Rural Health
Research Gateway

Kristie Thompson, MA

North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center

Phone: 919.966.9484
Fax: 919.966.3811
Email: kristie_thompson@unc.edu

Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
CB# 7590
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7590

Current Projects - (3)

  • Did Hospitals That Converted to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) Avoid Closure?
    The goal of the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) is to preserve access to essential services for rural residents, and to decrease the likelihood of hospital closures; some worry that the REH offers an option for otherwise financially strong hospitals to shed services. This study will investigate whether hospitals that converted to an REH in 2023 and 2024 would have likely closed in the absence of the REH designation.
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs)
  • Medicare Advantage and Financial, Hospital, and Community Characteristics of Rural Hospitals
    This project will compare financial, hospital, and community differences among rural hospitals located in areas with lower versus higher rates of Medicare Advantage penetration.
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA)
  • Usual Source of Primary Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries Before and During COVID-19
    The global pandemic was highly disruptive to existing health care use patterns, potentially affecting rural America more than urban communities. This study will describe the usual sources of primary care (USC) for rural Medicare beneficiaries before and during COVID-19 to provide insight into how COVID-19 affected USC of Medicare beneficiaries.
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)

Completed Projects - (1)

  • What Does it Cost to Operate a Rural Free-Standing Emergency Department (RFED)?
    In recent months, there have been numerous media reports of rural hospital closures and the adverse effect on communities. In the face of hospital closure, one alternative for maintaining access to healthcare is a rural free-standing emergency department (RFED).
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Healthcare financing, Medicare

Publications - (34)

2024

  • The First Year of Rural Emergency Hospitals: REHs Serve Relatively Disadvantaged Counties
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 10/2024
    This brief looks at community characteristics (socio-economic, race and ethnicity, and health status and access characteristics) of communities with a hospital that converted to a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) in 2023—the first year of the new rural hospital payment designation.
  • News Media Coverage of Rural Hospital Closures and the Causes
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 10/2024
    This study augments previous research with findings from a structured framework of attributed causes of rural hospital closures through the analysis of news media reports.
  • The Low-Volume Hospital Adjustment Before and During COVID-19
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 07/2024
    This brief uses current low-volume hospital adjustment qualifying criteria to compare low-volume hospitals to other rural hospitals and explores the effect of removing the adjustment before COVID-19 and during COVID.
  • 2018-23 Profitability of Rural Hospitals by Ownership and System Affiliation
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 06/2024
    This study compares the 2018-23 profitability of rural hospitals based on ownership and system affiliation status. The purpose of this brief is to describe the profitability of rural hospitals over a five-year period consisting of two years before and three years after COVID-19.
  • 2018-23 Profitability of Rural Hospitals by With and Without Rural Health Clinics and Long-Term Care
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 06/2024
    This study compares the 2018-23 profitability of rural hospitals for hospitals that provide and do not provide long-term care, and that operate and do not operate rural health clinics.
  • 2018‐23 Profitability of Rural and Urban Hospitals by Medicare Payment Designation
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 06/2024
    This study compares profitability of three types of hospitals in both urban and rural locations: Critical Access Hospitals, Prospective Payment System-only (PPS) hospitals by number of acute beds, and PPS hospitals with special payment designations hospitals over a five-year period.
  • Using the Updated Financial Distress Index to Describe Relative Risk of Hospital Financial Distress
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 04/2024
    Using a recent revision of the Financial Distress Index (FDI) model, this study aimed to describe the relative risk of experiencing financial distress for rural hospitals and selected urban hospitals.
  • COVID-19 Affected Rural and Urban Hospital Uncompensated Care
    Fact Sheet
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 03/2024
    The purpose of this infographic is to illustrate the impact COVID-19 had on uncompensated care and operating margin among rural and urban hospitals.
  • A Comparison of 2017-19 Uncompensated Care of Rural and Urban Hospitals by Net Patient Revenue, System Affiliation, and Ownership
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 01/2024
    The purpose of this study is to better understand patterns of uncompensated care. It extends a 2018 study of geographic variation in uncompensated care between rural and urban hospitals. Specifically, researchers investigate the association of uncompensated care with net patient revenue, system affiliation, and ownership.

2023

  • Rural Emergency Hospital Map and Data
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 10/2023
    This interactive map tracks hospitals that have converted to Rural Emergency Hospitals since January 2023.
  • Rural Population Health in the United States: A Chartbook
    Chartbook
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 02/2023
    This chartbook uses a range of indicators to describe population health in rural America and document health disparities between rural and urban areas. This report includes 33 measures of population health, organized into five domains: Access to Care, Health Outcomes and Risks, Mortality, Social Determinants of Health, and Socioeconomics.

2022

2021

  • 2021 CMS Hospital Quality Star Ratings of Rural Hospitals
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 10/2021
    The purpose of this study is to 1) compare the 2021 CMS Hospital Quality Star Rating results for rural and urban hospitals, 2) to compare the 2021 and 2016 CMS Hospital Quality Star Rating results for rural hospitals, and 3) to identify implications for the usefulness of the CMS Hospital Quality Star Ratings for rural hospitals.
  • Cardiovascular & Cancer Rates for the Rural Delta Region: Rural Delta Region Map Tool
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 08/2021
    The Rural Delta Region Map Tool is an interactive tool that shows 13 health measures for people in Delta Region counties/parishes. It can be used to compare rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease by county, by rural-urban status, to peer counties, to the national average, and to national quartiles.
  • How Many Hospitals Might Convert to a Rural Emergency Hospital?
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 07/2021
    In this study, three measures were used to predict the number of rural hospitals with 50 beds or less that are likely to consider conversion to a Rural Emergency Hospital: 1) three years negative total margin; 2) average daily census (acute + swing) less than three; and 3) net patient revenue less than $20 million.
  • Changes in Provision of Selected Services by Rural and Urban Hospitals Between 2009 and 2017
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 04/2021
    The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of recent trends in hospital service provision and whether there were disparities between rural and urban hospitals. This brief describes and compares the changes in service provision for rural and urban hospitals between 2009 and 2017.
  • Alternatives to Hospital Closure: Findings From a National Survey of CAH Executives
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 02/2021
    Despite the many challenges of operating a Critical Access Hospital (CAH), little research examines the perspectives of CAH executives on potential community healthcare options if the CAH closed. This brief provides policymakers with a better understanding of what CAH executives think about the viability of various alternatives to closure.
  • Health System Challenges for Critical Access Hospitals: Findings From a National Survey of CAH Executives
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 02/2021
    Despite the numerous challenges of operating a Critical Access Hospital (CAH), there is little research examining the perspectives of CAH executives on potential community healthcare options if the CAH closed. This brief presents a subset of results from a national survey of CAH executive perspectives on pressing challenges.

2019

2018

  • Geographic Variation in Uncompensated Care Between Rural and Urban Hospitals
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 06/2018
    The purpose of this brief is to compare uncompensated care in rural and urban hospitals and to describe how it varies across regions of the country.
  • Geographic Variation in the 2016 Profitability of Urban and Rural Hospitals
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 03/2018
    This study describes the geographic variation in 2016 profitability of critical access hospitals (CAHs), other rural hospitals (Medicare Dependent Hospitals, Sole Community Hospitals, and rural Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals denoted as "ORH"), and urban PPS hospitals by census region, census division, and state.
  • Access to Care: Populations in Counties With No FQHC, RHC, or Acute Care Hospital
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 01/2018
    To help provide a quick understanding of how many people may have more limited access to primary care and where they live, this brief focuses on three main primary care providers in rural areas (Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Centers, and acute care hospitals).
  • Range Matters: Rural Averages Can Conceal Important Information
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 01/2018
    This short brief uses three examples to demonstrate how focusing on averages without also considering the data range can conceal important information: 1) average rural hospital profitability, 2) distance from closed rural hospitals to the next closest hospital, and 3) HIV prevalence by county.

2017

  • CMS Hospital Quality Star Rating: For 762 Rural Hospitals, No Stars Is the Problem
    Policy Brief
    Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 06/2017
    The purpose of this brief is to look more closely at the characteristics of rural hospitals with and without CMS Hospital Quality Star Ratings to help inform ongoing discussions about the usefulness of the quality star rating for comparing hospital quality and possible ways to improve the star rating initiative.

2016

  • Does ACA Insurance Coverage Expansion Improve the Financial Performance of Rural Hospitals?
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 04/2016
    Views on how the implementation of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) expanded insurance coverage is affecting the financial performance of rural hospitals. The study found that while respondents believe the expanded insurance coverage was the right thing to do for patients, they worried coverage may not be adequate to ensure access to care.

2015

  • The Rising Rate of Rural Hospital Closures
    Journal Article
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 07/2015
    Discusses the increase in rural hospital closure rates, including the causes of closures and its impact on rural communities.
  • A Comparison of Closed Rural Hospitals and Perceived Impact
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 04/2015
    This policy brief compares selected characteristics of abandoned rural hospitals and their markets to those of converted rural hospitals.
  • The 21st Century Rural Hospital: A Chart Book
    Chartbook
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 03/2015
    This chartbook presents a broad profile of rural hospitals and includes information on location, who they serve, services they provide, how they ensure outpatient services for their communities, other community benefits they provide, and financial performance. Each page includes charts comparing rural hospitals to each other and to urban hospitals.

2014

  • Geographic Variation in Plan Uptake in the Federally Facilitated Marketplace
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 10/2014
    This brief combines the data on plan selection in the federally facilitated marketplaces with estimates of those likely to qualify for the marketplace to calculate the percentage of potential eligible individuals who chose a health insurance plan (the uptake rate). It contains a heat map showing the variation in uptake rates across the country.