Comparing Critical Access Hospital Physician Recruitment and Retention Factors Across Three WWAMI States

Critical access hospitals in Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska, North Dakota and Wisconsin will have recently participated in the Critical Access Hospital Community Apgar Program (CAH CAP). The Critical Access Hospital Community Apgar Questionnaire utilized in CAH CAP has identified 50 factors related to recruitment and retention of physicians to rural communities. This roundtable discussion will examine and compare results from three WWAMI states (Idaho, Wyoming and Alaska). Common critical factors related to physician recruitment will be identified and differences in the relative importance of factors across state environments will be discussed. Opportunities to use these results to share best practices across critical access hospitals will be addressed. Regional WWAMI education, policy and research initiatives can be developed from these data to address common themes to better focus rural physician recruitment efforts.