Networking and collaboration

Completed Projects

Analysis of 2004-2005 State Flex Grant Plans
Research centers: Maine Rural Health Research Center, Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Emergency medical services (EMS), Networking and collaboration, Quality
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.

Analysis of Information Networking Technology in Sustaining Rural Delivery Systems
Research center: Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Networking and collaboration, Technology

Analyzing the Relationship Among Critical Access Hospital Financial Status, Organizational Linkages, and Scope of Services
Research center: Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Health care financing, Health services, Networking and collaboration
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.

Community Impact Assessment
Research centers: Maine Rural Health Research Center, North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Networking and collaboration
This project will evaluate the impact of the Flex program on local communities. Activities will focus on identifying the ways in which the program could have a measurable effect, as well as the ways in which Flex program coordinators intended to affect community health. A briefing paper that integrates information on scope of services, networking, and quality will be produced. Additionally, case studies will be conducted in six CAH communities.

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

Locally Managed Behavioral Health Organizations: How Do They Affect The Capacity of Medicaid Managed Behavioral Health Programs to Serve Rural Populations?
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Medicaid and S-CHIP, Mental health, Networking and collaboration

National Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Tracking Project: Analysis of Network Development Strategies and CAH Performance
Research center: Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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: Emergency Medical Services
Research center: Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Emergency medical services (EMS), Networking and collaboration

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

Rural Provider Participation in a Statewide Health Information Project
Research center: Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Health information technology, Hospitals and clinics, Networking and collaboration
Nebraska has recently constructed a communication infrastructure that links all the hospitals in the state with broadband, high-speed systems (using T1 lines to the Critical Access Hospitals). That infrastructure is considered to be the backbone for a statewide health information network being designed by a coalition of organizations. The aim of this project is to delineate reasons for rural providers to participate in the coalition by assessing the associated costs and benefits.

Rural Public Health Department Structure and Infrastructure
Research center: ORHP-funded Individual Grantees
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Networking and collaboration, Public health
This project is intended to generate hypotheses about the relationship of local public health department structure and infrastructure to performance. Using case studies of 12 rural public health departments in six geographically diverse states, investigators hope to identify elements of local health department (LHD) structure to serve as independent variables for future studies of LHD performance.

Special Study of EMS Issues
Research centers: Maine Rural Health Research Center, North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Emergency medical services (EMS), Networking and collaboration
This study will focus on state, community, and hospital level initiatives designed to build the infrastructure to support EMS service capacity and encourage the integration of these services into the rural healthcare infrastructure in the areas of quality improvement, financing, staffing, medical control, and networking and integration.