Upcoming Events for Minnesota Critical Access Hospitals

 

Minnesota MBQIP Open Calls

April 8, 2026,
1-2 p.m.
Register >

July 8, 2026,
1-2 p.m.
Register >

Through the Minnesota Flex Program, Stratis Health proudly assists Minnesota critical access hospitals (CAHs) with activities focused on quality reporting, quality improvement, and advancing population health.

Quality reporting and improvement activities are primarily focused on the core measures of the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP). MBQIP is a quality improvement activity under the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) grant program of the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. MBQIP aims to improve the quality of care provided in critical access hospitals by increasing quality data reporting by critical access hospitals (CAHs) and then planning quality improvement activities based on the data. In Minnesota and nationally, CAHs are required to report MBQIP measures to participate in Flex Program activities.

 

CAH MBQIP Reporting Resources

The MBQIP Minnesota Quality Reporting Guide and MBQIP Data Submission Deadlines are key resources to help CAH staff understand the MBQIP reporting processes. For each reporting channel shown in the chart below, the reporting guide includes information on how to register and instructions for collecting and submitting data.

MBQIP measure abbreviations to know:

  • EDTC: Emergency Department Transfer Communication
  • HCAHPS: Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems

MBQIP Data Reports

Every CAH in Minnesota can securely access quarterly reports with its data on all MBQIP core measures to drive and support its quality improvement efforts. Login access is provided to individuals identified as designated report contacts at each Minnesota CAH.

If you want to know the designated report contacts for your CAH, please contact Jodi Winters.

Login instructions

  1. Go to  Stratis Health Sharefile.
  2. Enter your email address and password.
  3. Click Sign in.
    Note: First-time users click on “Forgot Password” to set up their password.

 

Minnesota MBQIP Open Calls

Stratis Health hosts open discussion calls for Minnesota CAHs to support CAHs in submitting data for core MBQIP measures, sharing promising practices with other CAHs, and having a chance to ask questions of Stratis Health staff and each other. CAHs are encouraged to review their MBQIP reports before the calls and to come with questions. Calls occasionally focus on a specific measure or topic (such as EDTC or the CAH Assessment). Upcoming calls, as well as recordings and materials from past calls, are listed below.

Past Recorded Open Calls (Most recent – see YouTube playlist for all past calls.)

 

MBQIP Measure and Quality Improvement Resources

Critical Access Hospital Quality Improvement Resources
A variety of Stratis Health-developed tools and resources to help CAH leaders identify best practices and support the implementation of improvement strategies.

EDTC Measure Ongoing Lessons and Best Practices
During our ongoing work to help CAHs improve their EDTC measure scores, this resource will share what we have learned to date on issues affecting the EDTC documentation and some of the CAH’s solutions and best practices to address those issues.

Minnesota CAH Quality Measure and Reporting Crosswalk
This crosswalk is intended to provide users with a basic understanding of national and Minnesota-based quality reporting initiatives involving critical access hospitals (CAHs), including the lead organization, purpose, and measures, as well as the overlap in measures across these initiatives.

Minnesota CAH Quality Connect
A monthly newsletter designed to support Minnesota CAHs, providing updates and resources related to quality reporting and improvement efforts.

Minnesota CAH Learning and Action Network Recorded Series – Improving ED Patient Flow and Experience
This 3-session recorded series supports CAHs to improve the quality of care and performance on quality measures related to emergency department care, including: OP-18: Time from arrival to departure, OP-22: Patient left without being seen, and ED Patient Experience.

Social Drivers of Health Toolkit
This toolkit is specifically designed for CAHs and their community partners working to address community SDOH and individual or family HRSN in Minnesota’s rural communities. The resource overviews the core components of SDOH/HRSN strategy for CAHs, including setting up governance, screening patients, and engaging community partners in CAH’s strategy.

 

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $262,336, with 0.00% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official view of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.