Minnesota Rural Health Research Center

Completed Projects

Access to Emergency Medical Services in Rural Areas
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Emergency medical services (EMS), Health services

Analysis of 2004-2005 State Flex Grant Plans
This project will analyze state Flex grant applications and related budget and work plan revisions focusing on state activities in the core Flex program areas of networks, quality improvement, and EMS.
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Emergency medical services (EMS), Networking and collaboration, Quality

Analysis of Critical Access Hospital Inpatient Hospitalizations and Transfers from CAHs to Other Acute and Post-Acute Care Settings Using State Inpatient Databases
The purpose of this project is to analyze Critical Access Hospital (CAH) inpatient hospitalizations and transfers from CAHs in order to help inform the development of quality indicators for CAHs, especially quality indicators focused on the transfer process.
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Quality, Technology

Analyzing the Relationship Among Critical Access Hospital Financial Status, Organizational Linkages, and Scope of Services
This project will systematically analyze the relationships among pre- and post-conversion Critical Access Hospital (CAH) financial performance, the organizational linkages in which the hospital participates (e.g., health care systems and/or networks), and the scope of services (i.e., the number and type of services) provided.
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Health care financing, Health services, Networking and collaboration

Assessing Pent-Up Demand for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic: Medicare

Critical Access Hospital Access To and Use of Capital
This project will describe the capital needs of CAHs and their experiences in accessing and using capital, based on data from an e-mail survey of State Flex Coordinators, the TASC listserve, telephone contacts with Flex Coordinators in key states, and Medicare Cost Reports.
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Capital funding, Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program

Critical Access Hospital Participation in the Hospital Quality Alliance and Initial Quality Measure Results
This project examined the participation of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in public reporting of quality measures in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare database. It presented the initial Hospital Compare results for CAHs and comparisons with other groups of hospitals on quality measures for three conditions: acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure and pneumonia.
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Quality

Dental Care For Rural Low Income And Minority Populations
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Dental health, Minority health, Poverty

Developing a Quality Performance Measurement System for Critical Access Hospitals
This project continues to support activities related to quality performance measurement relevant for Critical Access Hospitals. By the end of 2005, the technical expert panel had reviewed the findings of the initial field test of the small rural hospital quality measure set and made recommendations for revisions.
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Quality

Developing Relevant Quality Indicators for Rural Hospitals
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Quality

Establishing Evidenced-based Safety Standards for Rural Hospitals - Phase 1
This project will develop and test evidence-based safety improvement interventions in rural hospitals by identifying key patient safety areas and interventions of particular relevance to rural hospitals that have the potential to reduce medical errors and improve patient safety.
Funders: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Quality

Evaluating the Financial Impact of Critical Access Hospital Conversion Over Time
Using Medicare cost report data, this project will analyze changes in several key financial and organizational indicators that may be affected by CAH conversion, and produce annual reports describing the financial status of CAHs.
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Health care financing

Federal Rural Health Outreach Grant Program: The Impact and Sustainability of Grantees
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Health services, Networking and collaboration

Health Care System Response to a Growing Latino Population in Rural America
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Cultural competency, Hispanics, Minority health, Rural statistics and demographics

Implementing Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement Systems in Rural Health Clinics: Clinic and State Agency Responses
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Legislation and regulation, Quality, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)

Measuring Quality in Rural Health Services: Are Hospital and Health Plan Accreditation Standards Appropriate for Rural Areas?
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic: Quality

Medicaid Managed Care in Rural Areas: The Minnesota County-Based Purchasing Program
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic: Medicaid and S-CHIP

National Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Tracking Project: Analysis of CAH Quality Improvement (QI) Strategies
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Quality

National Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Tracking Project: Analysis of Network Development Strategies and CAH Performance
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Capital funding, Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Networking and collaboration

National Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Tracking Project: Analysis of the Financial Impact of Conversion on Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and the Medicare Program
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Health care financing

National Rural Hospital Flexiblity Program Tracking Project: Analysis of Hospital Conversion and Network Development Strategies
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Networking and collaboration

Oral Health and Access to Dental Care in Rural Areas
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic: Dental health

Potential Cost Savings of Home Health Care for Rural Chronically Ill Elderly
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Aging, Chronic diseases and conditions, Home health

Preventing Errors in Rural Hospitals
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Quality

Quality and Financial Status of Critical Access Hospitals: A Preliminary Analysis
The purpose of this project is to continue to investigate the relationship between CAH financial performance and quality of care. UMN and UNC will jointly develop hypotheses related to the finance-quality link and statistical models suitable for testing hypotheses.
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Health care financing, Quality

Rural Hospital Flexibility Performance Monitoring Project- Grant Years 2003-2008
Under contract with the federal Office of Rural Health Policy, the Rural Health Research Centers at the Universities of Minnesota, North Carolina, and Southern Maine are cooperatively conducting a performance monitoring project for the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program). The monitoring project will assess the impact of the Flex Program on rural hospitals and communities and the role of states in achieving overall program objectives, including improving access to and the quality of health care services; improving the financial performance of Critical Access Hospitals; and engaging rural communities in health care system development.
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program

Rural Hospitals' Access to Capital
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Capital funding, Hospitals and clinics

Rural Hospitals' Strategic Response to PPS for Outpatient, SNF, and HH Services
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Health services, Home health, Hospitals and clinics, Long term care, Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS)