Many Hospitals In Small Minnesota Towns Need Urgent Repairs

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

MANY HOSPITALS IN SMALL MINNESOTA TOWNS NEED URGENT REPAIRS

AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune

Hospitals in small towns in outstate Minnesota need at least $81.5 million for urgent repairs, not including $14 million in repairs needed to comply with federal and state regulations, according to a survey.

The 2001 survey included 81 small hospitals serving remote, isolated towns in Minnesota. It was part of a national survey by the Center for Health Affairs at Project Hope, one of six federally funded U.S. rural research centers

Full story:

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/2924790.html

[Jenny P]

And I'm sure that there are many small hospitals across the country that are in the exact same boat.

So many of these hospitals are so necessary for their small communities; and the dedicated staffs that keep them going should be commended for thier efforts. The enormity of changes in hospitals in the past 40 years is beyond comprehension when you consider even just the electrical demands of a modern bedside of today against the electrical demands of 1 bedside 40 years ago. Added to this is the fact that many of these small hospitals are the only health care in these isolated communities, and the hospital may be the foundation of the whole area-- my hometown did not understand that until the hospital doors were closed for the final time!

[oramar]

When the goverment used to calculate medical reimbursements it used a formula that underpaid rural institutions.(they had some bizarre idea that it was cheaper to run rural hospital, also had something to do with fact that rural hospitals do not have much political clout in D.C.) I think I remember reading somewhere that this contributed to the dire straights and subsequent closing of many of these institutions. I wonder if that is still a problem?

[prn nurse]

Nurses aren't activists. Political parties and business CEO's say every letter received is given the value/weight of a hundred letter writers (the hundred who would say the same thing if they weren't too lazy to write). So, they do pay attention and react to mail.

Nurses could write their legislators, and their prez. But they won't.

Large city hospitals have staff--2 or 3 people who are doing nothing but writing for $$$, in the form of grants, federal matching $$, etc. Why give 100 Billion in foreign aid when our hospitals and briddges are falling apart?

'Cause no one is saying they care about the hospitals and bridges.

No one complains about the foreign aid either!