Valetine’s Day Tributes COMMUNITY, B2
Gallup Sun VOL 10 | ISSUE 463
www.gallupsun.com
February 9, 2024
Bills aim to help rural hospitals hang on
Current legislative bills are in the works to help struggling New Mexico hospitals, including the Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital. By Holly J. Wagner Sun Correspondent
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t’s not just Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital that’s struggling to stay afloat. Small, rural hospitals across the state and the country are in the same boat, trying to keep up financially with their metro counterparts. To try to fill the gap in New Mexico, legislators have introduced some bills this legislative session that would primarily help the state’s seven smallest hospitals, including RMCH. Some offer short-term relief; at least one could improve the financial footing for small hospitals for the long term. Local officials are holding their collective breath to see which bills will pass. What follows is a roundup of hospital
rescue bills and their status at press time. SENATE BILL 52 - EMERGENCY RURAL & FRONTIER HOSPITAL FUNDS Senate Bill 52, titled Emergency Rural & Frontier Hospital Funds, would set aside $51 million from the general fund to give hospitals with fewer than 35 beds a onetime emergency infusion of $3 million each. The bill was introduced Jan. 17 and sent to the Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee Jan. 18 and reported with a Do Pass recommendation Jan. 25. Bill sponsors are Sens. Pat Woods (R) and Randall Pettigrew (R). SENATE BILL 161 - ACUTE CARE FACILITIES SUBSIDES Senate Bill 161, titled Acute Care Facilities Subsidies, would create a fund
for state - or county - owned hospitals and independent not-for-profit hospitals with fewer than 30 beds to tap to cover losses incurred from providing emergency medical care; inpatient services related to maternity, child and family health; increased costs of medical malpractice and property insurance premiums; inpatient acute care; and Medicare spending reductions known as sequestration. The fund would get $50 million from the general fund, to be allocated over the next two fiscal years. To access funding of up to $3 million per year, the hospital applicants would have to have debt of more than $1 million – far below what most of the targeted rural hospitals are carrying – and less than 100 days of cash on hand. They would have to provide the Health Care Authority Department with a plan
to have 100 days cash on hand within five years without reducing services; and quarterly progress updates through 2026. The bill was introduced Jan. 22, passed the Senate on a 37-0 vote and sent to the House Health and Human Services committee Feb. 7 before going to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. Bill sponsors are state Sens. Roberto Gonzales (D) and Siah Correa Hemphill (D); cosponsors are Sens. George Muñoz (D), Woods, and Nancy Rodriguez (D). SENATE BILL 17 - HEALTH CARE DELIVERY & ACCESS ACT Senate Bill 17, dubbed the Health Care Delivery & Access Act, was introduced Feb. 5 and has the backing of the New Mexico Hospital Association. It would
See LEGISLATIVE HELP, Page A4
RMCH gets on the road to break even By Holly J. Wagner Sun Correspondent
This is what the new Regional Senior Center could look like. File Image
City receives funding for regional senior center
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he road back to financial and operational health for Rehoboth McKinley Chr istia n Hospital is long and fi led with challenges, but management is taking steps on a path of incremental change that will affect staffi ng, vendor contracts and eventually management. I nt er i m CEO Bi l l Patten is excited about measures the hospital’s board approved in its Jan. 31 meeting. Adding those to his ongoing efforts to reduce supply and service costs – which he has so far done to the tune of $38,000 a month – he hopes to get the hospital operating at break even on a day-today basis by May or June. T he ho s pit a l w i l l begin a search for a Chief Operations Officer, a new position. The sea rch will include internal and ex ter na l ca nd idates. Patten has asked staff to develop the job description, create a compensation package and develop the recruitment process in the hope of having the position fi lled within about six months. The changes patients are most likely to see are merging the MedicalSurgical Unit with the I nten sive Ca re Un it , which allows nurses to serve both patient categories more efficiently, Patten said; as well as some staffing changes t hat shou ld open up
By Molly Ann Howell Managing Editor Urologist Dr. Christopher Hoover mor e a pp oi nt me nt s . That’s good for patients and for the bottom line, as RMCH works to keep patients, and the revenue they generate, local. The board approved cont r a ct s w it h H ig h Deser t Physician Ma nagement for two loc a l prov ider s who already work at the hospital: RMCH’s only pediatrician, Dr. Michelle A. Stam-McLaren, and podiatrist Dr. Matthew Spiva , who also specializes in wound care. Under the new contract a r r a n gement s , mor e appointments shou ld be available with both doctors. “[Dr. Spiva is] very busy. From a production perspective, he is our number two physician,” Patten said. The demand stems from the high number of diabetes patients in the a rea. Because of the associated numbness and neuropathy in lower extremities, diabetes patients may injure themselves without even knowing it. “It makes what would
Podiatrist Dr. Matthew Spiva be simple wounds for you and I into complex wou nd s for d iabet ic patients … that wound t u r n s i nto a n i nju r y that just doesn’t want to heal,” Patten said. The board approved hiring a physician assista nt or nurse practitioner to help urologist Dr. Christopher Hoover, who works half-time and is booked out for four months, Patten sa id. The assistant will help ex pa nd the practice, which w ill a lso sup port surgical referrals. Hoover will move to a five-day-a-week contract to deal with the backlog. J-1 VISAS Another change is a plan to hire two or three physicia ns under the J-1 visa program, which gives doctors who want to emigrate to the U.S. preferential treatment when they commit to work in a rural or underser ved area for three years. The first new hire u nd e r t he e f fo r t i s expected to be addiction medicine and preventative medicine specialist
Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital’s only pediatrician Dr. Michelle A. Stam-McLaren Dr. Sher-Ali Kahn, who’s been in A lbuquerque wh i le h i s r e s idenc y papers are processed. Patten hopes to have him on board within a couple of months. “The addiction medicine will be such an important new element for ou r com mu n it y. We’re rea l ly excited about it,” Patten said. A cardiologist – or two, or three – is also on the RMCH wish list. “It would enhance ability in the emergency department, for hospitalists and surgeons,” Patten said. “They could get a local consult to determine that [patients] are OK for surgery.” Another high priority is a gastroenterologist, Patten said, because cu r rently a ma jor it y of G.I. work has to be transferred out of town. FLEX NURSES A mong t he mea sures is a plan to offer voluntary flex positions for three nurses, who would work in whatever
See RMCH, Page A4
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new senior center has been on the Gallup City Council’s priority list for a while now, but things are fi nally moving in the right direction. At the Jan. 16 and 30 city council meetings, the council accepted large amounts of funding from
See SENIOR CENTER , Page A4
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