Huron Regional Medical Center

Spring 2015

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continued from page 1 2 welloneconnection w w w. h u r o n r e g i o n a l . o r g Quality Hometown Health Care Earlier this year, I went to Washington, D.C., to participate in a National Rural Health Association meeting with our national leaders. The message from those in attendance was, "Please stop the governmental assault on Critical Access Hospitals." In this issue, I'd like to alert you to how important the Critical Access Hospital program has been to rural citizens. I'd also like to share changes our lawmakers need to make to continue the safety net provided by Critical Access Hospitals and access to primary medical care. First, all safety net services, including those provided by hospitals and doctors, are biased toward urban communities. There are many social reasons why this has been historically true, yet probably the most fundamental is one of numbers versus priority. In a democratic society, numbers mean voters. When it comes to cost, numbers mean patient volumes. The more a service is utilized, the greater chance it has to be funded. Rural versus urban ambulance services are a good example. It would be rare for an urban ambulance not to have an emergency every day, while our rural services often have days spent on standby. The numbers don't look good for rural ambulance services, but when someone you love needs emergency services, it's not about numbers. Every citizen in our blessed nation is more than a number – each one is a priority, rural citizens as well as urban. The Critical Access Hospital program was created in 1997 to help balance urban and rural communities' healthcare resources for the safety of the public. It created a funding and regulatory flexibility to assist rural communities to maintain local access to health care. Basically, Medicare was required to pay the hospital what it spent to care for a Medicare patient. It also allowed certain flexibilities for emergency services so that rural hospitals could maintain safety net services. Currently there is a shift, due to healthcare reform, to drift back to a bias toward urban citizens – not intentionally, but because of the numbers. Forty-seven rural hospitals have closed, and 283 are on the brink of closure. Critical Access Hospitals represent 30 percent of our nation's hospitals yet only receive 5 percent of the Medicare budget. It also costs the nation an average of 2.5 percent less to provide medical care in a rural location than in an urban one. While I was in Washington, I asked our elected leaders to stop the 2 percent sequestration of our Medicare payments. I also asked that they stop the limitations on our flexibility created by requiring our primary physicians to manage patients under arbitrary restrictions. For example, a rural physician is now required to certify hospitalizations of no more than 96 hours. If this mandate is enforced, Medicare payment would be in jeopardy, regardless of the care received. I invite you to learn more about rural health care. Here are some great sources: The National Rural Health Association, The Rural Health Coalition, The Rural Assistance Center, The South Dakota Office of Rural Health, as well as your local healthcare facilities. David Dick President and CEO Huron Regional Medical Center Working to Keep Rural Health Care Healthy We're also here for the happy times, like when you're expanding your family – before, during and after the birth of your child. We're here for your non-emergency health care, including managing your long-term health with regular tests and screenings, getting you back in the game with rehabilitation after an injury, providing surgical care for all seasons of life, and keeping your family healthy day in and day out. At HRMC you're a name – a friend and neighbor – not a patient ID number. Part of Our Community "I can walk down the hall or into any department, and people will know my name," says Luckhurst. "HRMC is so ingrained in our community, and because of that, they have a vested interest in ensuring their patients get better as quickly as possible." Whether you develop appendicitis in the middle of the night or need to schedule a routine screening test, HRMC is here for you. We are dedicated to providing top-notch care for your entire family, from the youngest to the oldest, right here in our hometown. For more information about our personalized, quality care, visit www.huronregional.org or call us at (605) 353-6200. In June, HRMC will launch a brand new website. The completely revamped sitewill offer new features for visitors and afresh design that allows quickeraccess to important information.Check out www.huronregional.org today. HRMC's OnlineMakeover David Dick From the CEO

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