Projects

Each year, the Flex Monitoring Team conducts several projects in the areas of quality performance, financial performance, and community engagement. Select a description below to find out more information about the project and any associated publications. Our current projects are listed first, followed by completed projects.

​​​​​In this project the Flex Monitoring Team will work with the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to evaluate quality improvement activities…
Completed Project
Given the high level of performance achieved by Critical Access Hospital (CAH) antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs), it is valuable to supplement…
Completed Project
​​​​​​This project will produce recommendations for the future of the Flex Program, given challenges posed by COVID-19. COVID-19 has exposed the…
Completed Project
More than 25 million people in the U.S. have limited English proficiency (LEP), and studies have found several improved health care outcomes when a…
Completed Project
​​​​​​This project seeks to understand the details and strategies underlying exemplary models for providing quality cancer care in Critical Access…
Completed Project
This project will build upon previous FMT work to collect data from State Flex Programs (SFPs) after the completion of the Flex QI Project and…
Completed Project
For several years, the Flex Monitoring Team has discussed plans with the Federal Office for Rural Health Policy (FORHP) on how to move toward a more…
Completed Project
This project described the community benefit activities of CAHs and their roles as safety net providers using their IRS Form 990, Schedule H…
Completed Project
Since 2010, there have been 83 rural hospital closures in the United States. Approximately 35% of these rural hospital closures were Critical Access…
Completed Project
This project explored the data challenges and data use opportunities faced by state Flex Programs as they attempt to monitor the impact of Flex…
Completed Project
Purpose This project had two components: the continuation of our evaluation of innovative projects by State Flex Programs, and the continuation of…
Completed Project
Purpose The purpose of this project was to analyze the efforts of State Flex Program initiatives to support the development of time-critical…
Completed Project
Research shows that chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease are more prevalent among rural residents than their urban…
Completed Project
This project identified, assessed, and synthesized the evidence-base for the development and implementation of performance measures to monitor and…
Completed Project
Community paramedicine is capturing attention from state Flex and EMS programs; several states (e.g., Nebraska, Colorado, Maine, and Minnesota) are…
Completed Project
Flex Program Guidance calls for the development of local/regional systems of care and the integration of EMS into those systems of care. As an…
Completed Project
This project profiled strategies, tools, and processes used by State Flex Programs to assess rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) needs and…
Completed Project
This project analyzed the implications of using Hospital Compare and Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) data for calculating…
Completed Project
This project used data from the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) to analyze trends in CAH reporting and performance on…
Completed Project
The purpose of this project was to develop and disseminate a list of evidence-based patient safety tools and strategies appropriate for use by state…
Completed Project