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Struggling Kansas Hospitals Ponder Potential Solution: Fewer Beds
Struggling Kansas Hospitals Ponder Potential Solution: Fewer Beds
Kansas Considers New Rural Emergency Hospital Designation Share this story Published February 24th, 2021 at 6:00 AM Above image credit: Pending legislation in Kansas could provide relief for struggling rural hospitals by providing them more flexibility in the services they provide. (File Photo)
Here’s one possible solution for financially struggling rural hospitals eliminate the beds.
The idea is gaining traction in the wake of new federal legislation approved in December that would allow for designation of “rural emergency hospitals.” Similar legislation is now making its way through the Kansas legislature.
In 2019, northwest Kansas-based Decatur Health was staring into the possibility of shutting its doors. It got really bad, where we were not sure how we were going to financially be able to make it out through the month, said Chief Operations Officer Kristopher Mathews. I think we were down to double digits of cash, like 10 days of cash on hand.
Like many small rural hospitals, it was financially struggling. Recent studies show around 75 rural hospitals in Kansas are operating at a financial loss and in danger of closing.
Desperate, Mathews became one of the first to look into a new model developed by the Kansas Hospital Association. It s situations like his that spurred KHA in 2012 to begin researching a new, more sustainable way of delivering services in rural areas.
P.J. Griekspoor
HOSPITALS STRUGGLE: The Kansas Hospital Association has been working to create a new model for the delivery of care in an ongoing effort to try to help rural hospitals survive as the population of rural Kansas dwindles and ages. Next month, a series of conversations will begin to help communities make decisions about the effort to keep health care services available. As rural hospitals struggle to avoid closure, a new delivery-of-care model offers hope.
It’s no secret that health care in rural Kansas is facing serious challenges and small community hospitals are struggling to keep the lights on. In the coming weeks, a series of virtual events will foster community discussions that can help pave the way for changes that will allow more effective, efficient delivery of health care in rural communities.