News
KH to Celebrate National Rural Health Day This Thursday
November 15, 2011
Kewanee Hospital will join the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) and other state/national rural stakeholders in celebrating the first-ever National Rural Health Day on Thursday, November 17, 2011.
NOSORH created National Rural Health Day as a way to showcase rural America; increase awareness of rural health-related issues; and promote the efforts of NOSORH, State Offices of Rural Health and others in addressing those issues. Plans call for National Rural Health Day to become an annual celebration on the third Thursday of each November.
Approximately 62 million people – nearly one in five Americans – live in rural and frontier communities throughout the United States.
“These small towns, farming communities and frontier areas are wonderful places to live and work; they are places where neighbors know each other and work together,” notes NOSORH Director Teryl Eisinger. “The hospitals and providers serving these rural communities not only provide quality patient care, but they also help keep good jobs in rural America.”
These communities also face unique healthcare needs.
“Today more than ever, rural communities must tackle accessibility issues, a lack of healthcare providers, the needs of an aging population suffering from a greater number of chronic conditions, and larger percentages of un- and underinsured citizens,” Eisinger says. “Meanwhile, rural hospitals are threatened with declining reimbursement rates and disproportionate funding levels that makes it challenging to serve their residents.”
“On a regular basis people in our community comment on how lucky we are to have a Hospital in Kewanee. They are so right! We are very fortunate. National Rural Health Day gives us another opportunity to celebrate our Hospital and the important role it plays. We can’t take it for granted, and must actively work together to support the Hospital and ensure its future,” stressed Margaret Gustafson, Kewanee Hospital Chief Executive Officer.
In Kewanee, for example, Kewanee Hospital provides more than $4.4 million in community benefits annually and over $47 million in annual economic impact. Kewanee Hospital further supports rural citizens through programs such as sports physicals for area students, free community programs and seminars, weekly informational radio programs, community health screenings, sports medicine and strength/conditioning programs for area athletes, and much more.
Kewanee Hospital is a private not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization that provides a full range of services including a 24-hour physician staffed Emergency Department, General Surgery, Breast Health Clinic, Family Health Clinic, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology, Pathology, Radiology, Pain Management Services, Cardiopulmonary, Cardiology, and Rehabilitation Services including Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Language Pathology, and Competitive Edge Sports Conditioning all within an easily accessible, community oriented facility. Kewanee Hospital is not a taxing body and receives no revenue from taxing the public. To maintain its services, it relies on funding from its operations and from charitable donations.
Additional information about National Rural Health Day can be found on the Web at http://www.celebratepowerofrural.org. For more information about services provided by Kewanee Hospital, visit www.kewaneehospital.com.
Photo attached: John Golby visits with Dr. Yaimet Bucknor, Hospitalist, and Lisa Garcia, RN, Charge Nurse, during an extended stay as a swing bed services (skilled care) patient at Kewanee Hospital.
