RRH joins Central Valley roundtable with Dr. Oz

Ridgecrest Regional Hospital CEO Jim Suver joined other healthcare leaders in Kern County for a roundtable discussion led by Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The event was held at Kern Medical Center, and co-hosted by Congressmen Vince Fong and David Valadao.

“Although RRH has some unique challenges in sustaining quality access to healthcare — primarily related to our geographic isolation and our role in supporting a military installation critical to national security — those of us serving the rural population in California are united in protecting services to our patients,” said Suver.

Dr. Oz opened the meeting with a quote by Hubert Humphrey, “The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in shadows of life.”

“Medicaid is certainly one of those programs that protects the vulnerable, and while I understand the importance of sustainability, we will continue to advocate on behalf of everyone who needs healthcare services,” said Suver.

“I am grateful to Dr. Oz for taking the time to come hear our concerns about how those services could be disrupted, and I especially want to thank Congressmen Fong and Valadao for their commitment to ensuring our communities will not lose our critical access to healthcare.”

Pictured Congressmen Vince Fong with RRH CEO Jim Suver

The Rural Health Transformation Act provided $233 million in funding for California to distribute to rural and remote providers.

“Because of our unique profile, we are asking CMS to work with the state to ensure we are fully leveraging cost-based reimbursement, wage-index adjustments, low-volume hospital policies and other rural payment tools,” said Suver.

“While we are eager to increase efficiencies wherever they are possible, we also know that we must maintain sustainable 24/7 emergency department access and critical service lines for the health and safety of our community.”