北达科他州23家乡村医院组建协作网络：再入院率大降，成联邦推广模板
【北达科他州讯】据 InForum 10 月 11 日报道（经北达科他州新闻合作社 North Dakota News Cooperative 转载），北达科他州 23 家独立乡村医院与"关键通道医院"组建的协作组织"Rough Rider 高价值网络"（Rough Rider High Value Network，RRHVN）成立三年，已把医院再入院率、急诊就诊量大幅压低，并被美国联邦医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心（CMS）在一份最新报告中点名，称其可作为联邦"乡村健康转型计划"支持、各州效仿的协作模式。
该网络成立于 2023 年，23 家成员医院合计服务北达科他州约 65% 的乡村人口。发起想法可追溯到 2020 年：州内多家乡村医院院长商讨如何在不被大型医疗系统吞并的前提下实现转型——既保留本地领导权、本地董事会治理和本地决策，又能以更大整体的规模运作。2023 年，北达科他州议会为该项目拨款 350 万美元，帮助网络起步。
位于罗拉市（Rolla）的 25 张床位"关键通道医院"SMP Health–St. Kateri 是首批试点医院之一。该院首席执行官克里斯·阿尔伯特森（Chris Albertson）说，这是北达科他州乡村医疗领域正在发生的"最具变革性的事"，其他州已开始效仿这一模式。
数据方面：加入网络后，St. Kateri 的住院再入院率从约 16.5% 降至约 5%；九个月内急诊就诊减少 536 人次，节约医疗开支约 113 万美元，同时避免了约 50 万美元的联邦医疗保险支出。网络层面，23 家医院的结直肠癌筛查率提高约 12%，宫颈癌筛查率提高约 11%，乳腺癌筛查率提高约 10%；成人预防性就诊量翻了一番，血压与糖尿病控制指标也有明显改善。
网络总裁兼首席执行官阿尔弗雷德·萨姆斯（Alfred Sams）介绍，网络还与 Caret Health 合作改善联邦医疗补助（Medicaid）患者的就医结果，并配有癌症护理导航员，确保患者确诊后能及时见到肿瘤科医生、完成随访与转诊；网络的首席执行官、护理与业务人员每月开会，交流哪些做法有效、哪些需要改进。萨姆斯透露，CMS 已四次邀请他前往华盛顿特区，介绍该网络的做法与成效；CMS 的报告传达的信息是：如果一个州想成功，就照这个网络的样子做。
来源：InForum（经 North Dakota News Cooperative 转载），2026年10月11日。
North Dakota's 23-Hospital Rural Network Cited as National Model After Cutting Readmissions
[NORTH DAKOTA] The Rough Rider High Value Network (RRHVN), a collaboration of 23 independent rural and critical access hospitals formed in 2023, has sharply cut hospital readmissions and emergency room visits, and was singled out in a recent report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as a collaborative model the federal Rural Health Transformation Program should support and other states could emulate, InForum reported on Oct. 11 (republished by the North Dakota News Cooperative).
The network's 23 member hospitals collectively serve about 65% of North Dakota's rural population. The idea dates to 2020, when rural hospital directors in the state began discussing how to transform rural health without being absorbed by large health systems — keeping local leadership, local board governance and local decision-making while operating at a larger scale. In 2023, the North Dakota Legislature appropriated $3.5 million to help get the initiative off the ground.
SMP Health–St. Kateri, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Rolla, was among the first chosen to pilot in the network. Its CEO Chris Albertson called it the most transformative thing happening in rural health in North Dakota, adding that other states are starting to follow the same model.
By the numbers: after joining the network, St. Kateri cut its hospital readmission rate from about 16.5% to about 5%; over a nine-month period it reduced emergency room visits by 536, saving about $1.13 million in healthcare spending and avoiding about $500,000 in Medicare spending. Across the network, colorectal cancer screenings rose about 12%, cervical cancer screenings about 11% and breast cancer screenings about 10%; overall adult preventive visits doubled, with measurable improvements in blood pressure and diabetes control.
RRHVN president and CEO Alfred Sams said the network partnered with Caret Health to improve outcomes for Medicaid patients and added cancer care navigators to make sure patients see an oncologist on time and complete follow-ups and referrals; CEOs, nursing and business staff meet monthly to share what works. Sams said CMS invited him to Washington, D.C., at least four times to discuss the network's outcomes, and that the CMS report's message was: if a state wants to succeed, model after this network.
Source: InForum (via North Dakota News Cooperative), Oct. 11, 2026.
图片来源：Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0, 作者 Wikideas1
