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Office of Rural Health

The Wyoming Office of Rural Health seeks to enhance access to healthcare service, support the development of an adequate healthcare workforce, and promote collaboration in expanding comprehensive, community-based healthcare in rural Wyoming.

Contact Info:

122 West 25th Street, Suite 102 East
Cheyenne, WY 82002
(307) 777-7293

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Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program

This is a picture of deep blue sky, white snow covering the prairie a fence cuts through the picture. Expansiveness.

The FLEX Program

The Medicare Rural Hospitals Flexibility (Flex) Program supports critical access hospitals (CAH) with quality, operational, financial, population health, and rural emergency medical services (EMS) improvement and CAH designation. The Flex Program has the optional activity of developing innovative healthcare models. Improvement activities are identified on the work plan and pursued through the grant performance period. 

The Wyoming Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program hosted the annual CAH meeting on Thursday, June 23, 2022, at 2 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST). In attendance at the meeting was eighteen (18) CAH staff from the following counties: Big Horn, Carbon, Converse, Crook, Goshen, Hot Springs, Lincoln, Park, and Weston. Sharon Weber, Manager, Office of Rural Health, Rochelle Spinarski, Rural Health Solution, and FLEX Program Manager, were also in attendance.

2022 Flex Program CAH Annual Meeting 

Wyoming Critical Access Hospital, Financial Productivity Indicators, January 2019 through July 2022. qhi_report – 2022-07-28T114746.567.

Performance Period September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2023 Funding Opportunities

The fiscal year (FY) 2022 Wyoming Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program application for funds for Performance Period September 1, 2022, through August 31, 2023, is available. This application will be open from today through November 30, 2022; February 1, 2023 through April 30, 2023; and July 1, 2023 through August 31, 2023. This limited application time will provide an opportunity for funds to be available throughout the performance period. 

Flex Program reimbursement scholarship funds are available to everyone working at the critical access hospital (CAH) and rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies. Approval of funds will be on a case-by-case basis for staff working in the long-term care facility and rural health clinics. To receive the application link, email the Flex Program Manager or wyo.ruralhealth@wyo.gov.  

Reporting the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) measures is a requirement for receiving Flex Program funds. For information on MBQIP, visit https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/rural/officeofruralhealth/critical-access-hospitals/medicare-benificiary-quality-improvement-project-mbqip/.

  • Quality improvement activities must be related to improving the MBQIP measures. 
  • Financial improvement activities include chargemaster review, cost reports, strategic planning, facility planning, billing and coding, service line discovery, patient experience, and hospital culture improvement. Reporting the WY CAH Financial Productivity Indicators and the CAH Hospital Based EMS Financial Productivity Indicators provides data demonstrating improvement and sustainability.  
  • Population health activities include funds for community health needs assessments and health improvement plans. 
  • CAH-based EMS and rural EMS agency’s activities include quality and operational improvement for sustainability. 
  • WY Flex Program funds can also be used for hospitals requesting assistance with CAH designation.

For more information on the Flex Program visit the National Rural Health Resource Center – Flex

Visit Wyoming Hospital Association for more information about Wyoming’s hospitals.

Visit Rural Health Solutions to learn more about how Quality Improvement Matters.