U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper visited Southwest Memorial Hospital Wednesday to learn from local providers and officials in Cortez about challenges to rural health care.
He said the government ought to provide, as much as possible, the same quality of treatment to everybody, regardless of whether they live in a big city or a small town.
And he said a senator with firsthand experience of an issue is listened to more closely when discussing priorities with other politicians.
“Being in this room with all of you gives me a leg up in Washington,” said Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). “You’re giving me muscle to get what you need.”
The conference room was set up in a Socratic seminar style, which allowed everyone to voice concerns that were of top priority to them.
“When we’re all working together, great things can happen,” said the CEO of Southwest Health System, Joe Theine.
Cortez Mayor Rachel Medina first called attention to the hospital’s birthing center, and how it nearly closed last year. She recalled the strong community reaction when there were talks of closing it down, and how it remains threatened in a rural area with limited funding.
Eric Croke, an SHS board member, talked about building culture to attract and retain doctors in the area.
A welcoming recruitment process is something they’ve been prioritizing when it comes to providers, echoed Jennifer Gero M.D., the chief medical officer at Southwest Health System.
Things like showing prospective providers around town, hikes or community members even opening their homes all help encourage folks to work – and stay – with the hospital, Gero said.
Last year, the hospital had 24 open nursing positions. There are nine openings now – it’s improvement, but there’s still need for nine more staff, Theine said.
The group also highlighted the 340B Program, which helps communities provide outpatient drugs at reduced prices. Last year, the hospital put $1 million worth of medication into the community at no cost to recipients, thanks to the program, Theine said.
That amount is realistically more like $2 million or $3 million, since the hospital gets drugs at a discount, he said.
As far as that program goes, Hickenlooper said, “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about it going anywhere.”
If anything, they’ll try and clean it up, so affluent areas don’t misuse the funds.
Another major topic of discussion was Medicare Advantage.
Last year, Southwest Memorial Hospital estimated they lost about $1 million since not all Medicare Advantage claims were reimbursed.
Only 69% of these claims, on average, are correctly approved and paid, according to the Community Hospital Corp.
That lost money could have been used in the hospital for things like capital infrastructure improvements or higher wages, Theine said.
Medicare Advantage is not included in the Medicare cost report, which functions like an annual tax return, said Adam Conley, the chief financial officer at Southwest Health System.
At the end of each year, Medicare settles up with what they paid the hospital that year and what the hospital paid in, which results in the hospital returning or owing money.
So Medicare Advantage really puts Cortez at a disadvantage, Hickenlooper said.
Haley Leonard-Saunders, the director of public relations at Axis Health System, mentioned that funding for Community Health Centers plateaued in 2015.
That funding, a base grant through the Health Resources and Services Administration, hasn’t been adjusted for inflation in those nine years.
Instead, the only opportunity for more funding is in the form of competitive grants, Leonard-Saunders said.
“We’re competing with folks across the country just to provide basic care,” said Leonard-Saunders. “CHC’s are doing more with less … we need more money in the base grant to catch up.”
On the behavioral health side of things, Colorado is applying now for a one-year federal planning grant to bolster its ability to provide such health care through something called Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics.
These clinics essentially streamline and standardize community behavioral health and substance use care. They provide services to people regardless of where they live or their ability to pay, Leonard-Saunders said.
If the state wins some of these federal dollars, it’ll make Colorado eligible for up to four years of a Medicaid match for CCBHC’s around the state.
Federal funds would also help ensure the longevity of the CCBHC planning grant that Axis Health System has now, which is in its first of four years in Durango.
Another sector the group highlighted was bolstering its workforce, which they’re doing now.
Local high schools in Cortez, Mancos and Dolores – have teamed up with Pueblo Community College and Fort Lewis College as part of The Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative.
The partnership gives students the opportunity to get hands-on work experience in a lot of different fields via apprenticeships. Nursing is one.
Southwest Memorial Hospital also has an internship program with the same intention of on the ground education. And since there is so much going on at the hospital – Theine compared it to a city – it’s a great place to learn a lot of things, not just nursing.
Hickenlooper said he heard all the concerns and also sees the triumphs of the hospital here.
He also complemented the area’s beauty and how collaborative work is in a small town, where people know their neighbors.
“I could have a good quality of life here in Cortez,” said Hickenlooper, when musing about retirement. “I’m not so sure I’ll stay in Denver.”
