title: Pennsylvania Critical Access Hospital Consortium: a strategy-focused performance improvement network.
abstract: The Pennsylvania Critical Access Hospital Consortium (PACAHC) has had success with an ambitious plan to bring together 12 small rural hospitals to support performance improvement initiatives. PACAHC differs from most other rural health networks or state Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Programs because of its multiyear process to implement Balanced Scorecards at every member hospital and its innovative coordination of data collection and reporting systems to enable performance comparison. PACAHC also convenes statewide performance improvement meetings that allow partner organizations, such as the state quality improvement organization, to contribute to improvement activities.
authors.affiliation: Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, USA.
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baronner
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D010414:Pennsylvania