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Keeping Care Local through Partnership
A practical strategy for rural hospital performance
Rural hospitals face a shared challenge: expanding local specialty care without overextending limited workforce, infrastructure, and financial resources. Top-performing rural hospitals meet this challenge through one key strategy: forming strategic partnerships that deliver capabilities they cannot build alone, particularly in specialty access, workforce coverage, and operational efficiency.
The STeM Alliance Program reflects this approach through a shared services partnership and cost-sharing model that connects Rural and Critical Access Hospitals with board-certified specialists.
This partnership enables real-time consults across care settings, reduces outmigration, and supports local clinicians. In turn, hospitals retain more patients, strengthen financial performance, and improve outcomes.
Grounded in a “friends helping friends” philosophy, the Alliance Program demonstrates how rural providers can work together by harnessing the power of partnership to enhance patient care. This model offers a clear, practical path to apply proven performance strategies while keeping care close to home.
Turning Partnerships into Performance
Through partnerships, the Alliance Program supports several of the proven tactics of high performing hospitals based on the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX:
Reducing Avoidable Outmigration
Expanding Local Services
Building a Workforce-Extension Model
Standardizing Operations
How the STeM Alliance Program Puts This Strategy to Work
The Alliance Program is built specifically to operationalize this strategy through two core design principles:
Shared Services Partnership
Hospitals participate in a collaborative network where specialist resources are shared across multiple sites.
What it enables:
• Real-time video consults in EDs, inpatient units, clinics, and patient homes
• Direct provider-to-specialist access with no referral delays
• Integrated support within existing workflows
Why it matters:
Leaders gain access to board-certified specialist expertise without building or staffing it independently.
Cost-Sharing Model
Instead of funding specialty programs alone, hospitals distribute costs across participants.
What it enables:
• No capital investment required
• Lower financial risk
• Scalable participation based on community needs
Why it matters:
Hospitals can expand services while protecting margins.
Together, these principles make partnership more than a strategy: they create a practical operating model.
Financial Sustainability without Added Burden
The STeM Alliance Program is designed to lower adoption barriers through:
No required capital investment
Telehealth platform and device agnostic
Cost sharing among participating hospitals
Billing accuracy and performance-tracking support
Alignment with Method II reimbursement*
This means that hospitals can expand access and improve care without taking on unsustainable financial risk.
Participating hospitals gain access to:
- Board-certified specialists 24 hours a day, seven days a week
- Real-time video consultations across local care settings
- Direct provider-to-specialist communication
- Chronic-care management support between visits
This integration helps care teams make faster decisions, treat patients sooner, and keep appropriate care within the community.
*Under Method II, a CAH may bill eligible professional services when the practitioner has reassigned billing rights to the hospital. Payment is subject to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requirements for Critical Access Hospital billing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from traditional telemedicine?
Traditional models often operate as vendors. The Alliance Program is a shared-services partnership combining specialist access, workflow integration, chronic-care support, oversight, cost sharing, and performance measurement.
Is the Alliance Program financially viable for small hospitals?
Yes. The cost-sharing structure removes the need for large upfront investment, supports reimbursement capture, and reduces volume requirements.
Will this reduce patient outmigration/transfers?
Yes. Real-time specialist input helps determine which patients can safely remain in their community for their care.
Can the program eliminate every patient transfer?
No. Some patients require services unavailable locally. Rather, the goal is to reduce avoidable outmigration that timely specialist input can safely prevent.
How can a hospital measure success?
Leadership can track patient retention, transfer & ED avoidance, encounter volume, billing capture, and satisfaction scores.
What is the main goal of participation?
Build partnerships around missing capabilities, share resources, and keep clinically appropriate care close to home.
How does the program support my staff?
Local clinicians gain real-time access to board-certified specialists, reducing burden and improving care confidence.
The Bottom Line
Hospitals using partnership-based models like the STeM Alliance Program can:
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Reduce ED transfers: Real-time consults help determine when care can stay local
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Support local clinicians: Specialist backup reduces decision pressure
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Expand services: Specialty support enables new outpatient and inpatient programs
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Improve financial outcomes: Retained care increases revenue while shared costs reduce risk
This is not just theory. It's a proven and repeatable model already used by top-performing rural hospitals nationwide.
Contact Us Now to Explore The STeM Alliance Program
Sources
[1] Flex Monitoring Team. Strategies for CAH Financial and Operational Performance Improvement. April 2026. https://www.flexmonitoring.org/sites/flexmonitoring.umn.edu/files/media/Strategies_for_CAH_financial_and_operational_performance_improvement.pdf
[2] National Rural Health Association, “2026 Top 20 Rural and Community Hospitals announced,” March 24, 2026. https://www.ruralhealth.us/blogs/2026/03-march/2026-top-20-rural-and-community-hospitals-announced
[3] Chartis, “Top Performing Rural Hospitals.” https://www.chartis.com/top-performing-rural-hospitals
[4] Chartis Center for Rural Health, “Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX.” https://info.chartis.com/ccrh-index-programming
[5] American Hospital Association, “A New Rural Blueprint: Strategic Partnerships That Keep Care Local,” Nov. 25, 2025. https://www.aha.org/aha-center-health-innovation-market-scan/2025-11-25-new-rural-blueprint-strategic-partnerships-keep-care-local
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