Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP) Grants Program

The Kentucky State Office of Rural Health and the Kentucky Hospital Association forged a relationship over five years ago to implement the critical access program in Kentucky. This solid relationship helped us organize the Hospital Association Consortium of Kentucky and enlist all 33 eligible hospitals. Last year, Kentucky was one of only three states able to form a Consortium to apply for SHIP funding. This year, we not only retained all members of the Consortium, but also added five additional members. It is with this 38-member Consortium that we request SHIP funds for the Consortium. Once the grant is received, the Kentucky State Office of Rural Health will contract and work with the Kentucky Hospital Association to assist the 38 hospitals in meeting the goals of the grant. The primary role ofthe Hospital Association is to help the hospitals acquire all the necessary equipment and services by pooling the funds and maximizing their purchasing power. The funds will be utilized to the fullest extent possible in such areas as obtaining reduced pricing for computer equipment and software, enlisting consultants to work with the hospitals in the network, and purchasing other services and materials at reduced costs. Additionally, the Kentucky Hospital Association regularly arranges and hosts meetings and seminars with guest speakers on topics relating to PPS, HIPAA and quality and performance improvement. The Association's Small & Rural Hospital Forum, in which all members of the Consortium participation, focuses on topics that impact small Kentucky hospitals located in rural areas and addresses issues that help hospitals achieve their goals. The Association is also involved in a Quality Benchmarking Project to compare data on quality indicators, which will help those hospitals interested in long-range quality and performance improvement. In short, the Kentucky Hospital Association is very vital to the success of this project and fully qualified and prepared to provide the contracted services to our hospitals.