Funding Opportunities

2011-2012 CAH Capacity Building Award - Coming Soon!
CRHC's CAH Capacity Building Award offers each Critical Access Hospital funds every year for capacity-building activities. CAHs may use this funding to:

  1. Select programs or services from CRHC’s “menu” of programs
  2. Identify how you will make a sustainable difference in healthcare in the community or region.
Award guidelines are available by clicking here. To apply for the CAH Capacity Building Award, click here. Applications are due December 2, 2011.

If you have any questions, please contact Jen Dunn at jd@coruralhealth.org.

FY2011/2012 Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) Grant
CRHC is excited to announce that the 2011/2012 Colorado SHIP Grant from HRSA will support a statewide collaborative project focusing on creating and refining quality improvement systems and processes with the goal of meeting electronic health record (EHR) Meaningful Use criteria. For more information about the FY2011/2012 SHIP Grant, please contact Danette Swanson at ds@coruralhealth.org.

Group Discounts for CAHs
CAH Physician Advisors
As most of you are acutely aware, the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program is moving forward and most of you are actively preparing for RAC in your hospital. For ultimate protection from complex reviews, it is recommended that a Physician Advisor concurrently evaluate cases when a patient's condition does not meet medical necessity according to CMS guidelines, and the physician disagrees with the guidelines. On behalf of the request of several CAHs, CRHC has negotiated a reduced pricing option for Colorado CAHs with Executive Health Resources, Inc. (EHR),The Physician Advisor Company™, to provide RAC protective services. EHR provides hospitals with 7-day-a-week teams of specially-trained, technology-supported Physician Advisors focused on improving hospital clinical compliance and revenue integrity. EHR teams are dedicated to ensuring medical necessity compliance and revenue integrity, and improving reimbursement while optimizing hospital efficiency and helping to increase quality of care.  For information about the discount available, please email Jen Dunn at jd@coruralhealth.org.

Evidence-Based Care Guideline Tools
CRHC is pleased to announce special group discount rates for Colorado CAHs that have been coordinated on your behalf with McKesson InterQual Care Guidelines! To prepare for RAC audits and ensure you are providing and documenting the most appropriate, evidenced-based care for your patients, it is recommended that you develop a reliable utilization review program. McKesson InterQual Care Guidelines is one of the options available as a tool for case managers and physicians to consider when determining appropriate care for patients. Click HERE for information about the discount.

QHi Benchmarking Tool
In response to multiple requests for benchmarking tools geared towards small rural hospitals, the Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC) is excited to announce the launch of the Quality Health Indicators (QHi) benchmarking tool! An initiative of the Kansas Rural Health Options Project, QHi allows rural hospitals up to 50 beds to benchmark against self-defined peer groups to learn best practices and set targets for improvement.  For more information, click HERE.