North Dakota Flex Team Receives National Award

Jul 16, 2026

The University of North Dakota (UND) Center for Rural Health's (CRH) North Dakota Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program was recently honored with a national award. During the 2026 Flex Program Reverse Site Visit (RSV) in Washington, D.C., in July, the North Dakota Flex Program was given the Strengthening Quality Reporting and Improvement Award, out of 45 Flex programs across the country. The award was presented by Thomas Engels, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Recognizing Excellence

The awards recognize state Flex Programs whose efforts have set a standard of excellence or innovation for other states. Identified by the federal Flex Program partners of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Technical Assistance and Services Center, Flex Monitoring Team, and the Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance Resource Center, these awards highlight achievement in four areas, including quality improvement.

The North Dakota Flex Program was recognized for its diligent work to improve how North Dakota Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) collect information around home medications, mental status, and tests done in the emergency departments before transferring the patient to a different facility, reducing adverse healthcare events. This is the first year this award has been given.

"Our team has worked really hard," said Jody Ward, Flex program director, "to ensure we are providing North Dakota CAHs with the proper tools, resources, and education to allow them to provide the best quality of healthcare across the state. Whether someone is visiting a healthcare provider in the southwest or the northeast, we know they will receive the same high-quality level of care. We are really proud of that."

Serving North Dakota

The North Dakota Flex Program has been serving North Dakota CAHs for over 25 years. Housed within the Center for Rural Health, at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, the program assists rural hospitals and helps to improve access to health services in rural communities.

"This award recognizes the North Dakota Flex Program's impact in improving rural quality of care," said Jacob Warren, director of CRH. "Every day this team supports all 36 of North Dakota's Critical Access Hospitals and all 55 of the Rural Health Clinics to enhance their quality improvement, financial and operational improvement, and rural EMS improvement efforts. This is rural health in action."

Flex Program Reverse Site Visit

The focus of the Flex RSV is to provide state Flex Programs with topical learning environments that emphasize collaboration, best practices, and shared experiences. Participants are encouraged to engage with the content and each other to broaden their impact on both Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) and the Flex Programs.