Commission Working to Secure Grant County’s Healthcare Future

Category: Editorials Editorials
Published: 26 March 2018 26 March 2018

For 130 years, Gila Regional Medical Center (GRMC) and its predecessors have provided Grant County with trusted, quality care. The Grant County Board of Commissioners has never wavered in its commitment to ensuring our region has access to local, high-quality healthcare.

From the County Commission’s 1970 purchase of the land where GRMC sits today to the Commission’s naming and opening of the hospital in 1983, the County Commission has always worked to do the right thing for our community’s healthcare future.

Today, the Board of County Commissioner’s role and responsibility in securing GRMC’s future is to ensure the best ownership structure is in place for GRMC to continue providing strong, local access to a wide range of important healthcare services.

The keys to a strong healthcare future for Grant County include long-term financial stability for GRMC and an ability for the hospital to make smart investments to grow access to services

Across the country and right here in New Mexico, rural hospitals like GRMC are considering if they should remain independent, or if partnering with another health system is the best way to secure the future of local healthcare.

Last year, the commission began a thorough process to explore this question for our County.

Our work so far has focused on exploring the financial, operational and market factors that determine GRMC’s ability to maintain current services and have impact on GRMC’s capacity to grow its services in the future.

Here is an update on our work to date:

• Grant County Board of Commissioners formed GRMC Forward Taskforce to study options for the hospital’s future. To ensure a variety of opinions are heard, the taskforce includes representatives from the GRMC Board of Directors, GRMC physicians, Grant County and the board of commissioners.

• Regularly information is provided at County Commission meetings regarding the ongoing work to explore whether remaining independent or entering into a partnership is the best way to:

o Provide resources needed to enhance and expand facilities and services so we can increase access for our patients.

o Recruit and retain physicians, nurses and other caregivers to Grant County so our patients can receive the care they need here at home.

o Ensure the financial security that GRMC needs to continue providing our patients with quality, affordable and accessible healthcare for generations to come.

o Strengthen GRMC’s population health programs and improve the overall health of Grant County residents.

o Provide first-class cancer care in Grant County.

• Open letter to the community runs in the Silver City Sun-News, Silver City Daily Press and Grant County Beat outlining the exploration process and the goals of our work.

• To keep the public engaged and informed, GRMCForward.org is launched. The website gives members of the community a chance to learn more about the work being done and ask questions.

We are continuing to thoughtfully explore all of the available options in order to make a fully informed decision. It is important to understand the County Commission has made no decisions based on its work to-date.

Our ultimate goal is to make sure that GRMC is in the best possible position for a strong future. Ensuring financial stability and continued access to a broad range of high-quality services are of the utmost importance to the board of commissioners.

 

Alicia Edwards                                                                 Brett Kasten
Grant County Commissioner                                          Grant County Commissioner
GRMC Forward Taskforce Member                               GRMC Forward Taskforce Member

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