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.
