Victoria Freeman, DrPH, RN

• Completed Projects - (7)
• Publications - (4)

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Completed Projects - (7)

• 21st Century Rural Hospital: Outpatient Services and Access to Care
  The rural hospital has changed dramatically with hospitals becoming increasingly outpatient-centered. This project is designed to inform policymakers about rural hospitals' provision of outpatient care, including publication of a Primer, detailing the variability in outpatient services provision by key characteristics that can be used to examine the potential impact of proposed policy changes on patients' ability to access different services.
  Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Topic: Hospitals and clinics
  
• Access to Health Care for Young Rural Medicaid Beneficiaries
  This study examined access to health care among rural children ages 0-17 who are enrolled in some type of Medicaid managed care program, and will compare this access across types of programs and, within program type, to that of urban beneficiaries.
  Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Health services, Medicaid and CHIP, Oral health, Transportation
  
• Comprehensive Study of Swing Bed Use in Rural Hospitals
  This project will comprehensively address questions about how swing beds are used by rural hospitals. Questions to be answered include whether decision about use are driven by patient need, community resources, hospital operational concerns or some combination of these factors; the cost implications of swing bed use in critical access hospitals to the Medicare program; and whether patients served in swing beds differ in meaningful ways from those in skilled nursing facilities.
  Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS)
  
• Factors Associated with Provision of Ambulance Services by Rural Hospitals
  This two-part study will use existing national data to determine how many hospitals have regularly offered ambulance services as well as how many have recently acquired or discontinued such services. In-depth interviews with selected rural hospital administrators will explore the factors related to a hospital's decision regarding these important health care services.
  Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Topic: Emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma
  
• Rural Emergency Department Preparedness for Pediatric Care
  While many large cities have dedicated children's hospitals or facilities with pediatric emergency departments, many general hospitals do not have either the equipment necessary to provide optimal pediatric emergency care nor staff that is specifically trained in the care of pediatric emergencies. This project will use secondary data analysis and semi-structured interviews with emergency room directors in order to address how the availability of pediatric services, expertise and supplies in U.S. emergency departments differs between urban and rural facilities, and to determine which factors impede the availability of pediatric services, expertise, and supplies in rural emergency departments.
  Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Health services, Hospitals and clinics
  
• Rural Emergency Medical Services: Workforce and Medical Direction
  This two year study will examine the status of medical direction for rural EMS systems and the nature of the challenges and impediments to obtaining adequate medical direction in rural areas across the country. In addition, the study will address issues surrounding the recruitment and retention of paid and volunteer staff for rural EMS systems.
  Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Topics: Emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma, Workforce
  
• Volunteerism in Rural EMS
  Semi-structured telephone interviews will be used to examine issues facing rural emergency medical services (EMS) that have converted or are considering converting from volunteer services to paid services. Respondents will be queried regarding their conversion or consideration of conversion and the effect on their ability to recruit and retain personnel, their relationship with other agencies such as fire departments and hospitals, and the overall availability of EMS.
  Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Topics: Emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma, Healthcare financing, Workforce
  

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Publications - (4)