’s
February 17, 2017
The Pulse
Your regular check up on SCKMC activities Share your thoughts, story ideas, and comments by e-mail to claytonp@sckrmc.org.
SCKMC Staff Take to Film
Watson Returns to Topeka
Several members of the SCKMC team had the opportunity to be interviewed on camera this week. Two separate film crews were in-house to get a one-on-one perspective from our physicians and staff on a variety of subjects. The Ark City Daily Bytes was on site Tuesday to begin production of the next segment of their online video series – City Matters. Jenie McGee conducted interviews with Diane Ray, Dietitian; Holly Harper, CFO; Dr. Perry Lin, OB/GYN; and Virgil Watson, CEO. Each episode of the video series will focus on one or two questions that are of interest to the community. The hospital segments included a wide variety of topics ranging from the financial position of the organization to health specific advice. SCKMC’s participation in “City Matters” will be ongoing with new topics scheduled for production approximately every four to six weeks. “We are excited to be part of this series,” said Clayton Pappan, SCKMC’s Director of Marketing. “It is a great opportunity to reach out to an audience that may not be familiar with all the services we have to offer, and to have our own local experts answer some of the more common questions people have about healthcare.” The second camera crew to be on site was a production company called “Scenic Road” who is working with the Kansas Health Foundation to film that organizations video newsletter. Virgil Watson was featured for his thoughts on the expansion of KanCare. “KanCare is a Kansas produced program, for Kansas citizens. We did not choose to expand Medicaid with the Affordable Care Act, as a result of that we have missed out on $1 million a day in reimbursement from the Federal government,” Watson said during the interview. Watson has been an advocate for KanCare expansion, making his case on both local and State levels as to how the program would benefit SCKMC and the community. “My personal feeling is that everybody deserves healthcare. It is a downward spiral for everyone if we don’t take care of the people who are in the most need. If we wait until they get so sick that they need the ER, then this country will start to see the devastating effects of not having the resources available, through expanded Medicaid, that we need to be able to take care of our population,” Watson said.
On the heels of speaking before the Kansas Health and Human Services committee in support of expanding KanCare, Virgil Watson, SCKMC’s CEO, is returning to Topeka once again. This time Watson will be addressing the Kansas House Committee on Taxation in hopes of having Cowley County designated as a Rural Opportunity Zone. Rural Opportunity Zones are counties within the State that qualify for special assistance to individuals moving to that area from outside of Kansas. For those that qualify, Kansas income tax is waived for up to five years. In addition the State offers up to $15,000 in student loan repayments. Watson views the program as a needed tool to assist with physician recruitment. “The financial strength of a medical facility is based upon an appropriate foundation of primary care providers. As we struggle to recruit new providers to our community, we look for every available benefit which can be used as a selling point. A five-year State income tax waiver is a significant benefit when considering the salary range of most physicians. In addition, many of the physicians coming out of residency carry with them student loan debt in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Any student loan assistance is seen favorably and is nothing short of a requirement by many physician candidates,” Watson stated in a letter provided to the House Committee. Watson will be speaking before the committee on February 20th, along with others from the area including Kerri Falletti, Director of Cowley First – Cowley County Economic Development Partnership. “This designation would give us a tool that 77 other Kansas Counties have when recruiting workforce to their community,” Falletti said. For more information on the ROZ program visit the Kansas Department of Commerce online at www.kansascommerce.com.
The Pharm Forum with Homer Mah, D.Ph. The FDA has recently approved a new medication to treat chronic idiopathic constipation. This new medication is called Trulance (plecanatide) and is given by mouth once daily. It works in the upper GI tract to stimulate intestinal fluid secretion and support regular bowel function. Trulance is not approved for use in patients who are less than 18 years of age. The most common side effect is diarrhea. People who experience severe diarrhea while taking this medication should contact their health care provider.
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We are 6401 Patterson Parkway, Arkansas City 6401 Patterson Parkway, Arkansas City
www.sckmc.org
(620) 442-2500