TORCH - Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals

Updated 4/16/08

Highlights

Super 2008 TORCH Annual Conference

Langley 2008 Gordon Russell Honoree

TORCH Media Services Award

Conference Sponsors

...and much more!

Frontline
Latest issue now available online.

Latest News Clips
for Members. Contact TORCH for your username & password.

Health Data Check

Benchmarking Login

HDC Online Tour

Data Entry Forms

The Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals was founded in 1990 and is the leading advocate and resource for member hospitals. TORCH is the only hospital association in Texas dedicated to the needs of rural and community hospitals. Big enough to help... Small enough to care.

For Alliance Hospitals >>

TALHO IT Staff Contact Information
for TORCH ("Alliance") Member Hospitals

TALHO Helpdesk – 512-528-9691
Email the IT staff at admins@talho.org

After-hours support is currently assigned to the TALHO project manager, Jason Phipps, who may be reached at 512-663-6209.

TORCH Wellness Challenge >>

Super Hospitals have happy, healthy, productive employees. By proactively addressing wellness, Super Hospitals can save money, improve morale, reduce turnover, promote their brand and reinforce their role as a leading wellness resource in their service area. TORCH has partnered with the LoneStart Wellness Initiative so your hospital can realize the many benefits of a proven employee wellness challenge.

Download the TORCH Wellness Challenge flier for more >>

In Memoriam >>

TORCH President/CEO from 1990-2006

John Boff passed away on July 22nd, 2006. On that day, rural hospitals in Texas and all across the country lost a true champion. However, his many achievements and contributions to the profession live on. The Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals is a major part of John’s enduring legacy and we here at TORCH want to thank you all for your continued support. Everyone knows that TORCH truly was John’s pride and joy, so we will continue to dedicate our efforts to John's memory and to his loving family.

To honor his memory, contributions may be made to the John F. Boff Endowed Fellowship Fund, payable to the HSC Foundation, and sent to the Texas A&M University Health Science Center, School of Rural Public Health, 1266 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843.

Features >>

Legal Line - A Legal Update for the Members of TORCH

The Fall 2007 edition of Legal Line from D&W addresses patients' rights, a new CMS rule, EMTALA On-Call requirements, and an advisory opinion on ASCs.

CLICK HERE to download the Legal Line (.pdf) >>

TORCH/TMSI Corporate Member Information

The website now includes a listing of all the TORCH Corporate Members. On the Corporate Member page, is a listing of vendors by category. Please remember, detailed information on all of these companies appears in the TORCH Member Directory and is updated in Frontline.

CLICK HERE to view our Corporate Members >>

The website also includes a detailed listing of TORCH/TMSI Endorsed Vendors. This is a select group of vendors that have been carefully reviewed by TORCH Management Services, Inc. and each has been highly recommended by Texas rural hospitals.

CLICK HERE to view the TORCH/TMSI Endorsed Vendors >>

Health Data Check

HDC is a comprehensive hospital benchmarking program developed by rural hospitals, for rural hospitals. The system is designed to provide accurate results with little effort for today’s busy rural hospital executives. An experienced user can enter a month’s worth of data in less than a half hour and detailed reports can be prepared in a matter of seconds. Already, 28 TORCH member hospitals have signed up.
For more information on HDC contact Larry Krupala at 361-275-3595 or lkrupala (at) nodial.net.

The HDC ONLINE TOUR can now be found to the right >>

Partner Organizations >>

TORCH Management Services, Inc.
TMSI provides services directly, as well as indirectly, through a cadre of screened consultants knowledgeable in their field on an economical fee-for-service basis. Using the specialized services of TMSI brings the benefit of professional consultants experienced in rural healthcare to provide support to administrators and hospital staff.
• Executive Positions Available

Texas Association of Rural Health Clinics
TARHC provides information and services designed for the special needs of rural health clinics in the state. The association serves both hospital-based and freestanding rural health clinics. TARHC is a valuable resource for physicians and staff who operate RHCs in rural Texas.

Texas Hospital Home Health Association
The Texas Hospital Home Health Association focuses on the special issues, needs, and concerns affecting a hospital home health program's ability to provide home health care services in their community. The association serves hospital-based home health programs of all sizes in both rural and urban settings.

The Community Hospital Foundation of Texas

The Community Hospital Foundation of Texas is a

501(c)(3) organization and an affiliate of TORCH. The Foundation's mission is to advance the cause of rural hospitals by developing services and seeking funds from public and private organizations that are currently not available to TORCH. This new foundation (CHFTX) has been created out of what used to be called the Texas Rural Hospital Telecommunication Alliance (TRHTA).

the Alliance
The Community Hospital Foundation of Texas will continue to manage the information network that was created by TRHTA. It will hereby be known as 'the Alliance.' Today. the Alliance provides I.T. services, including PACS, encrypted email, and much more. Alliance services continue to steadily improve thanks to the many new partnerships that have been created.

WWW www.torchnet.org

For more information about TORCH, contact:

Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals

P.O. Box 14547, Austin, TX 78761

512-873-0045

torch (at) torchnet.org