The Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) is excited to announce a new product, Characteristics and Trends of CAHs That Own or Operate Ambulance Services. This study addresses the extent to which CAHs do so, identifying trends in the number of CAH-based ambulance services and comparing the characteristics (location, ownership, financial) of CAHs that own or operate ambulance services to CAHs that do not.
Data collected through qualitative interviews with eight CAH-based ambulance services highlights the challenges of operating these services, workforce recruitment and retention issues, the role of partnerships and community involvement, and lessons learned. The results of this study provide useful information to State Flex Programs seeking to improve the performance of CAH-based ambulance services in their states and/or explore the use of the model to expand access to ambulance services in rural communities.