The primary purpose of Montana’s Rural Health Plan July 2011 is to guide Montana’s Critical Access Hospital (CAH) program and future Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program grant expenditures. This document is also intended for use by other rural, Montana health care stakeholders to assist them in the work they do. The plan was developed with input from the Montana Rural Health Plan Task Force, a broad-based group of rural health care leaders and representatives that are dedicated to rural Montana. In preparing this plan, the Task Force focused on the current status of health care in Montana while focusing on the issues presenting the biggest challenges in today’s changing health care landscape. This health plan looks at the trends, the challenges and the approaches needed to ensure that rural Montanans receive excellent health care across the lifespan and across the state.
The Task Force utilized existing data and information from a variety of state and national sources while keeping an over-riding goal of creating a useful, practical guide for the future for Montana’s critical access hospitals that is fact‐based and data‐driven. Montana’s Rural Health Plan 2011 is intended as a flexible document, responsive to the changing needs and landscape of Montana.
The Rural Health Plan is in the process of being updated and a 2021 version is forthcoming.
To request a copy of the current plan, please contact Leslie Howe at (406) 444-9519 or LHowe@mt.gov .