Small hospitals receive grants through Center for Rural Health program Fifteen rural North Dakota communities will benefit from grants given to small hospitals through the North Dakota Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex) administered through the Center for Rural Health at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. This year the North Dakota Flex program distributed approximately $230,000 in grant funds to 15 small hospitals across the state to fund studies and evaluations of the facilities, establish new programs, purchase new equipment and provide training to staff and volunteers. Facilities that received grants include: • Ashley Medical Center • Bowman-Southwest Healthcare Services • Cooperstown Medical Center • Garrison Memorial Hospital • Grafton-Unity Medical Center • Harvey-St. Aloisius Medical Center • Hazen-Sakakawea Medical Center • McVille-Nelson County Health System • Northwood Deaconess Health Center • Park River-First Care Health Center • Rolla-Presentation Medical Center • Tioga Medical Center • Turtle Lake-Community Memorial Hospital • Valley City-Mercy Hospital • Williston-Mercy Medical Center The Flex program, funded through a grant from the federal Office of Rural Health Policy (Health Resources and Services Administration), is a state-based partnership that works with and assists rural hospitals to stabilize and sustain their local health care infrastructure. In addition to grants, CRH also uses Flex funds to provide technical assistance to rural providers such as community assessments, internal surveys, and strategic planning. The Center for Rural Health administers the North Dakota Flex program, which also includes formal partnerships with the North Dakota Department of Health, the North Dakota Healthcare Review, Inc., and the North Dakota Healthcare Association. -- Wendy Opsahl, Communications Coordinator, Center for Rural Health, wopsahl@medicine.nodak.edu, 777-0871