Project Information

From 2003-2008, the Flex Monitoring Team (FMT), a consortium of the Universities of Minnesota, Southern Maine, and North Carolina, has evaluated the impact of the Flex Program on rural hospitals and communities and the role of states in achieving the overall objectives of the program in three areas:

1. improving access to and the quality of health care services;
2. improving the financial performance of CAHs; and
3. engaging rural communities in health care system development.

The FMT effort has been characterized by the development of relevant performance measures and evaluation of program impact in each of these core areas.

For the next phase of the Flex Program evaluation, the FMT is conducting four continuing projects that build on our previous work to develop relevant quality, financial and community impact performance measures and reporting systems. In addition, we are conducting four new projects that support these three areas.

Continuing Projects

1. Maintaining and Updating the National CAH Database;
2. Measuring Financial Performance in CAHs; amd
3. Measuring Quality Performance: National and State CAH Hospital Compare Analyses

New Projects

1. Strategies for Improving the Safety of Care Delivered by Critical Access Hospitals;
2. EMS Systems of Care at the Community and Regional Level: State Flex Program Initiatives and Support;
3. Developing an Evaluation Framework to Support the Multi-State Quality Improvement Project;
4. Rural Relevant Quality Measures and Small Volume Issues for Critical Access Hospitals;
5. Evidence-Based Programs and Strategies for Improving the Quality of Care for Critical Access Hospital Patients;and
6. Improving Financial Performance and Condition -- Evidence from the Literature, Hospital Survey and A Sample Of High-Performing CAHs;