After Wednesday’s announcement Newman Regional Health is considered an Anchor Hospital in the state’s Rural Health Transformation Program, Newman Regional Chief Executive Officer Cathy Pimple called the new designation a big step for rural health care for east-central Kansas. She also says there’s a sense of duty among hospital administrators as plans develop.
Details are pending, but Pimple says extra resources are coming to Newman Regional Health. Pimple says the state’s focus is on critical and essential services.
Kansas received over $220 million as part of the program — but Pimple says Newman Regional Health is on the clock, to a degree.
The stated Rural Health Transformation goals are to expand access, improve health outcomes and strengthen rural health systems. Pimple adds another: sustainability.
For Newman Regional Health, additional key aspects include a seat at statewide governance conversations at a time when collaboration with other regional or statewide health systems, including KU Med, one of its current strategic partners. Pimple says it’s an honor to be part of the statewide discussions, adding the state recognizes the need to have rural healthcare leaders helping to make decisions. Pimple also says the rural healthcare model is changing, so collaborations with nearby rural hospitals — Coffey, Greenwood and Morris counties — are needed to help rural healthcare stabilize and thrive.
