The Kentucky Office of Rural Health has been awarded a
three-year, $750,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services
Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to improve
out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest survival rates among residents of rural
counties served by the state’s 27 designated critical access hospitals,
including Russell County Hospital.
The funding — which is provided through the Medicare Rural
Hospital Flexibility Program — will enable agencies across the state to
participate in the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival, a national
database that collects cardiac arrest data from EMS agencies and hospitals in
order to track performance over time and measure the quality of patient care.
Kentucky was one of just eight states to receive the
EMS-related funds.
Kentucky’s 27 critical access hospitals, including the local
facility, operate in mostly rural areas and have 25 or fewer acute care
inpatient beds.
Key partners for the project include the Kentucky Board of
Emergency Medical Services, Kentucky Hospital Association, Kentucky Rural
Health Association, Kentucky Ambulance Providers Association and the American
Heart Association.