We provide technical assistance and support to rural hospitals.
Rural hospitals are essential. More than half of all hospitals in the United States are in rural areas.
How do our programs work?
- We fund states through four grant programs
- We provide data, evaluation, and technical assistance to state grantees
- We offer technical assistance to hospitals
Which programs support states?
- Connects rural communities to state and federal resources
- Develops long-term solutions to rural health problems
This is a nationwide program. Each state has a SORH.
Contact your State Office of Rural Health.
The Flex Program funds states to provide support to Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Flex helps CAHs improve:
- Rural health care quality - Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP)
- Financial health and hospital operations
- Emergency medical services
- Health of people who live in rural areas
SHIP funds state governments to support rural hospitals with 49 beds or fewer. These funds improve operations.
RVHAP helps CAHs and other organizations serve veterans living in rural areas. Veterans get access to mental health, CAHs, and other healthcare services.
Which of your programs provide data, evaluation and technical assistance?
The Rural Health Redesign Center provides technical assistance to hospitals nationwide. They help hospitals become newly designated Rural Emergency Hospitals (REH).
The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) is a membership organization for all 50 SORHs. It supports partners at all levels and helps develop leaders.
The Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC) is for Flex and SHIP grantees, small rural hospitals, and CAHs. TASC offers webinars, videos, group learning and more; and helps grantees improve quality, finance, and operations.
Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance (RQITA) provides MBQIP data reporting for Flex grantees and CAHs.
The Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) evaluates the impact of Flex for CAH data analysis (quality, financial, and community measures).
Which programs support rural hospitals?
These programs provide free technical assistance to hospitals. We fund organizations to provide technical assistance.
Rural hospitals often struggle to maintain healthcare services. TTAP works to provide continued access to these essential services.
The Center for Public Health Practice and Research (CPHPR) at Georgia Southern University provides technical assistance for this program.
RHPTP helps small, rural hospitals and rural health clinics (RHCs) provide value-based care. Value-based care focuses on quality, efficiency, patient experience, and patient safety.
DRCHSD enhances healthcare delivery in the Mississippi Delta region.
The National Rural Health Resource Center provides technical assistance for RHPTP and DRCHSD.
Trains health professionals in the rural counties and parishes of the Mississippi Delta region.
Training areas include:
- Medical coding and billing
- Claims processing
- Information management
- How to document clinical information
DSIP improves healthcare delivery in the rural counties and parishes of the Delta region. DSIP implements projects that will improve the financial well-being of hospitals. It helps increase access to care in rural communities.
Project focus areas include:
- Financial and operational improvement
- Quality improvement
- Telehealth
- Workforce development
The Rural Hospital Stabilization Pilot Program provides in-depth technical assistance to rural hospitals to enhance or expand services lines to meet community need and keep health care services available locally.
How does the closing of rural hospitals affect rural communities?
We help rural hospitals closing and provide support to maintain services.
We identify hospitals that have closed or will close. We help these hospitals maintain services.
How do you know which hospitals will close?
We receive reports from people or learn about them from the media. This allows us to monitor closures in real time.
How can I share information about hospital closures?
Email the North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center at ncrural@unc.edu.
How serious is this issue?
Between 2010 and 2021, 138 rural hospitals closed. Of these, 45 were Critical Access Hospitals. These events received a lot of attention from policy makers, advocates, and the media.
Where can I review research on the closing of rural hospitals?
Visit the Rural Health Research Gateway.
Additional resources
The Guide for Rural Health Care Collaboration and Coordination (PDF - 1 MB) (2019)
The 21 Century Rural Hospital Chartbook (PDF - 3 MB)