State Offices of Rural Health Grant Program (SORH)

The goal of the State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) grant program is to assist States in strengthening rural health care delivery systems by creating a focal point for rural health within each State. The program provides an institutional framework that links small rural communities with State and Federal resources to help develop long term solutions to rural health problems. The SORH grant program features a single grantee from each of the 50 United States. The program is a Federal-State partnership that requires a State funding match of $3 for each $1 of Federal funding.
SORH Award Amount (FY06): $178,994.00

Major Accomplishments in FY 2006 (October 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006):

1. Collaborated with the Governor’s Office, the Insurance Commissioner, and the UnitedHealthcare Foundation on the Colorado Rural Mobile Health Project (CRMHP) – a project that awarded $851,042 to eight organizations to support mobile units currently in operation in rural and underserved Colorado.
2. Developed county profiles on the 14 rural Colorado counties without hospitals. Profiles included a listing of available health services, listing and map of all hospitals within a 100 mile radius, and demographic information.
3. Reestablished relationship with the National Health Service Corps. Hired Marva Jean Jackson, a 32-year employee of the NHSC, to work with the NHSC on recruitment and provider placement programs, website updates, and to increase efforts to promote NHSC programs in rural Colorado.
4. Coordinated with University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Partially funded materials for the SABES program – Spanish Language Acquisition Begets Enhanced Service, held the “Exploring Rural Practice Settings” Networking Session to introduce rural track medical students to rural committee members, worked with the medical school in their rural preceptorship program.
5. Held the 15th Annual Colorado Rural Health Conference, “Innovation in Action,” in Longmont, Colorado. The conference was attended by more than 140 people from around the state.
6. Published the Special Delivery Newsletter – a quarterly newsletter distributed to over 2,500 people statewide. Special Delivery contains rural health news, member news, resources, grant opportunities, and event announcements.

SORH Contact Information:
Office: Colorado Office of Rural Health
Address: 225 East 16th Ave., Suite 1050, Denver, CO 80203
Phone: (303) 832-7493, (800) 851-6782
Fax: (303) 832-7496
Email: info@coruralhealth.org

Director: Lou Ann Wilroy

1) Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant Program (Flex)
The Flex Program helps sustain access to high quality health care services in rural America. It facilitates the development and support of community-based collaborative rural delivery systems in all grantee States through conversion of hospitals to critical access status, development of rural healthcare networks and integration of EMS.
Flex Award (FY06): $558,916.00

Program Highlights:

• Number of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) supported: 25
• Number of Critical Access-eligible Hospitals supported: 4
• Number of Rural Health Networks developed: 74
• Number of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) assisted: 38
• Number of Rural Communities assisted: 125

Major Accomplishments:

1. Collaborated with QIO and CAH QI Network to plan and implement activities to improve performance in quality and safety measures.
2. Continued Implementation of Balanced Scorecard in Colorado CAHs.
3. Peer Review: provided CAH Peer Review Network with coordination, support, and implementation.
4. Provided technical assistance to Colorado CAHs on issues such as billing, reimbursement, capital funding, and strategic planning.
5. Worked with 2 hospitals in the state as they considered converting to CAH status.
6. Awarded $139,801 CAH TA Grants to 11 rural hospitals; awarded $31,391 in CAH EMS Grants to 5 rural facilities
7. CAH IT Network - administered activities for CAH IT professionals to identify needs and provide resources statewide.
8. Through CRHC’s full-service recruitment program, Colorado Provider Recruitment (CPR), assisted CAHs with the recruitment of healthcare providers.

2) Small Rural Hospital Performance Improvement Grant Program (SHIP)

The goal of SHIP is to assist small (less than 50 beds) rural hospitals pay for any or all of the following: 1) costs related to implementation of prospective payment systems, (2) compliance with provisions of HIPAA and 3) reduction of medical errors and quality improvement. State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) help eligible rural hospitals to participate in SHIP. Eligible hospitals submit an application to their SORH; the SORH prepares and submits a single grant application to HRSA on behalf of all hospital applicants in the State. There are approximately 1600 eligible hospitals nationwide and each usually receives approximately $9,000.
SHIP Award (FY06): $294,822.00

Program Highlights:

• Hospitals receiving funding: 32
• Hospitals in consortiums, networks or systems: 0
• Hospitals using funds for QI and/or reduction of medical errors: 27
• Hospitals using grant funds for Health Information Technology: 5

Major Accomplishments:

1. Awarded $280,096.00 to 32 rural hospitals in Colorado.

Total HRSA Funding (FY06): $1,032,732