Rural Hospitals Focus Funding on Quality Improvements

COLUMBUS – Twenty-nine Ohio hospitals are receiving a total of $629,718 through a partnership between the Ohio Hospital Association’s Foundation for Healthy Communities and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). In cooperation with the State Office of Rural Health (SORH), the foundation is distributing 51 grants from federal sources to help rural communities and hospitals improve access to and quality of health care services and emergency medical services (EMS) in rural areas.

“OHA’s foundation values its partnership with SORH and our hospitals as we strive to improve the quality of health care in Ohio’s rural communities,” said Lynne Ayres, director of the foundation. “We share a common interest in providing resources to hospitals that have a large service area to cover and must rely on collaboration with the community and outside services as well as increasing technological efficiencies,” Ayres said.

Twenty-six hospitals that take part in the Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) Program will each be receiving a $15,191 grant for quality improvement, network development, and emergency medical services. CAH designation qualifies hospitals for cost-based reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid funds. Those hospitals receiving these additional funds for implementation are:

·         Adams County Hospital, West Union

·         Allen Medical Center, Oberlin

·         Barnesville Hospital

·         Blanchard Valley Regional Health Center, Bluffton

·         Bucyrus Community Hospital

·         Community Memorial Hospital, Hicksville

·         Defiance Regional Medical Center

·         Doctors Hospital of Nelsonville

·         Dunlap Memorial Hospital, Orrville

·         Fostoria Community Hospital

·         Galion Community Hospital

·         Greenfield Area Medical Center

·         Hardin Memorial Hospital, Kenton   

·         H. B. Magruder Memorial Hospital, Port Clinton

·         Harrison Community Hospital, Cadiz

·         Henry County Hospital, Napoleon

·         Holzer Medical Center, Jackson

·         Lodi Community Hospital

·         Mercy Hospital of Willard

·         Mercy Memorial Hospital - Urbana

·         Morrow County Hospital, Mount Gilead

·         Paulding County Hospital

·         Selby General Hospital, Marietta

·         Twin City Hospital Corp, Dennison

·         UHHS Brown Memorial Hospital, Conneaut

·         UHHS Memorial Hospital of Geneva

Concurrently, twenty-five hospitals will receive additional federal funds through the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program, which provides rural hospitals funds for quality improvement and operational initiatives and assistance with compliance with the new patient privacy Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Hospitals each receiving a $9,389 grant are:

·         Adams County Hospital, West Union

·         Allen Medical Center, Oberlin

·         Bucyrus Community Hospital

·         Community Memorial Hospital, Hicksville

·         Doctors Hospital of Nelsonville

·         Dunlap Memorial Hospital, Orrville

·         Fayette County Memorial Hospital, Washington Court House

·         Fostoria Community Hospital, Fostoria

·         Greenfield Area Medical Center

·         H. B. Magruder Memorial Hospital, Port Clinton

·         Hardin Memorial Hospital, Kenton

·         Harrison Community Hospital, Cadiz

·         Henry County Hospital, Napoleon

·         Holzer Medical Center, Jackson

·         Lodi Community Hospital

·         Mercy Hospital of Willard

·         Mercy Memorial Hospital Urbana

·         Morrow County Hospital, Mount Gilead

·         Paulding County Hospital

·         Pike Community Hospital, Waverly

·         Selby General Hospital, Marietta

·         Twin City Hospital, Dennison

·         Wyandot Memorial, Upper Sandusky

·         UHHS Brown Memorial Hospital, Conneaut

·         UHHS Memorial Hospital of Geneva

The Foundation for Healthy Communities is sponsored by the Ohio Hospital Association, which represents170 hospitals and 40 health systems with more than 230,000 employees throughout Ohio. It was created and endowed by Ohio hospitals in 1994 to promote improvement in community health status and encourage hospitals to help prevent illness and injury. Learn more about OHA and the Foundation for Healthy Communities at www.ohanet.org.

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