Immediate & Primary Care at Stanford Medical Park has been named a 2021 Lilypad Awards Top Clinic for outperforming rural primary care practice peers in the areas of efficiency and operational excellence.
The clinic was ranked in the top 5 of provider-based rural health clinics (RHCs) in the Southeast and among the top 50 of all RHCs in the country. It was one of only three RHCs in Kentucky to earn the designation this year. The Commonwealth has more than 250 RHCs.
The Lilypad Awards — released by Lilypad, a Maine-based health care analytics firm — are the only ranking system for the country’s more than 4,000 rural health clinics. RHCs are public, non-profit, or for-profit health care facilities that are located in rural, medically underserved areas. They use a team approach to provide outpatient primary care services — combining physicians with non-physician medical providers like nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
The awards rank every rural health clinic in the U.S. on five metrics: expense, utilization, staffing, productivity and leverage. Based on the total score earned by each clinic, the top five independent RHCs and the top five provider-based RHCs are recognized in each of five geographic locations. Each of these clinics earn “Lilies” and are considered the top performing rural health clinics in the country.
“We’re proud of Immediate & Primary Care at Stanford Medical Park and the work they do in and around Lincoln County,” said Ernie Scott, the director of the Kentucky Office of Rural Health. “Rural health clinics play a vital role in Kentucky and across the country —a point that’s become increasingly clear during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Without them and their dedicated staff, so many of our communities would lack access to the medical care that they need.”
The Kentucky Office of Rural Health (KORH), established in 1991, is a federal-state partnership authorized by federal legislation. The UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health, located in Hazard, serves as the federally-designated Kentucky Office of Rural Health. KORH works directly with clinicians, clinic and hospital administrators, policymakers and other stakeholders to improve the accessibility of health care services for the Commonwealth’s rural and underserved residents. The office connects communities and health care organizations to local, state and federal resources while working toward long-term solutions to financial, quality improvement and workforce challenges.