By MATT PIKE
A Rural Health Transformation Fund authorized by Congress is helping to reshape healthcare in rural Kansas.
The fund provides federal money over the next several years in annual distributions to each state, with Kansas recently approved for $220 million in the first distribution.
Eastern Kansas Congressman Derek Schmidt says of the communities selected to receive funding, nine within his district were selected, which he says is huge because of how healthcare needs are changing.
"If we were today designing how we're going to provide the best quality care and the best access to that care possible in a particular community, often we would design it differently from what we have," Schmidt says on the KFEQmunnity show. "But the challenge is, that can be a very expensive transition."
Schmidt says if you want to add services such as telehealth and more specialist care, or more cancer care in an area, that can cost a hospital more than they have the funding means for.
"So the whole idea behind this Transformation Fund was to make money available outside of the ordinary day to day funding system to help communities pursue those transformational changes that in their view are most important to provide care to their residents going forward," Schmidt explains.
Schmidt says the fund provides a generational opportunity and commends the communities that have stepped forward to utilize it and enhance rural healthcare services for residents.
Schmidt says it's critically important to help make it easier for people to get healthcare in their area.
"Of course we have to continue to support the base programs, the traditional programs, that are so important to funding our healthcare system, but if that's all we do we're never going to see the system transform itself in the way that it needs to in many communities to meet local needs," Schmidt says. "So, this kind of a two-pronged approach now."
Schmidt says it's now about helping to support the day-to-day needs, but at the same time provide support for forward looking communities that know where gaps are that need to be met and can be met and can utilize the Transformation Fund.
Interview
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.