HOSPITAL road sign from Adobe Stock via GDNS.
CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. – Rural America has long struggled with access to health care.
In South Dakota, a federal grant is seen as a way to help providers become more viable down the road.
South Dakota is one of four states to receive rural health transformation funds that could better position smaller hospitals and other facilities to serve patients. The state’s Department of Social Services has been awarded up to $5 million in federal funding to help systems implement changes.
Shelly Ten Napel, chief executive of the Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas (CHAD), said it could bring innovation to areas that badly need it.
“We really do need to work together and think about how we can shore up that rural health infrastructure,” she said, “how we can sustain it over the long term.”
The centerpiece is switching to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement structures that focus less on patient volume, which allows providers to be more flexible with their services. Program officials have said it ensures stability amid a wave of hospital closures in the United States. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform has estimated that about one in four of South Dakota’s rural hospitals is at risk of closing.
The program also allows hospitals and clinics to purchase technology, such as telehealth equipment. In addition to maintaining services such as primary care, Napel said there’s room for growth in other areas, such as maternity care.
“Are we really wrapping around those pregnant moms and those new babies,” she asked, “to really make sure that babies get off to a good start?”
Whether it’s newborns or older adults, Ten Napel said paving the way for healthier outcomes in rural areas can keep costs down. She added that CHAD facilities prioritize bringing value to the healthcare system. State officials have said implementation begins in early 2023.
(Mike Moen, GDNS, contributed this report.)
