BONNE TERRE, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill Wednesday that will benefit rural hospitals. The hope is to increase healthcare for rural communities and help keep hospital doors open.
The bill's sponsor, Missouri Rep. Mike Henderson, described it as a 'win-win for everybody.' Parson said it was an 'awesome day for the community.'
"It's very difficult in rural Missouri for some of our hospitals. This is going to be additional funding for them that they are going to be able to draw down," he said.
The lobby inside BJC's Parkland Health Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri, was pretty packed for a Wednesday afternoon, as Parson signed copy after copy of House Bill 402.
Annette Schnabel, Parkland Health Center president, said the bill allows the hospital to remain in the community for emergency services and other outpatient services that their community need.
"We with rural communities, we are far enough away, and our people that come here are so far away from access to care. We have to be here to care for them," she said.
The new law will help rural hospitals improve healthcare access for their communities. Henderson said it just made sense to sponsor the bill.
"This bill will make sure they have access to federal funds to try to keep some of these facilities alive. The rural communities will get a 24-hour lab and pharmacy. Many times, they don't have that in rural areas," he said.
According to the Missouri Hospital Association, a total of 19 hospitals have closed across our state since 2014. Parson said this new law will help stop this troubling trend.
"I don't think there's any question about that. This gives them the ability to draw down federal money and keep doors open," he said.
According to Schnabel, the new bill will not only help with a workforce shortage but also give advanced practice registered nurses more independence. Prior to this bill, there were rules on how close a physician had to be to the nurse when they were working on the patient.
"In rural areas, a lot of times they may be the only provider, so the proximity to their collaborating physician is more difficult. This bill actually allows for more distance between them and for an ability to transfer to a new collaborating physician without losing continuity of care for nurse practitioners' patients," she said.
Henderson said Parson is addressing a critical need by putting pen to paper.
"Rural healthcare is becoming a crisis - not only in Missouri but across the country," he said.
A crisis could be averted because this law allows hospitals to keep their doors open.
"They need access to healthcare. We want to try to make sure we keep that available," Henderson said.
If hospitals are shut down in certain communities, then patients would have to drive nearly two hours for medical treatment. In an emergency situation, that could be a matter of life and death.
