Scanning the Headlines: Small or Rural Hospitals

A bibliographic listing of recently published material related to small or rural hospitals.

Updated on November 27, 2017

Links to full-text articles are provided where available.
For information on obtaining print copies of articles, please call the AHA Resource Center at (312) 422-2050.


(2017, Nov. 16). Emerging Strategies to Ensure Access to Health Care Services: Emergency Medical Center. Chicago: American Hospital Association. Retrieved from: http://www.aha.org/content/17/task-force-emergency-medical-center.pdf

Andrews, M. (2017, May 12). Rural shoppers face slim choices, steep premiums on exchanges. Kaiser Health News. Retrieved from: http://khn.org/news/rural-shoppers-face-slim-choices-steep-premiums-on-exchanges

MacDonald, I. (2017, Apr. 12). The devasting impact on a poor community when a rural hospital closes its doors. FierceHealthcare. Retrieved from: http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/rural-health-crisis-devastating-impact-a-poor-community-when-a-hospital-closes-its-doors

Butcher, L. (2017, Apr. 11). Case study: Rusk county Memorial Hospital's nurse practitioner hospitalist program. H&HN. Retrieved from: http://www.hhnmag.com/articles/8160-case-study-rusk-memorial-community-hospitals-nurse-practitioner-hospitalist-program

Foutz, J., Artiga, S., and Garfield, R. (2017, Apr.). The Role of Medicaid in Rural America. Menlo Park, CA: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved from: http://files.kff.org/attachment/Issue-Brief-The-Role-of-Medicaid-in-Rural-America

Commins, J. (2017, Mar. 8). Rural America an afterthought in GOP health plan. HealthLeaders Media. Retrieved from: http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/community-rural/rural-america-afterthought-gop-health-plan

Lasson, J. (2017, Mar. 3). Despite federal law, some rural hospitals still turn away women in labor. HealthLeaders Media. Retrieved from: http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/community-rural/despite-federal-law-some-rural-hospitals-still-turn-away-women-labor

Commins, J. (2017, Jan. 18). Pilot program throws lifeline to PA rural hospitals. HealthLeaders Media. Retrieved from: http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/community-rural/pilot-program-throws-lifeline-pa-rural-hospitals

Moy, E., and others. (2017, Jan 13). Leading causes of death in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Areas - United States, 1999-2014. Surveillance Summaries. 66(1):1-8. Washington: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/ss/ss6601a1.htm

Sun, L. (2017, Jan.12). Rural Americans are more likely to die from the top 5 causes of death. Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/01/12/rural-americans-more-likely-to-die-from-top-5-causes-of-death

Luthra, S. (2017, Jan. 11). Repeal & replace watch. Kaiser Health News. Retrieved from: http://khn.org/news/even-in-trump-country-rural-hospitals-brace-for-damage-from-the-health-laws-repeal/

Huff, C. (2017, Jan. 4). In a small town in Texas, a rural hospital thrives against all odds. Chicago: STAT. Retrieved from: https://www.statnews.com/2017/01/04/hospital-rural-childress-texas/

Mace, S. (2017, Jan. 3). Eligibility software saves small hospital big bucks. HealthLeaders Media. Retrieved from: http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/technology/eligibility-software-saves-small-hospital-big-bucks

(2017, Jan. 1). US taps New Mexico physician mentoring model to improve rural health. STAT. Retrieved from: https://www.statnews.com/2017/01/01/us-taps-rural-new-mexico-mentoring-model-for-physicians/

Kaufman, B.G., Thomas, S.R., Randolph, R.K., and others. (2016, Winter). The rising rate of rural hospital closures. The Journal of Rural Health, 32(1), 35-43. Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jrh.12128/pdf

Hearld, L.R., and Carroll, N.W. (2016, Winter). Interorganizational relationship trends of critical access hospitals. The Journal of Rural Health, 32(1), 44-55.

Shinkman, R. (2016, Nov. 21). Financial, technological struggles leave future in doubt for rural hospitals. FierceHealthcare. Retrieved from: http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/finance/rural-hospitals-maine-and-texas-are-hurting

Eisinger, T. (2016, Nov. 16). Hospital impact: How rural hospital closings weaken the nation's health. FierceHealthcare. Retrieved from: http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hospitals/hospital-impact-how-rural-hospital-closings-weaken-nation-s-health

Budryk, Z. (2016, Oct. 24). How can IT companies work with hospitals and physicians for a smooth cloud transition? FierceHealthcare. Retrieved from: http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/rural-hospitals-lead-infection-prevention

Joynt, K., and others. (2016, Oct. 19). ASPE Issue Brief: Rural Hospital Participation and Performance In Value-Based Purchasing and Other Delivery System Reform Initiatives. Washington: Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from: https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/211061/RuralHospitalsDSR.pdf

Ollove, M. (2016, Oct. 12). Preventing Vital Health Care Information From Being Lost in Translation. Philadelphia, PA: The Pew Charitable Trusts. Retrieved from: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2016/10/12/preventing-vital-health-care-information-from-being-lost-in-translation

Commins, J. (2016, Oct. 5). Curae health embraces growing role as rural health champion. HealthLeaders Media. Retrieved from: http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/community-rural/curae-health-embraces-growing-role-rural-health-champion

Kaufman, G., and others. (2016, Oct.). Trends in Risk of Financial Distress Among Rural Hospitals. Chapel Hill, NC: North Carolina Health Research Program. Retrieved from: http://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/download/13777/

Tedeschi, B. (2016, Sept. 12). Where Medical Specialists are Scarce, a Push to Train Primary Physicians to do the Job. Boston: STAT. Retrieved from: https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/12/doctors-primary-care-specialists-project-echo

Wishner, J., and others. (2016, July). A Look at Rural Hospital Closures and Implications for Access to Care: Three Case Studies. Oakland, CA: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved from: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/2000857-brief-a-look-at-rural-hospital-closures-and-implications-for-access-to-care.pdf

Avery, K. and others. Impact of the Affordable Care Act Coverage Expansion on Rural and Urban Populations. ASPE Issue Brief. (Office of The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, US Dept. of Health and Human Services), June 10, 2016. https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/204986/ACARuralbrief.pdf

Commins, J. (2016, June 8). Another Tennessee Hospital faces closure. HealthLeaders Media. Retrieved from: http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/community-rural/another-tennessee-hospital-faces-closure

Hart, M. (2016, June 1). Working Group Hears Challenges of Rural Health System. Topeka, KS: Kansas Health Institute. Retrieved from: http://www.khi.org/news/article/working-group-hears-challenges-of-rural-health-system

Peltz, A. and others. (2016, May). Characteristics of rural children admitted to pediatric hospitals. Pediatrics. Retrieved from: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2016/04/07/peds.2015-3156

Meyer, H. (2016, Apr. 9). Shake-up to survive: Struggling rural hospital in Kentucky works on a turnaround. Modern Healthcare. Retrieved from: http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160409/MAGAZINE/304099980/shake-up-to-survive-struggling-rural-hospital-in-kentucky-works-on-a?utm_campaign=KHN:%20Daily%20Health%20Policy%20Report

Commins, J. (2016, Mar. 23). Rankings illustrate health challenges for rural America. HealthLeaders Media. Retrieved from: http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/community-rural/rankings-illustrate-health-challenges-rural-america

Sisk, T. (2016, Mar. 4). Rural Hospitals embrace population health in quest for relevance. North Carolina Health News. Retrieved from: www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2016/03/04/rural-hospitals-embrace-population-health-in-quest-for-relevance/

Luthra, S. (2016, Mar. 1). Medicine's power couples: A challenge in recruiting physicians to rural areas. Kaiser Health News. Retrieved from: http://khn.org/news/medicines-power-couples-a-challenge-in-recruiting-physicians-to-rural-areas

Distel, E., Casey, M., and Prasad, S. (2016, Mar.). Reducing Potentially-Preventable Readmissions in Critical Access Hospitals. Policy Brief #43. The Flex Monitoring Team. Retrieved from: http://www.flexmonitoring.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/PB43-readmissions.pdf

Natafgi, N., Baloh, J., Weigel, P., and others. (2016, Feb. 16). Surgical patient safety outcomes in critical access hospitals: How do they compare? Journal of Rural Health. Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jrh.12176/abstract;jsessionid=5903A51B5C40C9AAED93B011D3DDE342.f03t03

What’s different about rural health care? National Rural Health Association, accessed online Feb. 4, 2016 at http://www.ruralhealthweb.org/go/left/about-rural-health

2016 rural relevance – vulnerability to value; a Hospital Strength Index® study. iVantage Health Analytics. Feb. 2016. http://www.ivantageindex.com/rural-relevance-downloads/ [iVantage news release: Rural hospital closures predicted to escalate, Feb.2, 2016: https://www.ivantagehealth.com/news-release-february-2-2016/]

Heisey, D. (2016, Jan.). Variation in Rural Health Information Technology Adoption and Use. Health Affairs. Retrieved from: http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/early/2016/01/14/hlthaff.2015.0861.abstract

Karash, J.A. (2016, Jan.). Rural trustees take on the world. Trustee, 69(1), 8-10, 12.

Nelson, B., and Gauss, J. (2016, Jan.) For rural boards, an imperative to change. Trustee, 69(1), 11, 13-14.