Welcome

The Rural Health Research Centers at the Universities of Minnesota, North Carolina, and Southern Maine, under contract with the federal Office of Rural Health Policy are cooperatively conducting a performance monitoring project for the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program).

The monitoring project assesses 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.

Our most recent publications are listed below. For a complete listing click on the "Publications and Presentations" link to the left.

Briefing Papers	Policy Briefs
No. 19 The Community Benefit and Impact of Critical Access Hospitals: The Results of the 2007 CAH Survey (March 2008) No. 18 Critical Access Hospital Quality Improvement Activities and Reporting on Quality Measures: Results of the 2007 National CAH Survey (March 2008) No. 17 Differences in Measurement of Operating Margin (March 2008)	The Community Benefit and Impact of Critical Access Hospitals: The Results of the 2007 CAH Survey (March 2008) Critical Access Hospital Quality Improvement Activities and Reporting on Quality Measures: Results of the 2007 National CAH Survey (March 2008) State Initiatives Funded by the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant Program (December 2007)
Presentations	Other Documents
The Flex Program at 10 Years: Quality Improvement and Measurement Lessons Learned and Future Directions. Presented at the NRHA Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA (May 2008) The Flex Program at 10 Years: Community Impact Lessons and Future Directions. Presented at the NRHA Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA (May 2008) The Flex Program at 10 Years: The Financial Experience of Small Rural Hospitals. Presented at the NRHA Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA (May 2008)	CAH Financial Performance Indicators by State (Feb. 2008) CAH Financial Indicators Report: Summary of Indicator Medians by State (Aug. 2007) Rural Hospital Emergency Department Quality Measures: Aggregate Data Report (March. 2007)