The Kansas Small Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) is a federally-supported program to support small rural hospitals activities related to quality improvement and investments towards meaningful use of health information technology.

The Kansas SHIP is managed by the by State Office of Rural Health within the Bureau of Community Health Systems at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. KDHE has contracted with Healthworks to administer this program.  The SHIP is funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy in the Health Resources and Services Administration.

FY25-26 Grant Year Documents

Areement

Purchasing Guidelines

Reporting Deadlines

CAH Quality Assessment Resources

How does the SHIP work?

Hospitals receive direct grant funds, ranging between $10,000 and $12,000, to use towards:

  • Improving data collection activities in order to facilitate reporting to Hospital Compare.
  • Maintaining accurate billing and coding systems.
  • Building accountability across the continuum of care and improving care transitions between ambulatory and acute, acute to upstream acute and acute to step-down facility.
  • Improving quality outcomes by focusing on activities that support QI, such as reduction of medical errors as well as education and training in data collection and reporting and bench marking.

 

Who is Eligible for SHIP grants?

To be eligible for these grants, a hospital must be: 1) 49 available beds or less, as reported on the hospital’s most recently filed Medicare Cost Report; 2) in a rural area, (located outside a Metropolitan Statistical Area or located in a rural census tract of a MSA as determined under the Goldsmith Modification); and 3) defined as a non-federal, short-term, general acute care facility.

Hospitals with SHIP grant-specific questions, please contact Healthworks at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Quarterly Webinars

Click on the links below to listen to the recordings and view the slides of previous SHIP Quarterly Webinars.  

September 11, 2025  Recording and Slides

June 11, 2025 Recording and  Slides 

March 11, 2025 Recording and Slides 

Upcoming Events

Sep 24, 2025 - 08:00AM - 05:00PM
NRHA CAH Conference (Kansas City)

Sep 25, 2025 - 08:00AM - 05:00PM
NRHA CAH Conference (Kansas City)

Sep 26, 2025 - 08:00AM - 05:00PM
NRHA CAH Conference (Kansas City)

Oct 08, 2025 - 01:00PM - 02:00PM
Swing Bed Huddle

Oct 09, 2025 - 12:00PM - 01:00PM
Quality Corner Call

Oct 28, 2025 - 10:00AM - 03:00PM
Employee Health, Safety, and Wellness Project Wrap-up