April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month.  Both of these issues run deep and wide in every community.  Millions of cases are reported per year and we know many more go unreported.  Victims of assault may choose not to report due to shame, drug use, not having a clear memory of the event, or because they have been threatened.

• More than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men experience sexual assault in their lifetimes
• The most common age of sexual assault in between the ages 12 and 21
• Rural areas tend to have more unreported assaults and higher rates of child abuse

References

CDC “Preventing Sexual Violence”

About the Author:

Teresa Donnahoo owns Elevated Forensic Nursing and is a practicing forensic nurse living in Valley County, Idaho.  She got her start in forensics in CA, practicing in LA and Orange counties with Forensic Nurse Specialists.  Teresa lives with her husband and 3 children, 3 fur babies, and 2 turtles.  She enjoys any activity on or in the lake and creating art projects in her spare time.

Resources

FAQs Regarding CMC’s Potential Conversion from a Critical Access Hospital to a Rural Emergency Hospital

Why would CMC convert to a new hospital license type? Converting to a Rural Emergency Hospital will benefit CMC and the community because it better fits the work we do, and at a higher level of reimbursement.  The higher reimbursement will enable us to make important investments in our infrastructure, assuring our ability to best serve the community.

What infrastructure? A better electronic medical record system that will put us on the same system as other hospitals we work with and that our patients use.  Future facility improvements and expansions could also be paid for, at least in part, by this change.

Will services change? Not noticeably.  While we will no longer be licensed for inpatient beds, we will be able to keep patients overnight (and for multiple nights) as needed for observation and care.  We are able to start new services such as day surgery, endoscopy, hospice, nursing home, infusion, and more as needed by the community and as appropriate for CMC to provide.

Will we be able to convert back to a Critical Access Hospital? Yes, but it will require CMC to meet the most current standards of care and facilities applicable at the time to CAHs.

I’ve heard many hospitals have been struggling financially for the last few years. How is CMC doing financially? The CMC’s Governing Board (which is elected by the citizens of the tax district) and the hospital leadership team have kept the hospital in great financial shape. Additionally, the hospital keeps a reserve of emergency funds to serve the hospital during lean times.

Why should CMC consider the Rural Emergency Hospital designation if the hospital is doing well financially? One advantage of being in good financial shape is that the hospital can base the decision on whether to pursue the Rural Emergency Hospital designation based on how the hospital can best serve the community—this doesn’t have to solely be a financial decision.

Are there other hospital types/designations that would better serve the community? Yes, there are other types of hospital designations which CMC could pursue. However, the Rural Emergency Hospital designation was designed for exactly the population mix and utilization we have at the Cascade Medical Center.

Will my hospital bills increase if CMC proceeds with the Rural Emergency Hospital designation? No, our hospital billing process will not be impacted based on the Rural Emergency Hospital designation.

How long will it take to convert? Conversion requires approval by both Federal and State agencies.  Federal law is established, and 25 hospitals have converted from other states.  CMC would be the first hospital in Idaho to convert, and so there is no existing structure in place for the State to allow and oversee conversion to a Rural Emergency Hospital.  CMC has notified our state agency of our interest, and we will proceed as quickly as possible if approved by the CMC Board.

Will the law change? At the federal level, bills are being introduced in both the House and Senate to improve the flexibility and remuneration for hospitals that convert to REH. 

Does this mean we don’t need to build a new hospital? No.  CMC’s building is 50 years old and still too small for the services offered and patients served.  CMC still needs to build a new hospital or at least significantly expand.  However, it does mean we don’t have to build as large a hospital since we won’t require as many patient rooms.

Will this impact the clinics in Cascade or Donnelly? No.  CMC operates Rural Health Clinics in Cascade and Donnelly that operate under CLINIC licenses, not HOSPITAL licenses.  CMC clinics still operate as “Rural Health Clinics” which is a specific designation under CMS/Medicare distinct from CMC’s hospital designation.

Will this impact my taxes? No.  Conversion to an REH will not increase or decrease the property tax levy paid by owners of property within the CMC Health District.