May 7, 2025

Due Soon

Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) Invoices

• Send SHIP invoices to Megan Polster as soon as you are able for the June 1, 2024 - May 31, 2025, grant period.
• For questions regarding allowable expenses or invoicing, please contact Megan.
• SHIP Invoicing Template
• Example SHIP Invoice

IT Supplement from the American Hospital Association (AHA)

Survey closes July 31, 2025

Many FLEX and SHIP hospitals may have recently received a survey from the AHA related to their use of health IT. The AHA IT Supplement survey is supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS uses this data to monitor key trends, evaluate current policies to support the use of health IT, and inform future efforts to advance interoperability. Please contact Chelsea Richwine at Chelsea.Richwine@hhs.gov with questions about how to access and complete the survey.

Learn

What's Next for AI?

A webinar facilitated by Wisconsin Health News

May 21, 2025 at 12 noon

Learn more and register

Providers are using the technology to transcribe office visits, decipher medical records, predict patient risk and more. What’s next and what are the limitations? What needs to be done to ensure that new advances are ethical, accurate and safe?

In-Person Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Abstraction Workshop

Thursday, May 29, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Hotel Marshfield, 2700 S. Central Avenue, Marshfield WI

For Critical Access/Rural (spoke) hospital stroke coordinators and abstractors with Get With The Guidelines® (GWTG) - Stroke or those considering GWTG - Stroke.

Register

For questions, contact: Natalie Spitzer at Natalie.Spitzer@heart.org

National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) Rural Health Capital Resources Training Series 2025

Led by national experts in community development finance, federal funding programs, healthcare collaborations, and rural philanthropy with the goal of securing funding and building impactful partnerships. Free. Virtual.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Hospital Technical Assistance

In partnership with the National Rural Health Association (NRHA)

Technical assistance for rural hospitals to identify and address healthcare needs and strengthen local healthcare systems to improve efficiency and financial performance, bolster quality of care, and support communities.

Fund

Health Care Provider Training Grants

Due May 12, 2025

Offered by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to strengthen allied health professional and advanced practice clinician workforce. Programs must seek to train and retain providers at their institution or within their region.

The American Heart Association’s Rural Healthcare Outcomes Accelerator

Enrollment deadline June 30, 2025

Offers eligible rural hospitals access to the platform, "Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke, Coronary Artery Disease, and/or Heart Failure" at no cost through 2027. 

For more information, inquire here.

Fully paid scholarships for online MPH students

Applications due August 3, 2025

The UC Berkeley Rural Health Innovation Program provides full-tuition scholarships to public health professionals living and working in rural communities to pursue a Master of Public Health (MPH) online.

Stand Down Grants

Due September 30, 2025

U.S. Department of Labor funding to host Stand Down Events that provide a variety of employment, social, and health services to veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Please contact Kevin Jacobson, WORH Loan Assistance Program Manager, for help identifying grant opportunities to support your important work.

Highlight

Samantha Peck and Megan Polster of the WORH Rural Hospitals and Clinics Program made a series of site visits to northern Wisconsin in late April. Their itinerary included stops at Tamarack Health Ashland Medical Center , the Bad River Health & Wellness Center in Ashland, Tamarack Health Hayward Medical Center, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University in Hayward, and Essentia Health St. Mary's Hospital - Superior.

They also spent two days with the Northwest Wisconsin Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Culture Shock program in Ashland. Culture Shock is a collaboration between Northwest Wisconsin and Milwaukee AHEC. The multi-day program swaps AHEC Scholars from urban and rural communities to explore careers, living, attitudes, and beliefs in an environment very different from their own lifestyles, knowledge, and comfort.

The WORH duo noted how well the Tamarack teams integrated quality across multiple departments at both of their hospitals. Please see more memorable experiences below.

Samantha Peck was feeling just fine! Air Care at North Memorial Health flew to Cable Union Airport to show AHEC Culture Shock participants how they care for patients in the air.

The gathering room at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University is a beautiful space for building community. The college offers post-secondary and continuing education while advancing the language, culture, and history of the Ojibwe.

Samantha and Megan were impressed by the number of services offered at Essentia Health St. Mary's Hospital-Superior. Another great discovery was the Zen Den for staff, a space to rest and recharge so both patients and providers can thrive.

Reference

2024 National Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Quality Inventory & Assessment National Report

A wealth of information on quality improvement processes from CAHs in a standardized manner to enhance support to CAHs in quality improvement activities. Over 1,290 CAHs (94%) completed the assessment.

Looking for past issues of Rural Health Radar? Perhaps you saw something important, and need a reminder of the registration or application deadline? We've got your back. See past issues on our web site near the newsletter sign-up section.

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