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): $146,400
Major Accomplishments
in FY 2006 (October 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006):
- Published
a quarterly newsletter, ACCESS, that is distributed to over 4,100
rural health advocates in the state and nationally.
- Sponsored
the 15th Annual Rural Health Conference in partnership with the
State Rural Health Association. Over 200 persons attended.
- $80,000
in contracts for HIT, CRHC, Registry, Tracking Center, recruitment/retention
activities.
- Provided
continuing education on Quality Improvement to over 65 rural hospitals.
5. Placed six dentists through the Nebraska Student Loan and Loan
Repayment Programs.
- Provided
TA to 29 communities on various issues such as grant development.
- Worked with
over 120 CRHCs on billing, coding, tax issues.
- Facilitated
the creation of a Health Information Security and Privacy Committee
and developed an HIT report.
- Helped to
coordinate the creation of an eHealth Council to address all state
HIT issues.
SORH Contact Information:
Office: Office of Rural Health
Address: Nebraska State Office Building - 3rd floor
P.O. Box 95007
301 Centennial Mall South
Lincoln NE 68509
Phone: (402)
471-2337
Fax: (402) 471-0180
Director: Dennis Berens
2) 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): $639,584
Program Highlights:
- Number of
Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) supported: 65
- Number of
Critical Access-eligible Hospitals supported: 0
- Number of
Rural Health Networks developed: 12
- Number of
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) assisted: 30+
- Number of
Rural Communities assisted: 30+
Major Accomplishments:
- Contracted
to develop health economic profiles for over 50 CAH counties and
the state as a whole.
- Quarterly
or bimonthly meetings held by CAH networks that focused on “best
practice” guidelines and QIO’s standards for the treatment
of various diagnoses.
- Provided
education and training programs for work force development by
CAH networks.
- Utilization
of the Balanced Scorecard to link organizational strategies together
and measure the outcomes in 27 CAHs.
- Evaluation
of the impact of the Balanced Scorecard done on the 21 CAHs that
have been using the Scorecard for at least one year.
- Conducted
EMS leadership development program for 20 ambulance service personnel
to improve leadership and management skills among EMS personnel.
- Electronic
collection by EMS of pre-hospital data elements as recommended
by the National Emergency Medical Services Information System
(NEMSIS) and submission of 40 elements to a central registry.
- Development
and implementation of the QI Curriculum or EQuIP: Educate for
Quality Improvement Program by the CAH Quality Improvement Steering
Committee. Conducted a quality improvement and patient safety
workshop attended by over 100 people.
- Designed
and provided the CAH Leadership for Performance Improvement Fellowship
Program to eight CAH administrators.
- Supported
participation by CAHs in the following benchmarking projects:
the CMS Voluntary Hospital Quality Initiative Project; the Multi-State
Benchmarking Project (QHi); the submission of data into the Clinical
Outcomes Measurement System (COMS); the use of patient satisfaction
surveys; and the QIO managed project where rural health clinics
are submitting data into a central registry.
3) 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): $589,644
Program Highlights:
- Hospitals
receiving funding: 66
- Hospitals
in consortiums, networks or systems: 47
- Hospitals
using funds for QI and/or reduction of medical errors: 59
- Hospitals
using grant funds for Health Information Technology: 35
Major Accomplishments:
- Provided
education and training for the staff and board about HIPAA.
- Updated
computer software at hospitals for improved HIPAA compliance.
- Enhance
quality of services to reduce medical errors and support quality
improvement by providing specialized training and computer upgrades.
- Improved
medication accuracy at several hospitals using new software, bar-coding
dispensing system, revised protocols and staff training.
- Implementation
of a new hospital nametag system to improve security.
Total
HRSA Funding (FY06): $1,375,628
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