The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded a three-year $1.5 million grant to the University of Arizona's Center for Rural Health for efforts to improve quality and performance at rural hospitals, reports AZ Business Magazine.
The grant will support CRH's work in the Arizona Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program. Known as AzFlex, the program provides technical assistance, training and resources to a statewide network of rural primary care, trauma and emergency medical service providers, according to AZ Business.
Rural hospitals across the country have reported significant financial struggles in recent years. Currently 673 rural hospitals across 42 states are vulnerable to closures, according to a recent study from iVantage Health Analytics.
Arizona has 14 critical access hospitals and 21 rural health clinics that largely serve the state's Hispanic and American Indian populations.
"The Center for Rural Health is ideally suited to carry out this important work in Arizona's rural communities," CRH director Daniel Derksen, MD, told AZ Business.