Hello, We got our initial rural health designation earlier this year. Our FNP starts May 1. Then we begin the other two phases of evaluation, first by the state and then by the feds. We will be independent and for profit.
Anyone have any pearls of wisdom? Thanks to anyone who might be able to offer advice.
Vicki Roberts, MD Family Medicine of Southeast Missouri Sikeston, MO
I the grant process is like Community Health Centers, and I suspect it is, you need to have someone well versed in grant writing. You will have to devote some time to jumping through the federal hoops.
Why for profit? There are a lot of grants and other benefits to being nonprofit (microsoft gives you better rates for example.) As long as the money is accounted for in salaries, benefits and of course, patient care, there may not need to be a reason to be for profit. There are hoops to jump through if you are a non profit however.
Wendell Pediatrician in Chicago
The patient's expectation is that you have all the answers, sometimes they just don't like the answer you have for them
We have already jumped through the biggest hoop. We already have the he designation. It was a long, expensive process and would never have happened without the help of a federal Congresswoman.
The next step is to hire a midlevel provider and then begin the inspection process. We are blessed with a new FNP graduate who will be starting with us next month.
There are two inspections ahead, first the state, then the federal. We will not be able to get reimbursement at the flat rate level until the second round of inspections (the federal).
As a for profit, I won't have to do grants and will have fewer hoops. We'll still have plenty with the RHC designation.
Just a question, I work in a medically underserved area of east central ohio. We do get an additional couple of percent payment above the usual Medicare payment in the state because of this.
Does this mean my clinic could conceivably qualify for a rural health designation? How would I check this out?
Thanks in advance. And good luck with your hoop jumping...
Jennifer- Thanks for your service in a shortage area. You might qualify for RHC status. A good place to start is : http://www.raconline.org/
There is an entire section on RHCs and a place to find out if your county is rural according to govt standards. You will also need to have a high hpsa score.
We used a consultant to wade throught the paperwork and still had to get the assistance of a Congresswoman to get everything through.
