A struggling rural hospital in Clinton County is getting a boost, thanks to state funding announced this week.
Hospital leaders at Bucktail Medical Center in Renovo have been vocal about its financial woes for years. To stay open, Bucktail closed its long-term care facility last May and reorganized its administration. They blame low Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates, a small population to treat, and a lack of specialty care that would bring in more revenue.
In a Monday press conference at the hospital, state leaders announced $1 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
“But the journey is not over," said Janice Walters, the executive director of the Rural Health Redesign Center. It’s a nonprofit based in Harrisburg that provides technical assistance to rural hospitals across the country, including Bucktail.
“Collaboration such as has already been demonstrated here and systemic change are needed if we are to ensure access to health care and economic viability of our rural communities," Walters said.
Community members donated to a GoFundMe to keep the hospital open and volunteered to do maintenance work. Geisinger Health Systems donated needed supplies.
Sen. Cris Dush said lawmakers need to make changes to health insurance at the state and federal level to keep rural hospitals like Bucktail alive.
“I have high hopes that in the future, we can start making some changes that will make these hospital systems get them back more on to the local level so that it's people who have a local investment in the community who are investing and running these organizations," Dush said.
Dush said the $1 million grant for Bucktail is meant to improve financial stability until other measures take effect. Hospital leaders say they've streamlined administrative and financial processes.
Clinton County Commissioner Angela Harding said this funding is only a short-term solution for a long-term problem.
“While we're all coming together to talk about something extremely positive and the future's looking bright, we cannot take our foot off the gas pedal," Harding said.
Harding said county commissioners will continue discussions with the governor’s office and other state organizations about ways to support Bucktail.
