2024 Critical Access Hospital Board and Leadership Training

2024 Minnesota Critical Access Hospital Board and Leadership Training on Engagement, Leadership, and Population Health Training

With the support of the Minnesota Department of Health Office of Rural Health and Primary Care, Rural Health Innovations cordially invites you to participate in the 2024 Minnesota Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Board Training on Engagement, Leadership, and Population Health. This training is open to all CAHs in the state of Minnesota. Participants should represent Minnesota CAH CEO’s, Board of Directors, and governing boards.

The training includes four pre-recorded webinars with discussion guides, a peer-sharing call, and an in-person workshop. 

Scroll to the bottom to register and learn about the peer-sharing call and in-person workshop. 

Purpose of Training

• Gain comprehensive knowledge and insights on population health and its significance in hospital operations and community engagement. 
• Be able to effectively guide and make informed decisions in the context of rural health care in Minnesota. 
• Foster the development of essential skills for effective communication and leadership, enabling them to articulate key population health concepts such as health equity, data quality, value-based models, and community care coordination to hospital staff and the wider rural community.
• Empower others to understand and integrate the principles of population health into hospital operations, emphasizing its necessity for strategic decision-making and financial sustainability in rural health care. 

Topics and Release Dates of the Pre-Recorded Webinars and Discussion Guides 

Webinar 1: Overview of Population Health for CAH Leaders and Rural Communities 

Discussion Questions:

1. Health is described as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (World Health Organization). 

• What stands out to you about this definition?
• Where is your organization excelling?
• What has community health needs assessments or other sources suggested as opportunities for attention related to this definition?  

2. The building blocks of value-based care include leadership engagement, health equity, person and family engagement, community partnerships, team-based care, quality-focused care, and affordable care.

• What building blocks are a strong, existing foundation for your organization?
• Where could the senior leaders benefit from increased board support?  

3. The presentation suggested that health needs community solutions, involving community partners. 

• Where does the board have ties to the community that could be explored for strategic, collaborative approaches?  

4. To be successful in value-based care, health care organizations need to focus on improved quality of care, patient and provider satisfaction, health care equity, and smarter spending.

• Are each of these components a focus of the organization? 
• If not all, which ones should come into focus? What are ways that could be explored?  

5. What are potential next steps the organization can take to prepare for, or continue in, value-based care?  

Speaker: Tracy Morton, Director of Population Health, National Rural Health Resource Center 

Release Date: Wednesday, June 5, 2024  

Webinar 2: How to Approach Health Equity and Implicit Bias in CAHs 

Discussion Questions:

1. In the context of your community, what are the dominant or preferred identities? What does - or might - it feel like to have any of the non-dominant identities? What might it feel like to have multiple non-dominant identities? 
2. A microaggression is a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a group that has been historically marginalized. What are some examples of microaggressions that you have witnessed or experienced? 
3. What are some ways that the health care system and processes in your facility are currently designed for equality rather than equity? How could you redesign those processes? 

Recommended Activities:

• Complete Stratis Health’s Implicit Bias quiz and explore the Culture Care Connection website
• Explore the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) Neighborhood Atlas and/or your community’s US Census data to better understand the makeup of your community
• Try mapping out your own identities using the Embodied Identity House and other experiences and identities; then try mapping your community using your facility or community data to get a better picture of the people you serve  

Speaker: Stratis Health 

Release Date: Wednesday, June 12, 2024  

Webinar 3: Quality and Data in Population Health 

Discussion Questions:

1. In Crossing the Quality Chasm, health care quality is defined as having six dimensions – it is safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered. 

• Did any of these dimensions come as a surprise to you? 
• In which dimension(s) does your facility excel? 
• In which dimension(s) are there the most opportunities for improvement?  

2. Data is critical for improving health care quality and population health. 

• At what frequency are quality and population health data shared with the board?
• What is the board’s understanding of quality and population health data? 
• What education might the board benefit from in order to be able to better understand and make use of this data?   

3. What resources do staff need to be able to collect and analyze data to inform population health improvement? How can the board support those efforts?  

Speaker: Stratis Health 

Release Date: Wednesday, June 12, 2024  

Webinar 4: Financial and Operational Benefits of Population Health 

1. Which social drivers of health have the biggest impact on the communities we serve?
2. How is our hospital partnering with other organizations to address the issues of social drivers of health?
3. Are social drivers of health integrated into our strategic and financial plans?
4. What resources would be most helpful to learn more about strategies and steps to successfully tackle the social drivers that impact our community?
5. Does our Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) include a community-based approach noting social drivers of health that goes beyond the four-walls of the hospital?
6. What value-based care activities are we participating in currently, for example, participating in an Accountable Care Organization, operating chronic care management services or conducting social drivers of health risk assessments?
7. Have we considered a role for Community Health Workers to support care teams in our clinics and programs?  

Speaker: Brock Slabach, Chief Operations Officer, National Rural Health Association

Release Date: Monday, June 17, 2024