Sharp County Hospital Foundation Feasibility Study

i have to agree with you and judge brown. i am so afraid we will have more familys move away if no anytime you need it emergency room where the ambulance can take someone in a few minutes. right now if somebody needs quick attention from an emergency room and it is after hours then the ambulance must go so far away time is wasting and can mean the difference between life and death.

The idea of, and one I have been pounding the table on, of a 24/7 ER anywhere on the 4 lane in between Ash Flat and Hardy is the best bet going forward. It can be done and done soon.

By creating an emergency facility, patients can be stabilized and transferred to other facilities. Starting small and possibly adding beds later, would be a start, said Brown.

...and I would add that it MUST be 24/7.

How many times do I have to say it? Let's get this done!

http://www.areawidenews.com/story/1743998.html

Update:

http://www.areawidenews.com/story/1743998.html

Sandra,

Welcome!

I'm glad you had a good experience at Salem Hospital. There are many of us who would like to hear about the good and the not so good of their experiences at the hospitals in the area. Most of us are looking for ways to get a 24 hour ER out on the 4 lane. It really needs to happen as a hospital is the ultimate goal but we realize that's far off.

Thanks for your participation in the forum. Hope to hear from you again soon.

We had to take my aunt to Salem in January for a broken arm at 2 in the morning. Everything went very well and everybody was professional and courteous. A Er that was open right here wouldve been better but at least Salem is working ok. I think it's goiung to be a long time for that too happen but I hope not. This is better than Topics. Thanks

Mike,

I could tell you the story of someone who went to the ER with serious pneumonia and left treated chiefly for an earache. But let's not belabor the point. The place isn't adequate. We need a real hospital.

Chuck,

Your post has made my blood boil. This is exactly why we need action fast on a LEGITIMATE 24 hour fully staffed emergency room NOW and without fail! Good grief, that story should be told to anyone who will listen. Chuck,I know it's a bit too late, but why don't you let KAIT know about that disgusting tale you just told? They would love to hear about something like that.

Fact is, the only way to get something moving this big is to be the angry squeaky wheel and forget about who you offend, make mad, and who's toes you might step on. Folks, this is ridiculous and it's time for registered voters to start calling and writing their elected officials daily in Little Rock and Washington and get this jump started.

Chuck, I'm sorry that happened to you and your wife. It should never have to happen again. It ought to make people sick.

Hi Chuck,

Your story about how you and your wife were treated is a scandal. It is proof positive that something needs to be done NOW. We can't go on with this half-baked system anymore. I'm just thankful that your wife survived the inappropriate response. Again, it shows that the alleged emergency care we have now is not even close to cutting it.


Trout, what you point out with the claims is what killed the old CV hospital when it changed hands into the last management. The feasibility report goes into exactly that issue.

Mike, totally agree. We need to act right away. The demographics will sustained a properly operated high-tech 24/7 ER and even a real hospital. Maybe we start with the first and move to the second.

Hi Mike and members, I agree that we need to act now. What we have now is a joke. I am not sure if everyone is aware of this. If you have an emergency during weekday hours when the doctors are in office, if you do not have one of their doctors, they don't want to see you.
Two years ago my wife was having chest pains while shopping. We took her to the clinic within minutes. I ran in and asked them for help, as she was still in the car. The receptionist had to ask a nurse, who asked if we had a doctor in their office. Then she told me all they could do was call an ambulance. They would not even come out and check her. I now know if you get the person in the door, they have to take some action. But given my experience with them that day, I would have to question just how much help they would be. That's a shame

FYI, last october my wife was transported to the FCH and was treated in the ER and released. The ambulance service filed with insurance within a few days, FCH took three (3) months to file and one claim they filed twice. Now I understand why they are in bad financial way. If they do all their claims that way no wonder they are in money trouble.

This is the big issue of the day for the village and all of northern Sharp County. It must be fixed! There is no other option that we like if it doesn't get fixed, period.

Let's get a 24 hour ER on the 4 lane now! To the elected leaders; Forget the talk, forget the excuses. It's time to make this happen and it needs to happen now.

Hi Forum,

Often in the hospital discussion, we hear concerned expressed about the uninsured population. Pages 46-47 of the Feasibility Report show how are local data is actually favorable to several other Counties in AR.


UNINSURED INDIVIDUALS

Self-Pay

Self-pay patients include the population that is not covered by health insurance. As the name implies, these patients pay the costs of medical expenses out of pocket. Typically, hospitals “charge” these patients a higher fee than what they actually expect to collect from the

organized payers described above. If an individual does not have adequate resources to pay the bill, providers can secure payment in a number of ways, including extended payment plans and liens on property. Hospitals may also have policies regarding charity care for those of little means. Some states require that hospitals not charge patients who meet stated eligibility standards. In other states, it is left to the hospitals to set their own policies.

*****
The following table was constructed from data made available by the US Census Bureau as of 2005 to show the number of persons covered by Medicare, receiving Social Security and SSI payments. These persons tend to have public payer medical coverage. SSI recipients are eligible for Medicaid in the State of Arkansas.

Fulton Independence Izard Lawrence Randolph Sharp
Medicare
3,029 6,629 3,354 4,164 3,733 4,999
Social Security
3,495 8,205 4,175 4,555 4,865 6,075
SSI
489 1,236 507 841 722 790
TOTAL
7,013 16,070 8,036 9,560 9,320 11,864

The most recent population estimate by the Census Bureau as of July 1, 2006 estimates 17,963 persons in Sharp County. The 11,864 of the Sharp County residents with government assistance/payments makes up 66% of the total population. This gives Sharp an advantage in collecting compensation for the cost of services rendered. The Arkansas Department of Human Services reported for the state fiscal year (SFY) 2008 for Sharp County the following data showing the county’s Medicaid coverage:

ARKids 1,253; Women’s Health 1,041; Other Medicaid 8,748; Total Eligibles 11,042


The 11,042 persons with Medicaid coverage make up 61% of the total county population. Again, the number of persons covered by Medicaid offers additional availability of recovering compensation for cost of services rendered.

Hi Forum, I think it would be worthwhile to revisit the hospital feasibility study. A lot of high quality work was done in this study which can speak to much we have been talking about generally in terms of growth potential in the area and economic development. If you haven't had a chance yet to look through the report it is really worth doing. The link to the study is in the posts below. This is a very valuable document to look at trends we have been considering concerning the future. Thanks to the hospital commission for all Its work.

Hi Forum,

I want to thank Chuck for his very thoughtful reflections on the importance of getting a real hospital to our area not simple as an urgent matter of healthcare but also as an economic anchor for jobs and to keep young people from starting their lives elsewhere with better prospects. The meeting with Senator Lincoln is very important and the Senator needs to leave with firm commitments to Sharp County and not merely vague "we'll look into it" stuff. I agree with Chuck as well that Lincoln has something to prove to AR because of her wishy-washy support of healthcare reform at a time when every vote was needed. She held out way too long at a critical time and AR is in even greater need than most States of access for all.

I also want to thank Mike for his links. The healthcare report is well worth the read. It has many important details on the issues of income, uninsured, and taxes. The ambulance report is also an eye-opener because it too takes up the issue of the economic impact of the uninsured and underinsured.

The Sharp County Hospital Foundation deserves our thanks for their very hard work and the high quality of this report.

Re: RECENT ELECTION

Hi All, After I read the feasibility study done by the Sharp County Hospital Foundation, I decided to enter a post from the other forum.
The foundation did an excellent job with a great study. It was an incredible effort on their part. After reading it, we all can see that the need for this to take place is very real. On Tuesday of next week 8/31/10 Senator Blanche Lincoln is conducting a tele town hall meeting. Anyone interested in this meeting should contact her, and be a part of it. It would be great if we could get someone to question her on this study, and ask her what she can do to help us. We all need to contact our Senators and Representatives, and let them know the importance of this issue.


by Chuck on Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:54 pm


It seems frustrating to me that we have a Sharp
County Hospital Foundation, and Sharp County has been singled out as the
first county in Arkansas to get a Rural Economic Development Plan. I am
not trying to put down anyone, as I have the utmost respect for their
efforts to get a hospital here, and create economic development. I know
the rural development committee has come up with some great ideas, but I
believe a Sharp County Hospital, as large a project as it might be,
would give us the most from an opportunity that might be slipping away.
It would be a boom to county as a whole. With job creation, expanding
our population, expanding the need for services, this could be the
answer many are looking for. Giving our youth an opportunity to further
educate themselves here, and have the ability for them to stay in this
county, for good paying professional jobs.
I was very disappointed
in Blanche Lincoln's approach to the need for health care reform. We are
one of the poorest states in the country. We need reform here. She was a
major player in the senate finance committee, and one of the last
holdouts until the final vote. We now have a watered down version that
is doomed to failure. Then she had the nerve to do a commercial saying
she cast the deciding vote on healthcare, because it was the "right
thing" to do.
I recommend the Sharp County Hospital Foundation and
The Rural Economic Development Committee have sit down with our
Senator. They could propose a hospital development plan that would truly
help our county and surrounding areas, with quality job growth.
Let her consider our options for growth and see if she can do the "right thing", and help us make this happen.

Link to new story on ER, hospital, and the local ambulance service.

http://www.areawidenews.com/story/1657586.html

Mike

The Sharp County Hospital Foundation has sent an email to all on their email list that the Feasibility Study performed for the hospital is now ready and can be accessed on their website at

http://www.sharpcountyhospital.com/

Direct links in pdf and Word format are at

http://www.sharpcountyhospital.com/uploads/Sharp_County_Hospital.pdf

http://www.sharpcountyhospital.com/uploads/Sharp_County_Hospital.docx

The pdf file is 67 pages and there is extensive data about Sharp County.

The Foundation can be contacted at info@SharpCountyHospital.com