government moved quickly to ensure hospitals and health systems were able to respond efficiently and effectively to a wave of unprecedented need. These actions included CMS waiving certain regulatory requirements and Congress providing significant legislative support to ensure hospitals and health systems could manage the numerous challenges facing them, including by an increased ability to administer virtual care. These swift actions provided hospitals and health systems with critical flexibilities to care for patients throughout the pandemic.</p> <p>Spurred in large part by these waivers and legislative support, virtual care and telehealth services have increased dramatically. A report from the Department of Health and Human Services found that in 2020, telehealth services increased by over 51 million encounters, representing a 63-fold increase from 2019.<sup><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that for most specialties, telehealth services provided during the pandemic were not duplicative of in-person services. For example, most recently, a study of over 35 million records by Epic found that for most telehealth visits across 33 specialties, there was not a need for an in-person follow-up visit within 90 days of the telehealth visit.<sup><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup> In many cases, telehealth served as an effective substitute for in-person care and did not result in duplicative care.</p> <p>Expansion of virtual care has transformed care delivery, expanded access for millions of Americans and increased convenience in caring for patients. There also are significant projected shortages of <a href="https://www.aamc.org/news/press-releases/aamc-report-reinforces-mounting-physician-shortage" target="_blank">physicians</a> and allied health and behavioral health care <a href="https://www.mercer.com/about/newsroom/press-releases/?size=n_15_n&sort-field=publication_date&sort-direction=desc" target="_blank">providers</a>, which will likely be felt even more strongly in areas serving structurally marginalized urban and rural communities. Telehealth holds tremendous potential to leverage geographically dispersed provider capacity to support patient demand. <strong>We applaud efforts by Congress to reduce barriers to care delivery by extending many telehealth flexibilities through the end of 2024 as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act that passed in December 2022. AHA continues to urge that certain of these telehealth waiver provisions be made permanent.</strong></p> <p>We thank you for the opportunity to comment on ways to improve access to care in rural and underserved areas and look forward to continuing to work with you on this important issue. Please contact me if you have questions or feel free to have a member of your team contact Devin Gerzof, AHA’s senior associate director of federal relations, at <a href="mailto:dgerzof@aha.org?subject=RE: AHA Recommendations to House Ways and Means Committee on Improving Health Care Access in Rural and Underserved Areas letter">dgerzof@aha.org</a>.</p> <p>Sincerely,</p> <p>/s/</p> <p>Lisa Kidder Hrobsky<br> Senior Vice President Advocacy and Political Affairs</p> <hr> <ol> <li id="fn1"><a href="https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/new-hhs-study-shows-63-fold-increase-medicaretelehealth-utilization-during-pandemic" target="_blank">https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/new-hhs-study-shows-63-fold-increase-medicaretelehealth-utilization-during-pandemic</a></li> <li id="fn2"><a href="https://epicresearch.org/articles/telehealth-visits-unlikely-to-require-in-person-follow-up-within-90-days" target="_blank">https://epicresearch.org/articles/telehealth-visits-unlikely-to-require-in-person-follow-up-within-90-days</a></li> </ol> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <p><a href="/system/files/media/file/2023/10/AHA-Recommendations-to-House-Ways-Means-Committee-on-Improving-Health-Care-Access-in-Rural-and-Underserved-Areas.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the AHA Recommendations to House Ways & Means Committee on Improving Health Care Access in Rural and Underserved Areas letter PDF."><img alt="AHA Recommendations to House Ways & Means Committee on Improving Health Care Access in Rural and Underserved Areas letter page 1." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="390e94db-3240-4e22-9110-195e8e78bbf6" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Page-1-AHA-Recommendations-to-House-Ways-Means-Committee-on-Improving-Health-Care-Access-in-Rural-and-Underserved-Areas.png" width="692" height="900"></a></p> </div> </div> </div> Thu, 05 Oct 2023 09:17:11 -0500 Rural /about/awards/rural-hospital-leadership-award <div class="container row"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p><img class="pull-left" src="/sites/default/files/2022-02/rural-hospital-leadership-team-award-logo-recent.png" data-entity-type="file" alt="Rural Hospital Team Award" width="1500" height="1358"></p><p>The application period for the 2024 Rural Hospital Leadership Team Award is closed. Honorees will be notified in December and recognized at the <a href="https://ruralconference.aha.org/" target="_blank" title="38th Annual Rural Health Care Leadership Conference homepage">38th Annual Rural Health Care Leadership Conference</a>, Feb. 23-26, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas. Please join our mailing list to be notified when next year’s application becomes available.</p><hr><div class="panel module-typeC"><div class="panel-heading"><p><a href="/award/2025-03-17-2024-rural-hospital-leadership-team-award-winner-and-finalists" target="_blank" title="2024 Award Winner and Finalist"><strong>2024 Award Winner and Finalists</strong></a></p><p><a href="/2006-01-06-rural-hospital-leadership-award-winners"><strong>Past Winners of the Award</strong></a></p></div></div></div><div class="col-md-4"><div class="panel"><h3><strong>Join Our Mailing List</strong></h3><p><strong>For updates on the Rural Hospital Leadership Team Award and to be notified when the new application goes live, please join our mailing list.</strong></p> MktoForms2.loadForm("//sponsors.aha.org", "710-ZLL-651", 2981);</div></div></div></div> Tue, 06 Jun 2023 11:25:00 -0500 Rural /education-events/2023-aha-annual-membership-meeting <p><span><span>Join your colleagues at the 2023 AHA Annual Membership Meeting, April 23-25, to ensure our message is united, powerful and able to break through the noise, making a positive impact for the patients and communities you serve. Meet face-to-face with your elected officials and key policymakers to discuss how you are caring for your community and making a difference. Hear from innovative health care leaders, legislators, journalists, and other thought leaders of our day on critical issues that will have an impact on our field and how we will continue to care for patients. And network with your peers as you tackle today’s toughest issues, together. We look forward to seeing you there!</span></span></p> <p>Please visit the <a href="https://annualmeeting.aha.org/registration">conference website</a> for additional information. Registration is now open.</p> Tue, 10 Jan 2023 13:57:21 -0600 Rural /education-events/getting-funding-broadband-improve-local-access-care-rural-states <p>December 21, 2022</p> <p>12:00–12:30 p.m. ET/11:00–11:30 CT/9:00–9:30 PT</p> <h3><small>Agenda</small></h3> <p><strong>Miriam Yohannes Montgomery</strong><br /> Grants Management Policy Advisor<br /> Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau<br /> Federal Communications Commission</p> <p>$70 million is available for the Affordable Connectivity Program. About 15 million of an estimated 48 million eligible households are enrolled in the <a acp="" fcc="" for="" funding="" grant="" href="https://www.fcc.gov/fcc-releases-notice-funding-opportunity-acp-outreach-grant-program#:~:text=On%20November%2010%2C%202022%2C%20the,%2C%20school%2C%20healthcare%20and%20more." notice="" of="" opportunity="" outreach="" program="" releases="" target="_blank title=">Affordable Connectivity Program</a>. Rural Americans benefit the most from telehealth, yet enrollment in urban states appears to be doing better than in rural states. The <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/acp_outreach_grant_program_nofo.pdf" target="_blank" title="Notice of Funding: Opportunity Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program">Notice of Funding Opportunity for Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)</a> outreach grants will fund community organizations to publicize the program and create ACP navigators to help with enrollment. This is very important for rural areas. Those receiving Universal Service Program funds are eligible to participate. Eligibility includes non-profit organizations (501(c)(3) status is not required); community-based organizations (including faith-based organizations and social service organizations); and community anchor institutions. Rural hospitals could qualify under any of these categories. Applications are due January 9, 2023.</p> <p><strong>William England, Ph.D., J.D.</strong><br /> Senior Advisor<br /> Office for the Advancement of Telehealth<br /> Health Resources and Services Administration</p> <p>The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is a rare opportunity for states to establish broadband services for all residents especially those in rural areas. While health care providers are not eligible, their state governments are. <a href="https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home" target="_blank" title="Click here to see the FCC National Broadband Map.">A draft FCC map</a> will determine allocation of $42B in broadband allocation to states. Each State is eligible to receive a minimum of $100,000,000.</p> <p>Funding will be allocated strictly as percent state unserved area/national unserved area so maps must be accurate. Rural hospitals have the infrastructure to promote BEAD for broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption activities. This is a rare opportunity for states to catalyze economic development and for hospitals to address a social determinant of health. With broadband residents will have access to a bevy of telehealth services that will keep care local.</p> Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:11:11 -0600 Rural /infographics/2022-04-19-obstetrics-us-rural-hospitals-infographic <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8"> <p>The Obstetrics: U.S. Rural Hospitals infographic provides statistics on rural community hospitals in the U.S. and how many hospital births occur in them; the number of rural hospitals with obstetrics units and how many OB units have closed; and on maternity care deserts in the U.S. where access to maternity care is limited.</p> <p><a href="/system/files/media/file/2022/04/Infographic-rural-health-obstetrics-15ap22.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the Obstetrics: U.S. Rural Hospitals Infographic PDF."><img alt="U.S. Rural Hospitals: Obstetrics Infographic. Rural hospitals provide access to obstetrical care close to home for millions of Americans. But now, that crucial lifeline is being threatened." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bc11acb6-b4c9-4379-8258-764dc5b98747" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Infographic-rural-health-obstetrics-15ap22.jpg" width="2703" height="3498"></a></p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <div><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/system/files/media/file/2022/04/Infographic-rural-health-obstetrics-15ap22.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the Obstetrics: U.S. Rural Hospitals Infographic PDF.">Download the Infographic PDF</a></div> <hr> <div class="external-link spacer"><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/statistics/fast-facts-us-hospitals" target="_blank" title="Click here to more Fast Facts infographics.">See Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals</a></div> <div><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/infographics/2020-07-24-fast-facts-infographics" target="_blank">View the Fast Facts: U.S. Hospitals 2022 Infographics</a></div> <div><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/infographics/2021-05-24-fast-facts-us-rural-hospitals-infographic" target="_blank">View the Fast Facts: U.S. Rural Hospitals 2022 Infographic</a></div> <div><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/infographics/2021-01-15-fast-facts-us-health-systems-infographic" target="_blank">View the Fast Facts: U.S. Health Systems 2023 Infographic</a></div> <hr> <p><a data-widget="image" href="https://www.ahadata.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Learn more about our full suite of data tools. View all AHA Data & Insight Solutions." data-entity-type data-entity-uuid src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/aha-data-and-insights-ad.jpg"></a></p> </div> </div> </div> Tue, 19 Apr 2022 11:20:47 -0500 Rural /education-events/strategies-rural-health-leaders-success-post-covid-19-world <p></p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLqvOi0YNrc"><em>Watch the webinar on YouTube.</em></a></p> <hr /> <p><strong>April 28, 2022, 1-2 p.m. CT<br /> April 28, 2022, 2-3 p.m. ET</strong></p> <p>This webinar, hosted by the ���������� Association, will feature a conversation among rural hospital executives and board leaders to explore key topics their organizations face in caring for patients during the pandemic. Panelists will discuss how boards can work with all levels within their communities to build vaccine confidence and build trust in the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine for their families and communities.</p> <h3>Speakers:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Michael Charlton</strong>, Board Chairman, AtlantiCare Health System (SE New Jersey); President and Chief Executive Officer, Icon Hospitality</li> <li><strong>Betty Greer</strong>, Board Chair, Kearny County Hospital, Lakin, KS</li> <li><strong>Ruby Kirby,</strong> RN, CEO, Bolivar and Camden Hospitals, Western Tennessee Healthcare</li> <li><strong>Sue Ellen Wagner</strong>, Vice President of Trustee Service, ���������� Association</li> <li><strong>John Supplitt</strong>, Sr. Director Field Engagement, ���������� Association</li> <li><em><strong>Moderator: Sean Barry</strong></em>, Sr. Associate Director, Media Relations, AHA</li> </ul> Wed, 13 Apr 2022 22:17:37 -0500 Rural