Kansas Department of Health and Environment

Kansas State Flex Program

What is one Core Competency your state Flex Program is working on developing through Flex activities?

Selected Core Competency: Understanding the Current and Future Health Care Environment

The Kansas Flex program will support CAHs (Critical Access Hospitals) in identifying community and resource needs by being a financial supporter of Kansas Health Matters, a website that brings community health-related statistical data, local resources and a wealth of information to one accessible, user-friendly location. The intent is to give communities the tools they need to read and understand the public health indicators that affect the quality of residents’ lives. The tools help the community set goals and evaluate progress.

Building on the results of the state-wide survey launching in May 2023 to discover what hospitals are already doing in population health and what areas they are interested in working on, a focus group will be formed to identify ways we can help with the priority area. This focus group will inform additional tools, resources and projects that can be supported. We will continue to collaborate with and support the Kansas Hospital Association’s Optimal Health Committee and Healthy Kansas Hospitals initiative, which promotes best practices in the implementation of worksite wellness within the hospital and community.

What is one activity your state is funding through SHIP?

In Kansas, SHIP (Small Rural Health Improvement Program) funding is passed to individual small rural hospitals, which can then choose which items from the purchasing menu will best serve their specific hospitals and community's needs at that point in time. The Kansas Office of Primary Care & Rural Health and contracted partners, Kansas Hospital Association and HealthWorks, provide Kansas ties the payment of SHIP dollars to designated reporting deadlines that participating hospitals are required to meet. All hospitals must complete and submit two SHIP expense and activity reports during the contract period. Mid-year reports are due six months after the contract starts, and year-end reports are due 30 days after the end of the contract year. Along with the completed expense and activity form, hospitals must provide supporting documentation for purchases made during the contract period. Healthworks routinely share the SHIP purchasing guidelines with participating hospitals and provides technical assistance throughout the year on program-appropriate spending. HealthWorks receives reports and purchasing receipts from hospitals, reviews these documents for compliance with grant program guidelines and contract stipulations, and then issues reimbursement payments to hospitals.