Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP)

Eligible applicants include states that are current SHIP recipients, as well as states and territories with hospitals that meet eligibility requirements that have not been previously funded. The SORH will be the official award recipient acting as fiscal intermediary for all eligible hospitals within its state. Each SORH submits an application to HRSA on behalf of the eligible hospital applicants in its state. The SORH receives the federal funds, verifies hospital eligibility utilizing the Rural Health Grants Analyzer (https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/rural-health), makes awards to eligible hospitals, and ensures appropriate use of funds. At the end of the budget period, each SORH submits a financial report documenting reporting expenditure activity to HRSA. Eligible small rural hospitals are non-federal, short-term general acute care facilities that are located in a rural area of the U.S. and the territories, including faith-based hospitals. For the purpose of this program: 1) “eligible small rural hospital” is defined as a non-federal, short-term general acute care hospital that: (i) is located in a rural area as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d) and (ii) has 49 available beds or fewer, as reported on the hospital’s most recently filed Medicare Cost Report; 2) “rural area” is defined as either: (1) located outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA); (2) located within a rural census tract of a MSA, as determined under the Goldsmith Modification or the Rural Urban Commuting Areas (RUCAs) or (3) is being treated as if being located in a rural area pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1395(d)(8)(E); and, 3) Eligible small rural hospitals may be for-profit or not-for-profit, including faith-based. Hospitals in U.S. territories as well as tribally operated hospitals under Titles I and V of P.L. 93-638 are eligible to the extent that such hospitals meet the above criteria. Individual hospitals can find the SORH contact in their state at: https://nosorh.org/nosorh-members/nosorh-members-browse-by-state/. Eligible hospitals within the territories that do not have access to a SORH must apply to the SHIP program individually and should contact the SHIP Program Coordinator. See Section VII for a complete list of agency contacts.