The program will connect four hospitals, which are part of a rural healthcare network, and is designed to help older patients make the transition out of the hospital and back home.
Skyline Health—a White Salmon, Washington-based hospital with 14 total staffed beds and over $29 million in total patient revenue—has been awarded a four-year $800,000 grant to increase healthcare access across several rural counties in Washington State.
The grant will be used to create the Transitional Care Program, which will aim to improve care for patients who are recovering from surgery or another serious health issue. This project is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration under the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy through the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program. The program will connect four hospitals, which are part of a rural healthcare network and is designed to help older patients make the transition out of the hospital and back home.
"Rural hospital leaders are the first to raise their hands to work together on a project if it means providing better care for their patients," Dr. Elya Prystowsky, executive director of the Rural Collaborative, said in a press release. "This project allows four hospitals in the Rural Collaborative to learn from each other and together make a huge positive impact on the health of their communities."
The hospital network, which includes Skyline Health, Ferry County Health, Willapa Harbor Hospital, and Lincoln Hospital, will be supported by Allevant Solutions—a joint venture between Mayo Clinic and Select Medical that offers hospital consulting services.
"This project is exciting for Skyline Health," Skyline Hospital CEO Robb Kimmes said in the release. "Not only does it help support our patients, it also supports direct peer-to-peer learning for Skyline's staff and the staff at the three other Rural Collaborative hospitals. This type of collective effort helps us all provide better healthcare to our communities."
Amanda Schiavo is the Finance Editor for HealthLeaders.