The financial sustainability of rural hospitals and healthcare will be the focus of a public hearing beginning at 9 a.m. Aug. 3 at University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
The board of directors of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania will be hosting the hearing, which will be held in the University Room.
Featured speakers will include Rick Esch, president of Pitt-Bradford and board member of the Center; Kate Slatt, vice president, innovative payment and care delivery, The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania; Lisa Davis, director, Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health and Outreach Associate Professor of Health Policy and Administration, Penn State University; Dr. Jill Owens, president, Upper Allegheny Health System; Tom Kurtz, president and CEO, Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber; Eric Kiehl, director of policy and partnerships, Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers; and Jeannine McMillan, executive director, Center for Population Health.
Rural healthcare has been making due with less for years, and the COVID pandemic made matters much worse. The integration of Bradford Regional Medical Center and Olean (N.Y.) General Hospital, and the consolidation of services, have been hot button issues in the communities.
The challenges faced locally are the same across the nation, and hearings like this one are important to strengthen the public’s understanding of what healthcare organizations are facing while delivering that all-important care.
“It is essential for all residents, particularly those in rural communities where there are fewer resources, to have access to quality health care,” said Esch. “I hope the information that is shared at the Center for Rural Pennsylvania’s public hearing will shine a light on this challenge and lead to a strengthening of the health care system in rural Pennsylvania.
“All of us at Pitt-Bradford care deeply about the future viability of this region, which has seen some health care challenges the last few years, and are happy to serve as host for this very important hearing.”
The hearing is set to last until 11:30 a.m.
For those who are unable to make the trip, it will be live-streamed at senatorgeneyaw.com. Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Williamsport, is the chairman of the board for the Center.
