Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP)
Introduction
The Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP) provides support to small rural hospitals with implementation of deliery system changes. Funds help small rural hospitals to ensure they have a strong foundation to provide quality healthcare to their community.
The grant funding is made available to the Montana Office of Rural Health through the Health Resources and Services Administration, Office of Rural Health Policy.
To qualiify for SHIP Grants, applicant hospitals are required to be small non-Federal, short-term, general acute care facilities with 49 beds or less, and located in a rural area.
Successful applicants recieve funding for one year and renewal is contingent upon satisfactory applicant performance. Amounts awarded varies by year and is dependent upon the availability of federal appropriated funds.
Outcomes
The SHIP grant has helped Montana Critical Access Hospital and small rural hospitals to purchase equipment; implement electronic health records; train staff on ICD-10/11 coding; participate in training for HCAHPS surveys; participate in efficiency training (Six Sigma or Lean); purchase hardware/software related to cybersecurity, support charge master review; and numerous other significant expenditures.
