Watford City, on the western border of North Dakota, has a healthy local economy thanks in part to the significant impact of the area’s hospital, McKenzie County Health System. Photo courtesy of Neal Shipman, the McKenzie County Farmer, Watford City, ND

Sure. THEY know how important they are, but how do they prove that to everyone else?

The North Dakota Medicare Rural Flexibility (Flex) Program at the UND medical school’s Center for Rural Health will take the next two years to determine the economic impact each rural hospital has on its community. Through this new project, staff at the Center for Rural Health will produce individualized reports for each of the 36 critical access hospitals in the state.

“The main goal of the Flex Program is to support small rural hospitals and one way to do that is to increase their visibility and contribution to their local economies, as well as the state,” said Marlene Miller, MSW, Flex Program director and interim co-director at the Center for Rural Health.

General, state-level data have been available, but nothing this specific for each hospital service area. Until now, most hospitals have estimated their impact, being financially unable to independently hire a consultant to back it up.

Providing proof
The hospitals already know they are major players in their regions’ economies, and through this new service, the Center for Rural Health will serve as a neutral research entity to validate this impact.

“Unlike most other states, in North Dakota the hospital really is probably the largest employer, and it is my impression that we have not done a good job, as health care personnel, of getting that message out,” said Dan Kelly, CEO of McKenzie County Health System in Watford City, N. Dak. “While we are here to take care of the health care needs of the communities that we serve, the other real factor is that we are a major economic advantage to the county and surrounding communities.”

“A lot of people don’t pay attention to health care until they need it,” said Miller, “and to that point, they don’t really have a good understanding of how health care impacts their local community.”

“With all the general clamor about health care today and the reform that we are going through, I think that we have to be more proactive about telling our story,” said Kelly, whose hospital acted as a test case for the project. “If hospitals don’t survive, there is going to be a major void that is going to occur. Not only would we be without health services, but hundreds and hundreds of people would be without employment.”