The Denver Post
DENVER, Colo. - The hospital in Rangely is threatening to cut off ambulance service to the western half of a remote neighboring county. An Eastern Plains hospital is struggling for survival and asking the state for rescue plans.Small hospitals in the San Luis Valley are merging to ward off financial dangers.
A new round of crises and challenges in rural Colorado medicine has health experts and public officials on alert, scrambling to shore up services in far-flung areas. While metro hospitals thrive and compete by adding perks, small providers in the country are patching holes.
“How do we keep some level of care, even if it’s just stabilizing care, in these very small communities?” said Randy Kuykendall, interim director of EMS for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “It’s an ongoing battle.”
Fast-aging rural communities rely more on Medicare payments, which are being trimmed by the sequestration and other measures. Small hospitals must work harder to recruit doctors and other providers who can bring in revenue. Ambulances see declining payments from Medicare and Medicaid, with rising costs for fuel, equipment and staff benefits.