Improving Patient Safety by Strengthening Hospitals

To support the quality of health care in rural communities, The Duke Endowment seeks to strengthen hospitals in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Insights

The Endowment's support for small and rural hospitals stems from James B. Duke's desire for health care to be accessible to all. Four key findings drive our approach to strengthening small and rural hospitals. We invite others to use these findings as a starting point for their own efforts.

Recruitment and Retention of Talented Staff

As medical professionals continue to trend toward specialty practices and as the health care field in general experiences workforce shortages, recruiting qualified doctors, nurses and other health care providers is critical to the viability of rural hospitals. Support for training programs and resource centers can help with recruitment and retention.

Improving Financial Performance

For small and rural hospitals, improving financial performance can lead to greater efficiency and enhanced quality of care.

Funding for Health Care Programs and Outreach

In addition to support for construction and other capital improvements, funding enables rural hospitals to provide health care programs that help those in their communities live healthier lives.

Capital Improvements and Infrastructure

Impact

Building Hospitals to Increase Rural Residents' Access to Care

From our beginnings, The Duke Endowment has worked to ensure that those living in underserved communities are able to access quality health care. In 1924, the year the Endowment was founded, support for hospitals primarily involved helping to cover the cost of charity care and funding construction of new facilities. This trailblazing role helped build community hospitals in underserved areas, which helped shape the federal Hill-Burton Act of 1946.

Prevention and Wellness Efforts

By the 1990s, as hospitals had assumed broader roles in society, the Endowment expanded its support to include programs aimed at improving wellness, addressing community health needs and assisting vulnerable populations.

Continuing to Meet Rural Health Care Needs

Today, we continue to invest in technology and equipment, strengthen financial and operational performance, help fund training and education opportunities for health care providers in rural communities and promote programs to meet the health needs of rural residents.

Between 1996 and 2008, the Endowment granted more than $105 million to support rural hospitals.