Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP)

Since the inception of the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program, Kentucky has been one of few states to create and maintain a statewide consortium of hospitals with the primary purpose of enhancing services and improving access to health care. The Hospital Association Consortium of Kentucky was formed through a partnership of the Kentucky State Office of Rural Health and the Kentucky Hospital Association. With over nine years of experience working in collaboration to successfully implement and coordinate the federally funded Rural Hospital Flexibility Program in Kentucky, it was a natural progression for these two agencies to move toward forming a statewide coalition that would work aggressively toward finding solutions to the unrnet health care needs of our communities. Though some administrators were initially reluctant to release 'turf issues', with the encouragement of the Kentucky Hospital Association, all eligible hospitals agreed to join the Consortium. As a result, in the first year of SHIP funding, Kentucky was one of only three states able to form a Consortium consisting of all 33 hospitals eligible for funding. And, in the second year, continuing the momentum and trust built upon in the first year, five newly eligible hospitals joined the Consortium. Today, the Consortium remains a solid network of members working together to enhance the quality of services and improving access to health care in Kentucky. Our goal is to ensure that the Small Hospital Improvement Grant Program is implemented in the most efficient and effective manner possible and to help small rural hospitals meet the purpose and objectives of the grant. We continually seek innovative approaches to the function of the Consortium, in addition to the operations in which the Consortium was originally designed - to pool funds for the purchase of services, training, technical assistance, and information technology, in order to maximize the purchasing power of Consortium members through economies of scale. We encourage members of the Consortium to communicate any problems or issues as they occur so they may be addressed in a timely manner. The Consortium is a viable network in Kentucky as we continue to retain all eligible SHIP hospitals in the delivery of services to our members. We trust the foundation established by our statewide Consortium and the groundwork in developing regional networks will further our common goal of creating better health care for all Kentuckians. It is through federal grant initiatives, such as the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program, that the Hospital Association Consortium of Kentucky remains an active network of 38 hospitals striving to improve health care in the rural communities of Kentucky.