Blog by W. Stephen Love, President/CEO, DFW Hospital Council

I grew up in rural Virginia. My hometown had less than 1,000 residents and we were thankful for our rural hospital.

Rural hospitals today are generally classified into four categories, including Critical Access Hospital (CAH), Sole Community Hospital (SCH), Medicare-Dependent Hospital (MDH) and Rural Referral Center (RRC). With fiscal cliffs and budget reductions in Washington and Austin, the viability of small and rural healthcare providers remains in jeopardy. In rural communities, very much akin to my own hometown, the hospital represents the town’s largest employer and is essential to the economic well-being of the region.

The DFW Hospital Council has 88 member hospitals covering 18 counties. We are blessed with active members in not just urban, but several rural markets. All hospitals face coverage and access issues, sequestration cuts and continued reimbursement reductions for the delivery of healthcare. Especially hard-pressed are our rural hospital members.
Approximately four million people live in rural Texas, representing 15 percent of our state’s population, but covering 85 percent of our vast geography. Most of these communities have high rates of uninsured, high percentages of Medicare and Medicaid patients and many residents with chronic diseases. Since all components of the Affordable Care Act were not implemented in Texas including Medicaid Expansion, these hospitals particularly feel the financial strain with little or no margin to operate within their communities.

Emergency management personnel describe a “Golden Hour” after heart attacks, trauma and stroke when treatment is urgently needed to save a life. Our rural hospitals are indispensable in stabilizing patients who otherwise might die en route to an urban facility many miles away.

You could call this the “Golden Hour” for our rural hospitals, severely injured since our state did not implement all advantages of the Affordable Care Act. Time is running out for our rural hospitals in Texas and we must advocate on their behalf. People’s lives depend upon it.