Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center
Providing assistance to rural hospitals exploring the Rural Emergency Hospital designation
As of September 2022, the RHRCO has been working in cooperation with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide technical assistance to rural hospitals across the nation interested in assessing the feasibility of the new Rural Emergency Hospital provider designation.
Project
Leveraging our experience in Pennsylvania, we work in coordination with our consortium partners to provide technical assistance to rural hospitals interested in exploring the new Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation made available through the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program.
We utilize scalable solutions to help eligible critical access and small rural hospitals:
Understand the REH designation and regulations
Financially model and assess the feasibility of an REH conversion
Complete the application process to CMS for REH designation
Strategically plan for REH conversion and identify alternative care pathways needed to continue meeting community needs
Receive ongoing support while implementing service changes as a result of the conversion
Leadership and Subject Matter Experts of the RHRCO support providers through each of these stages of exploration, providing the 1:1 coaching and technical assistance. These Subject Matter Experts are former executives of rural hospitals with real, lived experience in leading rural healthcare organizations through significant change. With over 100 years of healthcare leadership experience combined, these Subject Matter Experts provide firsthand, peer-based knowledge to hospitals embarking on this exploration journey.
We pride ourselves on forming meaningful relationships with all of our partners and stakeholders, recognizing that this sets the foundation for success in all aspects of our work. As we serve as the Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center, we are committed to getting to know and understand the unique needs of each community we work with.