Public
Hospital District No. 1 Commissioners News
Scott Hilburn, president, Don Wilson, secretary, and Nancy Trucksess, trustee
Meeting Notice:
Regular meetings Public Hospital District No. 1 Board of Hospital Commissioners
are held every second and fourth Tuesday of the month (except holidays)
beginning at 8 a.m. in the Washington Room at Mason General
Hospital with a pre-agenda meeting at 7:30 a.m in the cafeteria.
Public Hospital District No.1 which consists of Mason General
Hospital, MGH Ankle and Foot, MGH Eye Clinic, Oakland
Bay Pediatrics, MGH Surgery Clinic, Mountain View Women's Health Clinic, MGH Shelton Orthopedics, and Shelton Family Medicineofficers for the 2010
Board of Commissioners. Scott Hilburn, Shelton, was
elected as president of the three person commission; Don
Wilson, Potlatch,
is secretary, Nancy Trucksess, Shelton, is trustee.
Hospital Joins County's Goal to"Continue to Strive to Meet Healthcare Needs of Community"
A group of interested citizens came together several times to learn how to build and support a future local healthcare system that is needed in Mason County. In a rural community like Mason County, the health sector is also one of the more vital economic engines. Understanding and moving ahead in regard to its needs is important not only for a healthcare arena, but for economic viability in the County. This project was made possible by a grant for technical assistance that Mason County received from the National Association of Counties. Mason Matters assisted the County in procuring the grant. "This was an excellent opportunity for the community to come together and look at all facets of out healthcare system," said Mason County Commissioner, Jayni Kamin. Mason General Hospital CEO, Bob Appel, CFO, Eric Moll and President of the Board of Hospital Commissioners, Don Wilson were part of the committee.
The objectives of the grant were to:
1. Discuss the national trends
in healthcare;
2. Summarize the direct local
economic activities of the health sector;
3. Review concepts of community
economics and multipliers;
4. Estimate the secondary impacts
of the health sector on Mason County's economy.
As reported ...
1. Direct Local Economic Activities
In the economic report, employment and payroll are the important direct economic activities created in Mason County from the health sector. The health sector is divided into the following five components: hospitals; doctors, dentists and other medical professionals; nursing and protective care; pharmacies; and other medical health services. In Mason County, healthcare accounts for $82 million in payroll and about 1,900 well-paying jobs with benefits.
MGH's component employs 452 people with an annual payroll of nearly $22 million. Each of these healthcare jobs, in turn, supports another 1,600 local jobs, generating an additional $49 million in payroll, for a total economic impact of $131 million. The employment multiplier for MGH is 1.91. This indicates that for each job created in the hospital, 0.91 jobs are created throughout the area due to the business and household spending. The income multiplier for the hospital sector is 1.55. This means that for each dollar created at MGH, 0.55 dollars are created throughout the area due to business and household spending. However, the healthcare environment is changing, and rural communities need to be proactive and do things differently in order to keep the current viable healthcare system in place.
2. Potential Drivers of Health Sector Economy
Cuts in Medicare and
Medicaid Hurt Everyone
Rural communities are generally
poorer and older than the urban communities, meaning more people
are covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Over the years,
the U.S. federal government has been making cuts in the reimbursement
rates for these insurance programs. These cuts hurt
the rural medical providers and hospitals harder than their
urban counter parts, making it more difficult for them to stay
in business. For Mason County, this means that more
people are covered by Medicare and Medicaid, and that our local
providers are receiving less and less for their services.
Increase in Senior Population
Second, rural communities like
Mason County are projected to experience a higher than usual
increase in our senior population. In 2000, citizens over the
age of 65 years represented 17 percent of our population. This
is expected to increase to 28 percent of the population in
2025. "This means we need to be planning now for the
types of healthcare services that this growing senior population
will need. Mason County is an attractive place for seniors
to retire. We can make it more attractive and help seniors
stay in the community if we have the healthcare services that
seniors need," stated Emmett Doby, director of Community Development
for Mason County.
Uninsured or Underinsured
The third challenge to rural
health care systems is the growing number of people without
any health insurance. In rural communities, a large
number of jobs are created by small businesses. These
days, it is hard for small businesses to offer health insurance
to their employees, and it is getting harder all the time. Statewide,
of the people who lack health insurance, 75 percent are employed
but do not qualify for health insurance benefits from their
employer, or cannot afford coverage, or receive no benefits
Summary
The economic impact of the health
sector upon the economy of Mason County is tremendous. The
health sector employs a large number of residents, similar
to a large industrial firm. The secondary impact occurring
in the community is extremely large and measures the total
impact of the health sector. If the health sector increases
or decreases in size, the medical health of the community as
well as the economic health of the community are greatly affected.
For the attraction of industrial firms, businesses and retirees,
it is crucial that the area have a sufficient and quality health
sector.
Survey results are in...
This ad-hoc committee also helped
Mason County commissioners, along with Public Hospital District
No. 1 commissioners, plan for the healthcare system by creating
a telephone survey to see what drives the healthcare needs
and wants in Mason County.
"The preliminary survey results were very encouraging in terms of the high satisfaction levels with the services provided by Mason General, especially in our Emergency services," said Eric Moll , chief financial officer at MGH. "Access to physicians is a concerning issue. The providers in Mason County perform a high quality service, but according to NACO researchers, the number of physicians necessary to serve Mason County needs to double. In a way, this is encouraging, because it shows the demand for services locally is increasing. Pubic Hospital District No. 1 commissioners are firmly committed to meeting these challenges and continuing to provide access to healthcare services."