Table 1. Comparison of Rural Hospital Networks in the United States: Calendar Years 1989 and 1991.

Characteristic	1989 (n =114)		1991 (n=85)
	Mean	Standard Deviation	Mean	Standard Deviation
Average Age of Network (Years)	5.8	7.4	6.8	5.6
Average Number of Members (Total)	15.1	17.2	15.7	17.5
Organizational Structure (Percent of Networks)
Board of Directors	61	—	75	—
Paid Director	45	—	60	—
Budget	65	—	95	—
Sources of Funding (Percent of Networks)
Member Dues	35	—	42	—
Grant Funding	26	—	46	—
Revenues From Activities	26	—	48	—
Other Revenue Sources	25	—	29	—
Average Number of Activities	5.9	2.5	4.6	2.5
Type of Activities (Percent of Networks)
Physician or Staff Education	80	—	66	—
Shared Services	81	—	56	—
Legislative or Regulatory Issues	66	—	46	—
Recruitment of Medical or Professional Staff	52	—	54	—
Management or Financial Services	46	—	39	—
Shared Staff	47	—	33	—
Marketing, Community Relations	61	—	38	—
Quality Assurance, Credentialing	39	—	44	—
Acute-Care Bed Conversions	18	—	15	—
Specialty Clinics	44	—	34	—
Regional or Strategic Planning	55	—	38	—

NOTE: Four networks in the 1989 survey could not be contacted in the 1991 survey.

SOURCE: Moscovice, I., University of Minnesota, 1995.