Using Data to Close Rural Health Gaps: How Titus Regional Medical Center is Leading the Way
About the Customer
Titus Regional Medical Center (TRMC) is a community hospital in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, serving rural communities across Northeast Texas. With no dedicated public health department in 26 out of 35 counties in the region, TRMC plays a critical role in addressing local healthcare needs, advocating for funding, and improving health outcomes.
The Challenge
With no public health infrastructure in most of Northeast Texas, TRMC needed a data-driven approach to assess critical health access, secure funding, and engage the community in meaningful health initiatives.
Limited Public Health Infrastructure: 26 of 35 counties lacked a public health department, leaving hospitals responsible for broader public health efforts.
High Uninsured Rates & Chronic Conditions: A 31% uninsured rate and significant burdens from chronic diseases created major care access challenges.
Difficulty Identifying Disparities: Without clear, localized data, TRMC struggled to effectively communicate healthcare gaps to stakeholders, grant providers, and government agencies.
Funding Limitations: A lack of compelling data made it difficult to secure state and federal grants for preventive health programs.
The Solution
TRMC partnered with Metopio to transform rural health data into actionable insights, driving new opportunities for funding, community engagement, and operational improvements.
Benchmarking Against Rural Health Peers: TRMC was able to create a Texas rural health benchmark comparing mortality rates, chronic conditions, and provider shortages against their own peers, as opposed to urban areas that skewed their assessments. This helped them provide clear visualizations and reports to highlight gaps and advocate for funding.
Community Engagement & Coalition Building: Insights from Metopio’s data supported the formation of the Titus County Wellness Coalition, a 40-member community group focused on improving public health, and helped identify underserved populations — such as the local Vietnamese community — leading to targeted, culturally competent health initiatives.
Grant & Funding Support: TRMC used Metopio’s visualizations to strengthen grant applications, securing resources for community health programs. They also advocated for state-level support, presenting data-backed justifications for funding critical rural healthcare.
Operational & Regulatory Compliance: Metopio equipped leadership with real-time, easy-to-interpret data, enabling quick, informed decision-making without reliance on large health system delays. Metopio’s analytics supported Joint Commission inquiries, ensuring TRMC’s compliance.
Metopio’s Impact
After integrating Metopio’s analytics tools, TRMC transformed its approach to rural healthcare, moving from reactive treatment to proactive, data-driven interventions.
Stronger Grant Applications: Data-driven, customized insights clearly demonstrated healthcare and funding gaps, improving TRMC’s ability to secure financial support.
Board Engagement & Strategic Focus: Metopio equipped leadership with compelling data insights, driving a renewed strategy focus.
Improved Community Health Planning: The TRMC team was able to identify key health needs and engage local stakeholders to develop targeted solutions.
Regulatory Compliance Success: TRMC leveraged data insights within Metopio to meet mandatory reporting requirements and satisfy Joint Commission inquiries.
What TRMC Says About Metopio
By using Metopio’s data-driven insights, TRMC improved community engagement, strengthened grant applications, and transformed its approach to proactive healthcare, securing funding and driving operational improvements.
““Exposure to this data has transformed our perspective on health equity, deepening our understanding of diverse community needs and reinforcing our commitment to improving healthcare outcomes in rural Texas.” ”
Is your organization ready to use data to improve community health? Schedule your customized tour of Metopio today!