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Rural Health
Research Gateway

Susie Gurzenda, MS

North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center

Email: susie_gurzenda@unc.edu

Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
725 MLK BLVD
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Publications - (7)

2024

  • 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.
  • Differences in Measurement of Operating Margin: An Update
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 05/2024
    This study uses recent Medicare Cost Report data to compare rural and urban hospitals using the three definitions for operating margin. Researchers assess the distribution and extent of extreme values of operating margin.
  • 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

  • Suitability of Low-Volume Rural Emergency Departments to New Rural Emergency Hospital Designation
    Journal Article
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 09/2023
    The Rural Emergency Hospital is a new Medicare payment model that requires hospitals to focus on emergency, observation, and outpatient services in lieu of inpatient care. This study's exploratory objective was to examine care delivery from eligible hospitals to assess their fit with the new payment model.

2022

  • Small Rural Hospitals with Low-Volume Emergency Departments That May Convert to a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH)
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Date: 10/2022
    This study profiles rural hospitals eligible to convert to Rural Emergency Hospitals. The objective is to characterize rural hospitals with very low emergency department volume to inform the clinical and operational decisions that will be required to implement this new provider model.
  • Rural Hospital Profitability During the Global COVID-19 Pandemic Requires Careful Interpretation
    Policy Brief
    North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 03/2022
    Many small rural hospitals struggle with profitability compared to their urban counterparts. The findings brief describes the pre-pandemic (2011-19) trend of rural hospital profitability and explains why possible increases in reported profitability during the pandemic (2020-21) may mask the long-term financial challenges of rural hospitals.