The Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP) supports eligible hospitals in meeting value-based payment and care goals through purchases of hardware, software, and training.
Donor Name: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
State: Minnesota
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/10/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
SHIP enables small rural hospitals to become or join an accountable care organization (ACO); to participate in shared savings programs; and to purchase health information technology (hardware and software), equipment, or training to comply with quality improvement activities, such as advancing patient care information, promoting interoperability, and payment bundling.
Hospitals can apply for projects under three investment categories:
- Value-Based Purchasing (VBP)
- Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)/Shared Savings
- Payment Bundling (PB)/Prospective Payment System (PPS).
Funding Priorities
The use of SHIP funds must be prioritized in the following areas:
- Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs):
- CAHs must meet Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) participation requirements to improve hospital quality outcomes.
- The Flex Program will attest to MBQIP participation on behalf of the CAH. Please visit the Minnesota Critical Access Hospital Reporting and Improvement Assistance for technical assistance resources. Even with the available technical assistance CAHs are still eligible to use SHIP dollars for MBQIP quality improvement. Non-federal tribal hospitals may use another culturally sensitive federally managed measure of hospital quality outcomes.
- If a CAH has implemented MBQIP and funds remain, then that hospital may select a different activity from the SHIP Allowable Investments.
- If a hospital is currently using all hardware, software, equipment, or trainings listed on the SHIP Allowable Investments, the hospital may identify an alternative piece of equipment or service if:
- The purchase will optimally affect the hospital’s transformation into an accountable care organization, increase value-based purchasing objectives, or aid in the adoption of ICD-11; and
- The hospital receives pre-approval from both the state SHIP director and FORHP.
Funding Information
For the 2025 program year the estimated maximum award for each hospital is $13,832.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible small rural hospitals are non-federal, short-term general acute care facilities located in a rural area of the United States and the territories, including faith-based hospitals. They may be for-profit, not-for-profit or tribal organizations.
- “Eligible small rural hospital” is defined as a non-federal, short-term general acute hospital that: (i) is located in a rural area and (ii) has 49 available beds or fewer, as reported on the hospital’s most recently filed Medicare Cost Report;
- “Rural area” is defined as either: (1) located outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA); (2) located within a rural census tract of an MSA, as determined under the Goldsmith Modification or the Rural-Urban Commuting Areas (RUCAs) or (3) is being treated as if being located in a rural area; and,
- Eligible SHIP hospitals may be for-profit or not-for-profit, including faith-based. Hospitals in U.S. territories as well as tribally operated hospitals are eligible to the extent that such hospitals meet the above criteria.
- Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) are rural by definition and qualify for SHIP.
For more information, visit MDH.
