FISCHBACH VISITS MCMC

Seventh Congressional District Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach had the opportunity to tour Murray County Medical Center, learn about some of the facility’s biggest challenges and meet with Murray County law enforcement officers on Thursday in Slayton.

Chief Executive Officer Luke Schryvers accompanied Fischbach on the tour and shared many of the services that Murray County Medical Center (MCMC) has to offer in addition to voicing some of the concerns facing the rural health facility.

“We’re proud of what we have down here, but it’s going to get challenging just to remain independent.” Schryvers said.

Fischbach said she felt it was important to help rural communities remain as strong as possible, which certainly includes maintaining quality services in the area. “I wanted to get a better understanding of what’s going on in the area,” she said.

“I think it’s a beautiful facility and there are very committed, wonderful people here. So I’m happy to have the opportunity to sit down and see where we can help in order to preserve this resource for the community.” MCMC is a rural health clinic and critical access hospital, with ambulance services provided as well. MCMC is affiliated with Sanford Health System but retains the independence necessary to utilize other resources as well. “We have a Sanford management agreement, so we use them but a lot of our providers come up from Avera or they’re independent,” Shryvers said. “It’s whoever can provide that service locally at a quality level.”

In addition to seven different providers, there are a multitude of services available at MCMC.

Outreach areas include cardiology, general surgery, obstetrics, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, podiatry, psychology, psychiatry, pulmonology and vascular.

When Fischbach asked about the billing process for the Sanford providers, Schryvers responded that the revenue would go to Sanford but that MCMC would get the residual if a patient needed an x-ray, MRI or something similar. “It’s a service we’re providing for the community,” he said. They’re basically renting the space from us, so it’s not a huge benefit to us (financially) but it is from a service standpoint for the patient. They can be seen here instead of having to go see the cardiologist in Sioux Falls.”

community, but it might not look the same,” he said. “So we’re trying to keep it local as much as we can. We’re also the main employer in the community. We have about 130 people on our payroll. I think sometimes people don’t realize that. It’s about 90 people who come to work here every day.”

Three of those employees — Chief Nursing Officer Monica VanOtterloo, Imaging Manager Nicole Johnson and Clinic Manager Brooklyne Boerboom — shared many of the facility’s highlights during the tour.

After the tour, Fischbach sat down to engage in conversation with Schryvers and Becky Wifstrand, who serves as Director of Federal Policy and Regulatory Affairs for the Minnesota Hospital Association, whose mission is to advance the health of individuals and communities through leadership, advocacy and collaboration on behalf of Minnesota hospitals and health systems. When Wifstrand asked if MCMC has issues with prior authorization, the CEO said it does. “It’s a struggle every day, depending on which insurance company,” he said. “We staff two folks in that office just to do prior authorizations.”

Ongoing staff shortages are also a concern. “We don’t have a lot of backup, so if someone is on vacation for a week, there’s delays in whatever we do,” Schryvers said. “We try to multi-task as much as possible, but it’s a struggle. We’ve got four nurses who are going to have babies this summer, so that’s been an adjustment, but we’ll make it work.”

The trio discussed the challenges that a proposal in the legislature to implement nurse staffing ratios would have on patient care and facilities in Minnesota. Schyvers then shared concerns about rising cyber insurance costs. “Cyber insurance went up about 200% just because of all the cyber attacks going on,” he said. “You don’t necessarily think about it, but it’s a huge expense that takes away from patient care. It’s unfortunate.”

Fischbach also met with Murray County Sheriff Heath Landsman and Slayton Police Chief Jeremy Steinle on Thursday. The Congresswoman started the week with stops in Warren and East Grand Forks. On Tuesday, she heard about concerns in the communities of Moorhead, Fergus Falls and Alexandria. Fischbach toured facilities in Lac qui Parle County and in Glenwood on Wednesday. She closed out the week by listening to concerns in Wilmar.