Rural hospitals are the heart of their communities, providing care close to home in addition to jobs, stability and reassurance that help is nearby in life’s most pivotal moments. Despite their essential role, rural providers across the state and country are challenged by limited resources, workforce shortages and constrained infrastructure.
Knowing this reality first-hand, the teams at Hillsdale Hospital are focused on advocating for rural communities and ensuring patients don’t lose access to routine or specialty care.
Personalized Primary Care
To address the unique needs of local residents, Hillsdale starts by listening. The hospital’s primary care team – spread across five local clinics – does this by focusing on understanding each patient’s needs to develop individualized health plans.
“Hillsdale Hospital’s core values include local access to care for our patients,” said Jeremiah J. Hodshire, president and chief executive officer, Hillsdale Hospital. “Everyone deserves access to healthcare, when and where they need it. That’s why expanding our primary care options is so important to us.”
In understanding that it can be difficult and time-consuming for patients to get to the hospital for lab draws, Hillsdale also decided to install outpatient laboratories inside their clinics. The decision has been well-received by community members and streamlines testing protocol for providers.
Addressing Specialty Needs
Knowing there was a local need for advanced neurosurgical care, Hillsdale responded by onboarding a neurosurgeon and opening their Hillsdale Spine Center. Residents can now receive a full spectrum of care, including minimally invasive spine surgery, spine fusion, spine fracture treatments and treatment for herniated discs. The team also recently completed their first lumbar total disc replacement, an innovative treatment that isn’t widely available.
“I couldn’t imagine where I’d be at if I didn’t get the surgery,” said the patient, who previously struggled with severe back pain for more than 15 years. “[The procedure] was the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Uplifting Rural Voices
Hillsdale teams are also finding meaningful ways to speak up for rural patients and providers. In a new podcast series titled, “Rural Health Fractured,” conversations center around sustainable solutions to today’s pressing rural healthcare issues.
Additionally, Hodshire will serve as board chair of the MHA Center of Rural Excellence, a 501(c)(6) organization created to formalize and strengthen the collective voice of rural hospitals through targeted advocacy and support tailored to the unique challenges Michigan’s rural providers face.
Those with questions or content ideas for the Hospitals Help series may contact Lucy Ciaramitaro at the MHA.