Strengthening the Voice of Rural Hospitals
The MHA Center of Rural Excellence allows the association to best meet the needs of its rural members by formalizing and optimizing the voice of rural Michigan hospitals.
Michigan has some of the largest rural health needs in the country, particularly for primary care, mental health and obstetrics services. Support specific to these needs is needed to support rural hospitals, who operate in an increasingly challenging financial environment with a higher reliance on state and federal reimbursement models given the patient populations they serve.
The MHA Center of Rural Excellence was established to ensure Michigan’s policymakers hear and understand the unique challenges rural hospitals face and that those challenges are not overshadowed by broader healthcare discussions. This unified voice for rural hospitals provides a clearer, more compelling mandate to act.
Tactically, the MHA Center of Rural Excellence will have a large focus on the deployment of Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding. It will play a central role in helping rural hospitals access RHTP funding and advocating for RHTP funding decisions that prioritize rural hospitals as the best way to maximize the positive impact of the investment across rural Michigan.
Contact the MHA to learn more about the MHA Center of Rural Excellence.