Category: Current Affairs

RHPTP – Webinar Health System Support for Rural Value-Based Care

January 18, 2023

RHPTP – Webinar Health System Support for Rural Value-Based Care

Health System Support for Rural Value-Based Care

 

Date: February 15, 2023

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM Central Time

Speaker: Clint MacKinney, MD

This presentation follows the Value-Based Care is Here: Let’s Learn About it webinar. The rural journey from volume to value need not be made alone. Health system affiliations (current or in the future) should advance rural healthcare organizations’ value-based care capacity, and thus future success. In this webinar, Dr. MacKinney will provide a brief overview of healthcare affiliations today. He will then discuss findings from his recent health system interviews that explored the health systems’ role in facilitating rural value-based care success. Finally, Dr. MacKinney will outline what rural value-based care support healthcare organizations should expect from health systems.

Upon completion of this webinar, participants will be able to: 

  • Recognize rural healthcare organizations’ future in health system value-based care initiatives
  • Understand what support health systems should provide to rural healthcare organizations transitioning from volume to value
  • Make wiser affiliation decisions based on health system support for value-based care

Register Here

This event meets the requirement for one ACHE qualified education credit.

RHPTP – Webinar Value-Based Care is Here – Let’s Learn about it

January 18, 2023

Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) – Webinar Value-Based Care is Here – Let’s Learn about it

Value-Based Care is Here – Let’s learn about it!

Date: January 18, 2023

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM Central Time

Speaker: Clint MacKinney, MD

In this session, Dr. MacKinney will propose that value-based care advances the Triple Aim- better care, improved health, and smarter spending. He will discuss the basics of value-based care and value-based payment using a predominant example – accountable care organizations. Dr. MacKinney will emphasize the importance of robust primary care, such as provided in patient-centered health homes, to deliver value-based care. Finally, Dr. MacKinney will offer suggestions for rural health care organizations to start their journey to value-based care.

Upon completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the origins of, and rationale for, value-based care and value-based payment
  • Appreciate the importance of robust primary care to advance value-based care
  • Consider next steps to enhance value-based care capacity in rural health care organizations

Register Here

Opportunities of Interest for OT21-2103 Colleagues

January 13, 2023

Opportunities of Interest for OT21-2103 Colleagues

We’re pleased to share two opportunities that may be of interest to you or your partners. Please find the information below and reach out to the points of contact listed if you have questions.

  1. The next iteration for the REACH program (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) will be released this year. Please access this link for the related grants.gov forecast listing (https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=342940). Individuals can click on the “Subscribe” button in the top right corner. Once registered with the website you will be notified when the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is released and ready for applications to be submitted.
  2. The National Equity Atlas is officially accepting applications for its second cohort of fellows. The program is designed for grassroots leaders of color who want to learn how to use data to advance racial and economic equity in their communities. The application portal will remain open through January 21, 2023, and the fellowship will begin in March 2023. For more information, see the announcement and links below:

 

Are you a grassroots leader of color currently working on equity campaigns for policy and systems change? Do you want to explore how data can bolster your efforts?

The National Equity Atlas Fellowship might be the perfect opportunity for you! Application Deadline: January 21, 2023

Facilitated by PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute, this year-long program is designed to equip advocates of color with skills and tools to leverage data to advance racial and economic equity in their communities. During the experience, fellows will increase their skills in data analysis and visualization while producing data products to use in their organization’s equity campaigns. They will also network with other equity advocates across the country, participate in group learning sessions and one-on-one coaching sessions, and forge deeper connections with Atlas team members. Organizations will receive a $7,500 stipend to support their fellow’s participation in the program.

Apply Now

The deadline for applications is January 21, 2023. For more information, visit nationalequityatlas.org/lab/fellowship-cohort2.

NRHA in the News – Mobile lab trains first responders after hospital closures

January 13, 2023

NRHA in the News – Mobile lab trains first responders after hospital closures

Within the last eight years, 15 hospitals have closed in Missouri, most of them in rural areas. A mobile simulation lab is now helping train first responders in the state following these closures. Additionally, in rural Traer, Iowa, the struggling ambulance service operates with three paid employees and 16 volunteers. According to Shaun Kennedy, Traer ambulance manager, EMS needs to be made an essential service, as reliance on volunteers – many of whom are either retirement age or young people working out of town – can only get the ambulance service so far.

RHI Hub podcast on health equity in rural America

January 13, 2023

RHI Hub podcast on health equity in rural America

A recording is now available of a recent Rural Health Information Hub podcast on health equity in rural America featuring Alana Knudson and Luciana Rocha of NORC’s Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, an NRHA member, and Paula Swepson of West Marion Community Forum Inc. Knudson and Rocha provide an overview of rural health equity, and Swepson tells about the formation of West Marion Inc., the improvements they’ve made in their community, and the changes they want to make moving forward. Act by 11:59 p.m. CST today to save hundreds on your chance to advocate in person for health equity in your rural community and those across the country with NRHA Feb. 7-9 in D.C

Click Here to listen to the podcast

NRHA in the News – Rural implications of hospital designations, payment evolution

January 13, 2023

NRHA in the News – Rural implications of hospital designations, payment evolution

New research by NRHA members at the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis looks at the evolution of hospital designations and payment in the United States, along with implications for rural hospitals. Additionally, the Rural Health Redesign Center Organization’s Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center is hosting a webinar at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 18 on an overview of the REH model. Participants will learn about REH requirements and CMS conditions for REH participation and payment, as well as how access ongoing support. Act by 11:59 p.m. CST today to save hundreds on your chance to explore the implications of the REH model and advocate in person for other crucial rural health policies Feb. 7-9 in D.C.

NRHA Awards Spotlight

January 13, 2023

Nominations are now open for NRHA’s 2023 Rural Health Awards. Each year NRHA honors outstanding individuals and organizations in the field of rural health who have dedicated their time and talents to improving the health and well-being of others. Act by Feb. 20 to submit NRHA Rural Health Award nominations

Previous Rural Health Award recipients have stretched the boundaries of possibility by forging innovative programs and services, making rural life healthier and more compassionate.

Nominate your favorite rural health individual, organization, program, or student for these prestigious awards soon for consideration.

Winners will be honored during a special ceremony during NRHA’s Annual Rural Health Conference in San Diego next spring.

For more information click here

NRHA in The News – Maternal, Infant Health in Rural Counties Without OBs

January 13, 2023

NRHA in The News – Maternal, Infant Health in Rural Counties Without OBs

New research by NRHA members at the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center offers a comparison of evidence-based supports for maternal and infant health in 133 rural U.S. counties with and without hospital-based OB care. Additionally, Titus Regional Medical Center, an NRHA member in rural Texas, has been recognized as one of the best hospitals in the country for maternity care, while women in Deep East Texas drive more than an hour to give birth after the last obstetrics unit in the area closed in 2019. Act by 11:59 p.m. CST today to save hundreds on your chance to advocate in person for the maternity care needs of your community Feb. 7-9 at NRHA’s 34th Rural Health Policy Institute.

NRHA in The News – Children’s hospitals struggle with respiratory illness surge

January 13, 2023

NRHA in The News – Children’s hospitals struggle with respiratory illness surge

At children’s hospitals across the country, facilities are struggling to cope with limited staff and a surge of respiratory illnesses. Facing shortages of critical care beds, medication, and frontline staff amid the onslaught of RSV, COVID-19, and the flu, hospitals serving Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska are collaborating to get children with acute conditions the treatment they need. Additionally, updated antibiotic stewardship requirements come at a vital time, as data show the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased antibiotic use and a backslide in stewardship efforts because of the excess strain the outbreak imposed on hospital resources.

NRHA in The News – 2022 was Rough for Hospitals – 2023 Won’t be Much Better

January 13, 2023

NRHA in The News – 2022 was Rough for Hospitals – 2023 Won’t be Much Better

Financial analysts have said that 2022 may have been the worst year for hospital finances in decades. This year looks like it will be yet another year of financial underperformance, with rural providers in especially dire circumstances. Only a handful of rural hospitals closed in 2021 and 2022, but these low totals are due to government relief, according to NRHA COO Brock Slabach, who is expecting an increase in rural hospital closures this year. Recent reports indicate at least 631 hospitals are at risk of closure. Stakeholders cite inflation and shrinking margins as key challenges, which may lead more hospitals to merge with other systems to survive. Act by 11:59 p.m. CST today to save hundreds on your chance to advocate in person for the needs of rural hospitals Feb. 7-9 at NRHA’s 34th Rural Health Policy Institute.