The Flex Program has two goals:
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To provide training and support to Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) as they seek to improve services
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To support hospitals seeking a CAH designation.

National CAH Quality Inventory and Assessment
Due December 15th
Please take the time to complete this survey. It’s important that Wyoming has a voice in the federal Flex planning.
This Assessment will allow FORHP to learn more about CAH service lines offered, quality improvement (QI) infrastructure and activities, and related quality measures. The Assessment, which is the first of its kind at a national level, will be an opportunity to gather a wealth of information that will help FORHP, our state’s Flex Program, and others improve how we support safe and high-quality care in CAHs. More information about the Assessment can be found on this Fact Sheet and the recordings found here.
Click for the Full Assessment in Word – email Gail Van Buren at gail.vanburen@wyo.gov for a fillable form
Assessment Instructions can be found be clicking here
Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Designation
The standard location of a CAH is more than a 35-mile drive on primary roads (or, in the case of mountainous terrain or in areas with only secondary roads available, a 15-mile drive) from a hospital or another CAH. CAH’s maintain no more than 25 inpatient beds. Inpatient beds may be used for either inpatient or swing-bed services. CAH’s provide acute inpatient care for a period that does not exceed, on an annual average basis, 96 hours per patient. For additional information regarding Critical Access Hospital designation can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the Wyoming license application and information can be found Here.
Flex Scholarship Program
Who can apply?
Flex Program reimbursement scholarship funds are available to support anyone working at a CAH (example: dietary, maintenance, housekeeping as well as billing and coding and clinical personnel). Flex scholarships are also available for rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel.
Reporting Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) measures is a requirement for Flex scholarship funding. For information on MBQIP please contact the Flex Program Manager.
What can scholarships be used for?
Training scholarships have to advance one of the Flex program goals. These goals are: quality, finances, operations, population health or EMS system development.
Approval Process
Approval of funds will be on a case-by-case basis.
Application Link
This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U2WRH33330-01-00 Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program and 0% financed with nongovernmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements to be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.