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Health agencies announced recently that Atmore Community Hospital (ACH) has been selected to participate in the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development (DRCHSD) program.

The Health Resources Services Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), Delta Regional Authority (DRA) and the National Rural Health Resource Center made the announcement.

According to a release, through the DRCHSD program, the DRA and FORHP partnered to support rural communities with an opportunity to receive intensive technical assistance (TA).

The TA consists of various assessments, onsite consultations, workshops and educational trainings, which will be provided through a multi-year phased-in approach.

The program is designed to increase the efficiency of the local health care delivery system practices by focusing on care coordination, social services integration, emergency medical services access and workforce recruitment and retention with the goal to:

• Improve financial position and increase operational efficiencies
• Implement quality improvements that support an evidenced-based culture for improved health outcomes
• Address workforce recruitment and retention needs
• Increase use of telemedicine to fill service gaps and access to care
• Ensure access to and availability of Emergency Medical Services
• Integrate social services to address socio-economic challenges
• Enhance coordination of care and develop a community care coordination plan
• Strengthen the local health care delivery system to position for population health

“It is a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to participate in the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development (DRCHSD) Program,” said Brad Lowery, ACH administrator. “We look forward to the collaboration between the Center, the ACH team, and our community to continue development of sustainable, quality healthcare delivery that meets the needs of our patients.”