Alternative (Non-Government) Ways To Improve Rural and Underserved Hospitals
Article written by Emil Z.
Alternative or should we say creative ways to improve rural healthcare.
Last year I was involved in research about rural healthcare and how specialist physicians are scarce in those areas. In that paper, we discussed all the current challenges rural and underserved hospitals or healthcare centers face, the possible ways to improve them, and what it takes to do just that [1]. As I was educating myself more on various research papers on underserved healthcare, it finally got to me - that we certainly can improve the badly damaged underserved medicine through alternative ways; the creative ways that don’t involve much legislature and politics. So let me explain it to you now!
There is a very popular medical center in Los Angeles, California, which is called - Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Some of you probably heard about it, and some probably never did, which I certainly doubt. But this hospital stands as a 501-C category organization and is therefore considered a non-profit organization. A businessman named Kaspare Cohn founded this hospital in 1902 and at that time the capacity was only 12 beds. But now it's a 958-bed multi-specialty academic health science center with the latest state-of-the-art technology. What actually made this hospital so famous, is the closest proximity to the Hollywood and all-stars that live in Los Angeles who visited, donated, and even pioneered some of the finest work of art that is gracefully displayed there. Starting from Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Kourtney Kardashian, and Pink to the infamous rapper C. Wallace also known as Notorious B.I.G who died in that hospital [2]. All these names made this health science center the front page of every single media outlet that you can think of.
As I was reading about it, everything finally made sense to me - how eventually we can make rural healthcare work better. You see, all celebrities and A-listers of Hollywood want one thing when they get famous, and that one thing is privacy. Hospitals in LA, NY, Miami, and any major cities practically give zero privacy to famous people to get the peaceful treatment they deserve the most.
So here is my pitch, what if we invest more money into rural health facilities and then market it to the celebrities as a “secluded” destination to get the best and quietest healthcare they can get in the entire country? Of course, I don't doubt the ability of paparazzi to reach them even on the edge of planet Earth, however, it brings a valid point of peace and tranquility which I firmly believe they will buy into. Not only hospitals will be interested in this offer but private investors themselves, which can bring them to the point of striking a possible deal with healthcare facilities to reap all the benefits. In the end, underserved/rural hospitals will get to keep their doors open, the main source of jobs will not be lost and revenue that could be driven by celebrities doesn't need to be explained here. Additionally, the implementation of this business development strategy will promote residency spots that are barely filled and will attract more specialist physicians to move and work there.
Part II.
When I was performing financial research on rural and underserved healthcare, one thing was very clear - all of them rely on Federal Medicaid and Medicare funding, due to the low-income population living there. But is it always going to be like that? The answer is no, as the gentrification of major cities grows higher and higher - middle-class families are no longer able to afford to live in the major cities and keep up with the basic living costs such as rent, food, and education. According to the census data of 2017 New Yorkers are fleeing the big apple at an alarming paste, the NY state lost 190,508 residents to other states, which is over 1,000,000 people since 2010 [3]. So guess where all these folks are going to, and which areas are going to be growing? Rural and underserved areas certainly will be boosted very shortly due to a migration of newcomers to the area. This brings us to my second point of alternative ways of improving underserved healthcare. As people are searching for ways to improve their living and stretch their dollars, underserved and rural areas should put a great marketing strategy towards this cause. What I mean by that is rural/underserved areas should market to the general public as a place to live and save more money. That way, the rural area can attract more people to move in, more jobs will be opened and of course, hospitals will be busy treating patients with diverse insurance coverage.
To summarize my agenda on alternative ways of improving underserved and rural healthcare hospitals, I can certainly say - rural and underserved areas have tremendous potential for sound investments that a lot of people don't see yet.
References:
1. Magloire C, Elijio L, Zhalmukhamedov E. Specialized Physician Shortage in Rural Communities. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications [Internet]. 2017Jul1 [cited 2019Jan26];7(7):27–31. Available from: http://www.ijsrp.org/research-paper-0717/ijsrp-p6705.pdf
2. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center [Internet]. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation; 2019 [cited 2019Jan27]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedars-Sinai_Medical_Center
3. Lovett K. New York is No. 1 in losing residents who move to other states, study shows - NY Daily News [Internet]. nydailynews.com. New York Daily News; 2018 [cited 2019Jan27]. Available from: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/n-y-no-1-losing-residents-move-states-article-1.3712413