Small Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP)

The Small Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) provides grant funding to rural hospitals to help: 1) pay for costs related to the implementation of prospective payment (PPS), 2) comply with provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and 3) reduce medical errors and support quality improvement.

To be eligible for these grants, a hospital must be: 1) 49 available beds or less, as reported on the hospital's most recently filed Medicare Cost Report, 2) in a rural area,  (located outside a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or located in a rural census tract of a MSA as determined under the Goldsmith Modification), and 3) defined as a non-Federal, short-term, general acute care facility.

Since 2002, the Office of Rural Health has provided grant funding of almost $3 million to 94 rural hospitals in the state of Kansas.

The SHIP Program (CFDA 93.301) is administered by the Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP), Health Resources and Services Administration.  More information is available on the ORHP website, http://ruralhealth.hrsa.gov/ship.htm.

Contact Gloria Vermie  for additional information about Kansas' administration of this program.